USA to host La Liga games

[pace89]

Hey you lot -- I agree this is a bad idea, not the least of which of the reasons is a lack of a home match for a club, which upsets the well-balanced (1 home/1 away) nature of the Prem which I love (we don't have that in any pro sport in the USA -- we have regional divisions, or imbalanced schedules where last year's shitty teams have an easier schedule than the good ones the next year). I don't watch the NFL but it's dumb to have league games in London too, especially for West Coast teams.

Can I ask as a naive American why so many of you would actually go to the lengths of walking away from the sport though if the Prem did this? I can see it being an annoying, eyeroll-creating, potentially unfair irritation -- but would you really just switch off?

Edit: I'm assuming season ticket holders wouldn't get hosed -- i.e. same price for one fewer matches -- I can see how that would be frustrating.

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.

 

[cjn]

Hey you lot -- I agree this is a bad idea, not the least of which of the reasons is a lack of a home match for a club, which upsets the well-balanced (1 home/1 away) nature of the Prem which I love (we don't have that in any pro sport in the USA -- we have regional divisions, or imbalanced schedules where last year's shitty teams have an easier schedule than the good ones the next year). I don't watch the NFL but it's dumb to have league games in London too, especially for West Coast teams.

Can I ask as a naive American why so many of you would actually go to the lengths of walking away from the sport though if the Prem did this? I can see it being an annoying, eyeroll-creating, potentially unfair irritation -- but would you really just switch off?

Edit: I'm assuming season ticket holders wouldn't get hosed -- i.e. same price for one fewer matches -- I can see how that would be frustrating.

With all due respect to the Mancunians reading this, no one will actually stop supporting the club if this happens. People said the same thing before the NFL and the NBA moved games, and in the end it's definitely an annoyance, but something everyone just lives with.

For the record I think playing games outside of the UK is a very stupid plan, but still.

 

[chicagoblue23]

I'm an NFL fan. Having my team play once every 5-10 years in London is a mild nuisance at worst. Im not sure what all the fuss is about.

 

[SWP's back]

I get that it's not ideal, and even as an American I couldn't care less if this happens, but being 'done' because a single game might be played overseas once every few years is just a tad bit dramatic. The NFL has games in London. The NBA has games in London. My local NBA team played in London last year and my local NFL team (which I have season tickets to) is playing there this year. It's annoying. It's not worth withdrawing my support over

Where’s the dislike button @Ric ?

 

[Ric]

Where’s the dislike button @Ric ?

Ha, we have had a few requests for that.

 

[SWP's back]

I'm an NFL fan. Having my team play once every 5-10 years in London is a mild nuisance at worst. Im not sure what all the fuss is about.

Then you’ll never understand what it’s really like to support City and live in Manchester sadly.

 

[chicagoblue23]

Then you’ll never understand what it’s really like to support City and live in Manchester sadly.

I probably wont know what it's like to live in Manchester. I live in Chicago. I grew up in Baltimore, I went to all of the Ravens games from the beginning of their existence until I moved.

If I still lived there and lost one home game per decade I'm pretty sure I wouldn't whine like a little woman about it and threaten to quit supporting the team.

 

[Barcon]

I probably wont know what it's like to live in Manchester. I lived in Chicago. I grew up in Baltimore, I went to all of the Ravens games from the beginning of their existence until I moved.

If I still lived there and lost one home game per decade I'm pretty sure I wouldn't whine like a little woman about it and threaten to quit supporting the team.

 

[SWP's back]

I probably wont know what it's like to live in Manchester. I lived in Chicago. I grew up in Baltimore, I went to all of the Ravens games from the beginning of their existence until I moved.

If I still lived there and lost one home game per decade I'm pretty sure I wouldn't whine like a little woman about it and threaten to quit supporting the team.

Yeah your support is deep. I can see that.

I guess it American fans like you that allow a system where franchises are picked up and moved wherever. You deserve American sport.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I'm an NFL fan. Having my team play once every 5-10 years in London is a mild nuisance at worst. Im not sure what all the fuss is about.

Do you support your local NFL team?