Gotta get Chicago here first and they fly commercial. Apparently, there is a League rule against chartering planes, so they’re at the mercy of United, etc. And there is no guarantee that Monday will be any better. They need to decide pretty quickly.
NCFC MLS bid/General Soccer Bizzo
- Thread starter Paulie Walnuts
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Gotta get Chicago here first and they fly commercial. Apparently, there is a League rule against chartering planes, so they’re at the mercy of United, etc. And there is no guarantee that Monday will be any better. They need to decide pretty quickly.
Paulie Walnuts
Well-known member
the league is forcing the Courage to lose a home playoff game and play the 1st round in Portland tuesday . Don't blame the owner for being ticked off.
I don't see the problem with playing here Tues. , the storm will be well past by then. And yes I know the other team has to travel in.
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article218394520.html
I don't see the problem with playing here Tues. , the storm will be well past by then. And yes I know the other team has to travel in.
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article218394520.html
Yeah. Problem being, when exactly can you confidently make that call? Sunday is by no means a given in terms of RDU's operational status, and I'm sure the league has rules about how long ahead time you're required to have the opponent in the host city. I seriously doubt that leaving everything in the air until 24 hours before game time is an option that both clubs want to deal with. It's not great any way you slice it, and I'm sure that everyone at NCFC and the Courage wish things were different and that they got to participate more fully in the decision ... but it must be remembered that the NWSL barely qualifies as a "professional organization" and they're not exactly bursting at the seams with high quality professional staff. Somebody made the safe call. Fair to 'em.
Paulie Walnuts
Well-known member
I would think if they wanted to they could allow a charter plane, just waive the rule. Then the issue is the cost.
Also they could just push both rounds back a week unless there is some really good reason not to do that.
Also they could just push both rounds back a week unless there is some really good reason not to do that.
Again ... the league office is small and not very professional. You're asking them to waive several league rules on the fly. That's simply not how things work in the real world. In the real world, the crappy league does the easiest and safest thing and shifts the venue. It's not a great solution, but I'd wager it's the only realistic one available. Just be glad they won't be playing the game in a parking lot somewhere.
Because the NWSL is inept and didn’t make a venue decision until it was too late. And there are only a few NWSL clubs that control their own venue. The championship game is in Portland next week, so the idea was that winner of the semifinal wouldn’t have to travel on a short week.
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They and all the colleges made decisions early. NWSL hemmed and hawed before making a decision, giving the teams short notice to get to Portland. Had they decided early in the week to move it to Sunday or Monday in Cary, Chicago could have gotten here before airlines started cancelling or after the storm passed.
Inept. This cannot be over-stated. Only media actually in NWSL markets seems to get this. Everybody else just seems to assume that because it's a professional league filled with players everyone has heard of that it's run like the NFL or something. Nope.
Paulie Walnuts
Well-known member
courage won 2-0 so they move on to the finals this weekend vs. Portland who gets to play at home
A rematch of last year’s final in Orlando and the 3rd year in a row (sort of) that the clubs have met in the playoffs. The Western New York Flash beat the Thorns in the 1st round of the 2016 playoffs.
As for the location, the NWSL stadiums with enough seats to host the championship are Portland, Orlando, Houston, Utah and Chicago, even though the last 2 Championship matches have had less than 10,000 attendance. The first 3 on the list have hosted the last 3 championships. I suspect Utah will host next year.
Paulie Walnuts
Well-known member
not a home game but if they want a bigger stadium the Courage could host finals in Charlotte where the Panthers play . I think that stadium is big enough. 
seems silly to want 20k seats when the attendance does not support that.
This is like how the NCAA final 4 refuses to play in NC because of no domed stadium. Instead it goes to BB "hotbeds" of Seattle (in the past), San Antonio, New Orleans, Minnesota, etc.
seems silly to want 20k seats when the attendance does not support that.
