/rant mode on 

I’m in a foul mood this morning.  Maybe it is because I just spend two hours fixing permalinks.  Or it could be that I have been sick for a week. To be honest, it is because I don’t want a team in Florida.

I read a Miami Herald article last night that just got to me.  It started with the news that Miami might be approving $100 million to build a soccer-specific stadium to lure Major League Soccer back to the Sunshine State and how great this was for the soccer-loving Latinos.  So far I do not have an issue with any of this.  I would be excited too if New York City was building a stadium.

What kills me about Miami, and Florida in general, is that they have failed to support the MLS before.  And the Miami Herald article ends pretty much saying thatthis will not end well:

The challenge would be convincing the area’s knowledgeable soccer aficionados to support a local team as ardently as they support teams in their home countries. Truth is, a large percentage of soccer fans in South Florida would rather spend an afternoon watching a televised European or South American match than watching MLS live. And that is a mentality MLS would have to change.

It is the same challenge the Fusion faced, and then-owner Ken Horowitz had the added obstacle of trying to draw Miami fans to Lockhart Stadium in north Fort Lauderdale after his Orange Bowl deal fell through. In their final season (2001), they drew an average crowd of 11,177 and coach Ray Hudson had created an exciting brand of soccer.

Miami FC, the United Soccer Leagues team in town, has also had trouble drawing crowds and is exploring ways to increase visibility in the area, including building a multifield training facility that could be used by visiting international teams.

Could MLS work at the Orange Bowl site? Nobody knows for sure. But it sure would be fun to try again.

“Try again”?  Is not the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? 

I do not begrudge a city with the resources and fanbase to support professional soccer.  Philadelphia, St. Louis, Portland, Vancouver and even Montreal have supporters that love soccer.  Miami has failed before and the Miami Herald writer is basically saying it will fail again.

Do you think that previous Floridian franchises, Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny, did not try to market thier teams to EPL fans and other soccer supporters?  Even now the local USL team is struggling.  Why should the MLS do something different?  Should not Florida fans want American soccer?

People will say this time will be different, but look at the 2007 average attendance of Florida sport teams:

Tampa Bay Devil Rays… MLB: 29 out of 30 teams
Florida Marlins… MLB: 30 out of 30 teams
Miami Heat… NBA: 5 out of 30 teams
Orlando Magic… NBA: 18 out of 30 teams
Tampa Bay Lightning… NHL: 3 out of 30 teams
Florida Panthers… NHL: 18 out of 30 teams
Miami Dolphins… NFL: 9 out of 32 teams
Tampa Bay Bucs… NFL: 22 out of 32 teams
Jacksonville Jags…. NFL: 23 out of 32 teams

Out of the nine teams, only the Tamp Bay Lightning, Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins could be considered a finanical success.  Let’s take a closer look at the Heat.  They have been successful for the last few years and have done well in the box office with repeated Top 10’s in attendance.  But look at recent seasons that have not been as successful:
  
2002-03     25-57    22 out of 30 teams
2003-04     42-40    24 out of 30 teams

Tampa Bay Lightning’s attendance also showed similar drops during losing seasons.  Some will say that many cities will only support a winning team, but how does Miami explain the Dolphins who are always Top 10 in NFL attendance, even this year when they just won they first game of the season.  This is because Miami is football-first when it comes to sports.  There is no diversity among the fanbase unless a team in another sport is winning.

The fact is that any new MLS franchise is going to bomb their first few years until they build up their talent base.  We already know that a team like this will not be supported in Miami.  What if a Miami team is never successful?  How many times does the MLS have to leave Florida to figure out that it will not work?

/rant mode off

Thanks for listening… it felt good to get that off my chest.

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