USA to host La Liga games

[NorCalBlue]

I don't actually see anyone who thinks this is a good idea, more bemusement at the dramatics than anything.

Ha ha! It just took me half an hour to compose a carefully worded response to that post and you did a much better job in one sentence!

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

Appreciate the response - no offense taken whatsoever but no I've been a supporter for coming up on 20 years. Wasn't alive for most of the 80's, very young in the 90's but well aware of the history.

Ultimately I agree. I'm probably just not articulating my opinion very well. I don't want games overseas. I'm just questioning whether it's worth withdrawing support if say, 1 league game was played overseas every 5 or so years. I can't fathom that. Like I mentioned in my last post there's obviously a connection I don't have not being from Manchester so if that's the case, fair enough - I just find it very surprising.

Fair enough bud, enjoy watching us play from afar; ) where in states?

 

[yankblue]

Fair enough bud, enjoy watching us play from afar; ) where in states?

Ha thanks! Was actually born in the UK (which explains the city linkage to some extent) but I grew up in Philadelphia. Work has recently taken me to Texas of all places

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

Ha thanks! Was actually born in the UK (which explains the city linkage to some extent) but I grew up in Philadelphia. Work has recently taken me to Texas of all places :)

Ok. Do you plan to come to any games? If we can maybe do a house swap for a week; ) Do yo own a ranch?

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

It would be another nail in the confident of football clubs being something bigger than a money making entity. Football clubs are just that clubs - it was never the intention that they should be marketing brands, profit centres or franchises and there whole raison d'être was being of and by the people in their communities.

Moreover it would signal the final destruction of any sense of integrity of the English league system. Originally the rules of the league were well balanced to enable and promote competition. We did away with that basic idea in 1992 but this would illustrate that the big clubs have no interest in anything other than their financial position. There is no longer a concept of mutual benefit or the greater good, much like society in general.

The fact of the matter is that City would be at the vanguard of wanting to play league games in the states. It's not that long ago that our club would have been on the outside looking in as the gap between the haves and the have nots got wider. If City did this it would only underscore what we all really know, that the club will sacrifice the goodwill of the people who have supported through think and thin (and even thinner) in order to market the brand to people who see it as an entertainment experience rather than something that is and has been central to their life for as long as they can remember.

Now this is a sentiment I can totally get behind. It resonates with me because of what has happened to golf, with a bundle of "invite only" tournaments which are guaranteed money for a handful of stars but count towards the money total that keep them on tour, which makes the system self-perpetuating once you get in the door. I think these World tournaments are shit for the game of golf as is the Fed Ex Cup which no one gives a shit about. Promo/rel is being hotly debated in the US for MLS, and I absolutely love it as a fan (even back when I was praying for City to get to 40 so they'd be on TV in the States the next year).

So the argument is that it's a slippery slope, and I'd expect City fans who grew up with the club locally and consider it "theirs" would just detest this loss of soul. Of course there are trade-offs (success comes at a price), but among the many reasons I fell head-over-heels for City was the fanbase. I thought it as much a duty as a desire to go to Manchester when I can, to learn the songs, to meet and spend time with the life-longers, and participate in that aspect of the club as much as the follow the football. And I really do think that has been the most rewarding, surprising aspect of being a fan -- not just the success, but talking about the club and spending time (on-line or in-person) with supporters.

Having said all that -- I still think walking away seems an extreme reaction. I couldn't do it.

 

[SkyBlueTX]

I’m American and count me on the the side of not having any PL games abroad. I think it’s ridiculous that NFL teams do this, in which one of them is giving up 12% of their whole season home-field advantage for the sake of $, €, £, etc. I can see why people think it’s a slippery slope...it is. By 2020 there will be a half dozen NFL games in London and Mexico City because the door was opened.

“But can he do it on a hot night in Miami?” Just wrong for the PL.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Ok. Do you plan to come to any games? If we can maybe do a house swap for a week; ) Do yo own a ranch?

I own a few :) PM me.

I’m American and count me on the the side of not having any PL games abroad. I think it’s ridiculous that NFL teams do this, in which one of them is giving up 12% of their whole season home-field advantage for the sake of $, €, £, etc. I can see why people think it’s a slippery slope...it is. By 2020 there will be a half dozen NFL games in London and Mexico City because the door was opened.

“But can he do it on a hot night in Miami?” Just wrong for the PL.

I'm just flying back from Miami right now as a matter a fact. A right shit town, IMO -- my least favorite major metro in the country and trust me, I've been in every one of them.

So,the implied comparative to Stoke would be accurate then. Except Stoke is more like Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

[SkyBlueTX]

I own a few :) PM me.


I'm just flying back from Miami right now as a matter a fact. A right shit town, IMO -- my least favorite major metro in the country and trust me, I've been in every one of them.

So,the implied comparative to Stoke would be accurate then. Except Stoke is more like Little Rock, Arkansas.

I was implying more that the weather would be the challenge, but in the opposite of the usual way, in what could be an actual venue for such games.

Furthest south I’ve been in Florida is Orlando. Miami not on the bucket list.

 

[burning blue soul]

The 39th game is coming. You can't stop it, same way you can't stop worldwide public desire to watch English football. The genie is out of the bottle, the league has grown too big for these shores alone.
If the premier league doesn't adapt to the worldwide demand for the product some other league will try it's luck (e g. La Liga).
I really don't see a problem with all this as long as it's an extra game, mid season (fuck off an international break lol) and some type of travel subsidies are offered to season ticket holders or long time club members.
I think of it more as an adventure. And I would rather my team is trailing a blaze across the planet than juve or real or Munich.

 

[its a Barm]

i agree it should only be a 39th game but how the hell do you make that up who plays who ? and i think the full league should do this on the same weekend around the world, only then would it be a good idea, not that we would get any say in it ever.