This is like how the NCAA final 4 refuses to play in NC because of no domed stadium. Instead it goes to BB "hotbeds" of Seattle (in the past), San Antonio, New Orleans, Minnesota, etc.
not a home game but if they want a bigger stadium the Courage could host finals in Charlotte where the Panthers play . I think that stadium is big enough.
seems silly to want 20k seats when the attendance does not support that.
This is like how the NCAA final 4 refuses to play in NC because of no domed stadium. Instead it goes to BB "hotbeds" of Seattle (in the past), San Antonio, New Orleans, Minnesota, etc.
Apples and oranges. The NCAA plays in domed stadiums because they can and then they fill them, regardless of whether they’re “hotbeds”.
Only 1 NWSL Championship match has drawn over 10,000. The 2015 match in Portland. I still think Utah gets next ear’s Championship, if for no other reason than rescuing the FC Kansas City franchise. If they hadn’t, the League would have has a 2nd team fold before the season.
Paulie Walnuts
Well-known member
you would think the NCAA would care about hotbeds but they are just as corrupt as FIFA, IOC, etc. It's all about the bucks
Again ... the NWSL is a barely functional professional league hanging on by the absolute skin of their teeth. You can't think about anything they do like they are an established, successful league. They aren't. They don't draw well, they aren't well run, only 3 or 4 of the clubs have anything like professional management, they make decisions that make no sense and probably wouldn't exist at all if not for the stipends that the national federations pay to the best players on top of their meager league paychecks. The New Jersey club that Karlie Lloyd plays for sometimes practices on a municipal softball field and the players have to change clothes at home for crying out loud. It is absolutely criminal that the USSF pays so bloody much fealty to MLS and ignores the NWSL so comprehensively, but that's the facts Jack.
So ... it's no use acting like any of that isn't the case or complaining about how second rate the league's decisions are. Welcome to the way things actually are. And no ... it has nothing at all to due with FIFA corruption or any of the other first world problems that plague the men's game. The women's game at the professional level isn't advanced enough for any of that crap to matter. You can't rip off what isn't there in the first place.
So ... it's no use acting like any of that isn't the case or complaining about how second rate the league's decisions are. Welcome to the way things actually are. And no ... it has nothing at all to due with FIFA corruption or any of the other first world problems that plague the men's game. The women's game at the professional level isn't advanced enough for any of that crap to matter. You can't rip off what isn't there in the first place.
The Red Bulls have made several inquiries about taking over Sky Blue and they’ve said no every time. The thing that bothered a lot of supporters this year was the relocation of FC Kansas City to Utah. Kansas City pretends to be a great soccer city, but the owners of Sporting Kansas City wouldn’t engage when it became clear the women’s team was going to fold.
1. The owner of Sky Bly is some politician douche-nozzle. Expecting that toad to act like a human being is a bridge too far. A strong league would wedge him out, but this league? No chance.
2. Ditto KC. A strong, well financed league would have stepped in before that situation became dire and maybe thought about propping up the finances in the short term to save a very good market. But no. I understand that the league exerted exactly zero effort on behalf of that market.
3. Again ... is it HUGELY in USSF's best interests to have a viable professional league in North America to keep our women's program healthier and happier. Do they commit even the most basic level of resources to making that happen (like they did for MLS for DECADES)? Nope. Because, women.
Paulie Walnuts
Well-known member
Blue Sky main owner is governor of NJ , was elected last year. He made a ton of money at Goldman Sachs before retiring in 2006. Like other pro leagues they cannot make him sell the team unless he pulls a Donald Stirling type behavior.
You mean like not providing the medical support staff required but the league? Or providing professional training facilities? Or laundry service? Or paying the players' housing stipends in a timely manner? Or any of the other 100 things that jackass has failed to spend money on in direct violation of league rules? Yeah. All it would take to remove that idiot as owner is a spine and a sternly worded letter.
You can catch up on some stuff with a Goggle search, but some of us have actually been paying attention to this league for years.