Ep 296: On MLS Contrived Rivalries

The following is a discussion stimulated by some commentary between former men’s national team player, Herculez Gomez, and a pundit that I actually have some respect for, Sebastian Salazar.

What’s the topic? Well, the topic is why the “rivalry”, between MLS franchises, New York city FC and New York Red Bulls is failing. And more broadly, why is that the case?

If you look at the title of this episode, it states, On MLS Contrived Rivalries. So this will be an exploration on why these so-called “rivalries” are quite frankly, fake.

First off, there’s a little talk of attendance at stadiums because after all, if it’s a rivalry, usually attendance is a metric used as a proxy.

Now, that does not mean if a stadium is full, then it is indeed a rivalry. But it can mean that if a stadium isn’t full, especially in this particular case, more than half empty, that there is no rivalry here.

So you get the full context, you’ll also hear the exchange between Herc and Sebi. I think they get it, but it’s kind of awkward how they dance around the elephant in the room. Namely, promotion and relegation. You’ll see what I mean.

There’s a few other things Terry and I touch on:

1. The misguided and convenient notion to think one needs a hundred years to develop an authentic rivalry.

2. The misguided and also quite convenient notion to think there isn’t a large, strong soccer culture already present in the United States. And then,

3. Have you heard of Chivas USA? You may have heard of Chivas USA. That was the failed attempt to capture the enormous Mexican and Mexican American soccer first communities here in Southern California.

All these things are very related, guys.

Now, it usually takes me a few minutes to heat up and that unfettered passion to start flowing. But man, in every one of these episodes, there’s always things, these sensitive things that make one, I don’t know, second guessed themselves.

“Shit, should I actually publish this?”
“Shit, should I actually say this?”

Now, compared to what I could say, it’s nothing.

I’ve said it many times before in public, I reveal basically like 5 or 10% of what I could be revealing. And it is for good reason, guys. Just like you guys at your job, don’t publicly reveal 90 or 95 or 99% of what’s actually going on there.

But compared to what special interests don’t want revealed, which is zero, it is indeed risky, even revealing that 5% or 10% of knowledge. But fuck it, if we’re depending on those making a living off MLS, or wanting to, or wanting that attention, or have been indoctrinated by that media. We’ll be waiting a hundred fucking years until the smallest of inconvenient truths are told.