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Do you think that we will play in either of the 5 major pro sports with Mexico? (NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, NFL) I am sure that the leagues would like it because they want to expand and a metro with 20 million people sounds lucrative. However do you think that it will ever happen for any major sport? Here are the problems that I think of.
1. Dangerous
If anything happens to a pro sports player that would shut it down. The very fear of something happening would not make many want to go visit a game.
2. Language
Americans don't speak spanish. Obvious problem. Not insurmountable, but imagine after game interviews and the like when a Mexican player doesn't speak English or Americans don't speak Spanish in Mexico.
3. Player acquisition
Players haven't even preferred playing in Toronto which is a great city. It doesn't have all of the associated problems and they still don't want to play there.
4. Interest
Would people really be interested in these sports? It can't just stay a bunch of Americans playing in Mexico. They need quality talent born and bread in Mexico.
Of course I am not talking about the MLS since everyone knows that they are far better than us. The problem with that league is that they would have to unite. I am not sure that they would do so. It could be a match made in heaven by combining Mexican talent with American money.
4. Politics
Would this get in the way? Ideally this could enhance our relationship.
5. Altitude
Mexico City sits very high. It could give people a tough time playing sports. Monterrey by all accounts is a far superior location but it isn't nearly as big.
6. Money
Could Mexico City support a team. There is a lower household income and therefore less money that people could play to support a team. However with a large country that ideally would support the home team, maybe quantity will make up for quality. I think it could support a team
So at the end of the day do you think that we will start playing with Mexico?
A few things... They already have their own pro soccer league: Liga MX. There are tons of American players in Liga MX, and tons of Mexican players in MLS. Also, are you implying that Mexico is far better at soccer than USA? If so, that's not really true. They are pretty much evenly-matched.
#2 Language is a non-issue. Look at all of the foreign players coming into the NHL and MLB. Tons of NHL players arrive here and don't speak English. Likewise, tons of American hockey players go to Europe and join the KHL, Swiss league, etc., and don't speak the local language.
#3, the issue with Toronto (and other Canadian cities) is taxes. Players take home FAR less than they would in the USA by playing in Canada.
I know the NFL played a regular season game there between (at that time) two lousy teams (49ers and Cardinals IIRC) in 2005-ish? but beyond that I don't see any NA major league setting up there full-time.
A few things... They already have their own pro soccer league: Liga MX. There are tons of American players in Liga MX, and tons of Mexican players in MLS. Also, are you implying that Mexico is far better at soccer than USA? If so, that's not really true. They are pretty much evenly-matched.
#2 Language is a non-issue. Look at all of the foreign players coming into the NHL and MLB. Tons of NHL players arrive here and don't speak English. Likewise, tons of American hockey players go to Europe and join the KHL, Swiss league, etc., and don't speak the local language.
#3, the issue with Toronto (and other Canadian cities) is taxes. Players take home FAR less than they would in the USA by playing in Canada.
Good reply. So here are my points.
1. I am not so sure about us being on the same footing. When we have played we used to get our butts kicked on the regular. Now I don't pay attention to the MLS as much as other sports and I know that we have gotten better, but I don't know if there is parity yet. Maybe you are right on this point. However the very fear of it will matter because by and large people in America and Canada think Mexico is dangerous.
2. Many foreign players speak English in Europe. So Luka Doncic can speak just fine, just like many European players. We Americans are a monolingual society so if they don't speak English it will be harder for them. The difference is that Europe as a whole speaks significantly more English because it already is a de-facto universal language for them. Mexicans speak English at a rate of ~13%. This represents a much larger cultural barrier since the sports media would really need to be bilingual to be effective.
3. Money definitely is a problem with Canada. However in Mexico just because you would make a killing in Peso's isn't a guarantee. People still want to like where they live. I don't know if players will like living in Mexico if they aren't willing to tolerate Toronto.
1) Presumably, by 'pro sports' you mean NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL.
2) 'ever'? No one knows. In the next couple of decades, it would seem exceedingly unlikely. But half a century is an eternity. In 1969 - fifty years ago - surely the thought of places like Nashville and Tampa having NHL teams seemed ludicrous. A hundred years? There is no way to even predict such a thing.
3) I would expect to see expansion to London before Mexico City. Fewer cultural barriers to induce players to play there, plus there's a lot more money in the UK than in Mexico (and disposable income for targeted advertising is everything). The only disadvantage there would be the time zone difference. That would be less of a problem in the NFL, with its once/week games.
4) I once read an alternate history in which the United States had annexed Cuba after the Spanish-American War, eventually leading to statehood. In the 1980s, Steinbrenner move the Yankess to Havana.
Note:
Oooops, I see you include MLS. That's a whole different ... uh... 'ballgame'.
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