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The reason I ask the question is because I read an article asking the exact same thing(here is said artical Are South Floridians 'Soccer Savvy' or Soccer Snobs? | WLRN). it's a well know fact that soccer is very popular in South Florida however why that doesn't translate into game attendance is still puzzling. your thoughts?
Hey, if I had the money and I was down in SoFla, I'd being doing a TON more crap than just watching sports games too.
Heat fans walking out enmasse during that playoff game WAS majorly lame though.
Savvy or Snob will depend on which camp you're coming from. Are Texans football snobs? Hoosiers basketball snobs?
It's not IMPOSSIBLE that a pro soccer team couldn't do well in SoFla, but it'd be HELLA tricky. It'd be microcosm of MLS' glass ceiling. Fair, but not good enough considering alternatives (foriegn leagues). A REAL smart plan has to be in place to tap into the local soccer communities for the club's success.
That article pointed out something interesting. The difference between the Real Madrid ICC Match and the Spain/Haiti match.
WHile there are a lot of Haitians in Miami, I doubt it'd be enough to create blockbuster soccer crowd and as awesome as spain is...............it's Spain, how many Spanish are in Miami?
Also there apparently is some sort of tribalism feud between soccer heads weither or not the club would need to be in Dade or Broward. I think that is likely overrated.
The Fins aren't IN Miami yet they are still SoFla's team. Despite the massive growth of SoFla attendees to UF, Da U still apparently has an iron clad grip over SoFla college football psyche. And I am sure that the Heat have no trouble coaxing peeps from Broward and Palm Beach.
MLS has a ceiling relative to those leagues (one that they will have to raise sooner or later) but if you put forth a competitive, quality squad and make strong connections with communities from Jupiter to the Keys, I think local feuds will be irrelavent.
That article pointed out something interesting. The difference between the Real Madrid ICC Match and the Spain/Haiti match.
WHile there are a lot of Haitians in Miami, I doubt it'd be enough to create blockbuster soccer crowd and as awesome as spain is...............it's Spain, how many Spanish are in Miami?
Also there apparently is some sort of tribalism feud between soccer heads weither or not the club would need to be in Dade or Broward. I think that is likely overrated.
The Fins aren't IN Miami yet they are still SoFla's team. Despite the massive growth of SoFla attendees to UF, Da U still apparently has an iron clad grip over SoFla college football psyche. And I am sure that the Heat have no trouble coaxing peeps from Broward and Palm Beach.
MLS has a ceiling relative to those leagues (one that they will have to raise sooner or later) but if you put forth a competitive, quality squad and make strong connections with communities from Jupiter to the Keys, I think local feuds will be irrelavent.
Oh no you don't. I will not share a team with broward county. it's the reason I don't support the panthers in the NHL and if the dolphins stadium was on the other side of the county line I wouldn't support them either. it would be better if there was a broward team and then a miami-dade team. I will never support a sports team in broward.
Oh no you don't. I will not share a team with broward county. it's the reason I don't support the panthers in the NHL and if the dolphins stadium was on the other side of the county line I wouldn't support them either. it would be better if there was a broward team and then a miami-dade team. I will never support a sports team in broward.
Well Sebastian, I admire your passion. However as interesting as it is, I wonder just how widespread that sentiment really is.
I mean Fort Lauderdale is only 30 miles away from MEE-AM-MEE. And I am pretty sure that the Phins claim people from Jupiter to the Keys as fans. They've had such an awesome history to create such a fan base.
You KNOW the heat have a ton of "fans" in Broward, hehe.
I mean Dallas and Fort Worth have a similar setup but FT Worth people are full on Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks and Stars fans. TCU is a different beast cause of it and SMU being in the opposite cities.
The key points for a top level SoFla franchise will be 3 things.
,
1. WINNING, this trumps everything
2. STARS, obviously
3. IDENTITY, if the Miami-Ft. Lauder schism is as big as you make it out to be, the team will have to find a way to appeal to both sides. An all inclusive team name and making smart investments and reach outs to both counties' soccer grassroots, clubs and schools will be key.
4. LOCATION, I've seen FIU on map, that place seems temporary at BEST. From what I gather they'd have to pick either a Primo central Miami location REPLETE with access or at least near bars night clubs and a ton of other fun stuff.........OR they'd go the Phins/Cans route and choose somewhere more centrally located.........just not FIU.
Also tell, what's the soccer scene like down there. Is there a lot of kids just playng pick up? Do the schools play it a lot? I'm in DC, we have pick up but the real juice is in our organized youth clubs, especially here in Northern VA.
Always a good time at the Strikers games, nice to meet civilized, mature football supporters from Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, counties...
you won't see me there. no broward sports team is getting my support.
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