The Lou Dobbs Cup
January 24 - 2007
Despite everyone from Star Jones to Rush Limbaugh telling you different, the “Beckham” signing was only the second most important MLS news item in January. What could be more important than the signing of an International gay icon and his hot/hideous wife? Two words: One word: Two words pushed together: SuperLiga.
Buried amidst the Beckham clippings you’ll find an MLS press release touting the formation of an eight team tournament pitting the best Mexican clubs versus the best MLS clubs. First prize is $1million, representing the largest sum ever awarded in American soccer history. Teams participating in the inaugural SuperLiga have been selected by nomination, but future clubs will qualify through league and cup performance.
There’s a good deal of promise here, with many fans (me included) hoping SuperLiga might just save the MLS from itself. Of course, we are talking about a Don Garber initiative here, so there’s some potential bad with the potential good. A sampling:
- Good: SuperLiga will have qualification parameters which might infuse meaning into the otherwise meaningless exercise that is the MLS regular season. Depending on how qualification is constructed, the days of truly purposeless regular season play may be over.
- Bad: Not a word has been said about the specifics of qualification. Unfortunately this could mean the bane of my existence, MLS Cup, may play a role. Increasing the importance of the utterly ridiculous “win-or-go-home” playoff format will only weaken the league further.
- Good: It will be especially nice to see Mexican teams come north with something actually on the line, rather than as part of some ranchero-band/two-free-tacos-with-your-tickets exhibition.
- Bad: No corresponding away fixtures. And this strikes me as a real problem. To expand the image of the league, if not validate the tournament’s legitimacy, games must be played in hostile stadiums. Furthermore, the type of media coverage (think Sportscenter) gained by traveling south is fundamental. Remember when 70,000 Mexican National Team supporters chanted “Osama!” at the US team? I’ll say it right now: MLS needs some hate in its life. Hate makes for primetime highlights and box-office receipts. Away fixtures in Mexico would deliver the type of hate MLS teams could smuggle back across the border and exchange for interest in the league.
- Good: The timing of SuperLiga (late July and August) coincides with the meat of the MLS season, when competition for qualification spots/league placings could truly said to be heating up. In the past, MLS begins to hype “play-off picture” during this same time, and it always rings a little phony.
- Bad: The timing of SuperLiga coincides with the Mexican First Division’s preseason, which may make the tournament easy to dismiss south of the border.
- Good: In spite of MLS’s history of socialist ideology, someone finally put together a serious monetary prize and touted it as a reason to win. Nice work, comrades.
- Bad: $1million? Give me a break. You just spent many times that on a single player. The prize should have been at least $1.6 million - enough to cover a team’s entire roster under the salary cap.
- Good: Thank God we now have an international tournament to participate in besides the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
- Bad: Someone explain to me, again, why we can’t participate in the Copa Libertadores. If you want recognition for MLS, stick the Houston Dynamo in the Bombonera and let Brian Ching take a bottle of Quilmes in the head. That’s the kind of thing that will make Americans care about MLS.
So, like most things coming from the office of Premier Garber, SuperLiga promises to be a mixed bag. That being said, I do get the feeling that while the wheels of the MLS may grind slowly, they at least grind slowly in the right direction.
Best single headline of all time.
Comment by Martha — January 24, 2007 @ 9:20 pm
The “Lou Demadobbs Cup”…..Brilliant! Is Lou a) the premier demagogue nonpareill? b)for real?
More importantly Lou Dobbs, Mel Gibson, Don Garber and the MLS are simply bastardized entertainment (al biet “pour”)…no more, no less. Genuine competition is real….nothing can excited us or disappoint us like competition. Baby Doc Garber, just appoint soccernista as Secretary of Competition and then let Coach Darwin take care of the details.
Most likely the outcome would be pleasing…then, Don, on the seventh day, you could rest.
Comment by grandeagle — January 25, 2007 @ 10:38 am
Qualifications?
Where the hell’s the Chicago Fire?
DC, Houston, Dallas and LA?
Chicago’s got a huge Mexican population.
I can’t wait for the MFL’s excuses when they lose.
Comment by Ciudad Central — January 25, 2007 @ 4:01 pm
How ’bout an analysis of the eight competing teams?
Comment by Randall Monty — January 25, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
hopefully it will work…and hopefully it will be on a more accessible channel than, say, Versus. Mucho thank you for the great points!
Comment by awful chief — January 25, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
I don’t see why there couldn’t be a champion’s league for central + north america. That would be the balls!
Comment by shlomo — January 25, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
“I don?t see why there couldn?t be a champion?s league for central + north america. That would be the balls!”
BTDT, as it’s called the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
http://www.concacaf.com/competitions/champscup/
Comment by Fred T. Jane — January 25, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
What a bad fucking idea!
Who in the hell wants to watch MLS teams play Mexican teams…has anyone actually ever watched a Mexican league match?? Holy shit, that’s some painful stuff. Granted, they have a good national team but their league is no easier to watch than ours. So, now we’re going to watch the best of two shite ass leagues??…fuck that. I’ll stick to the EPL…thanks!
Comment by LG — January 25, 2007 @ 10:29 pm
I’d like to see this lead to a single table, the the top four teams qualifying for the Superliga, the next two for the CONCACAF Cup and the top 8 for MLS Cup. That would lead to a meaningful regular season.
This whole thing depends on the top Mexican clubs. They play in a ton of tournaments as it is and if they blow it off so will their fans.
Comment by PBR — January 25, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
Great points all around… I would be far more interested in watching Chivas or Pumas play our domestic teams than suffer through another ESPN2 broadcast of DC United vs. New England Revolution in a 100,000 seat stadium.
Comment by CB Langley — January 26, 2007 @ 1:31 am
I’ve always felt they should just combine the Mexican league and MLS into one league with two divisions.
Comment by stuartdowningpints — January 26, 2007 @ 11:36 am
Combining the two leagues sounds about as appetizing as a restaurant marketing mexican/american cuisine…no thanks. I’ll take either a hamburger or a carnitas plate…but I won’t go for the hamburger infused carnitas plate. I don’t see the point…
Comment by LG — January 26, 2007 @ 11:46 am
stuartdowningpints,
what would they do with the lower mexican division that already exist?
on another note:
this will never happen, and this is why the mls will always be crappy, but…
scrap the playoffs and make a cup competition involving all of the US leagues (MLS, USL, etc.)
1st place team at the end of the season are champions, cup winners are, well, cup winners.
also, relegation/promotion. that way rochester can play in the MLS where they belong.
superliga actually sounds like a good idea, but i do agree with the poster who said that there should be home and away matches.
Comment by rochachacha — January 26, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
current CONCACAF Cup champions…Puntarenas of Costa Rica. Viva el Puerto!
Comment by rochachacha — January 26, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
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