WTF?

In North America, we often think as one people. FIFA has smartly not forced the national association/federation rules on Canadian clubs because they and their fans identify more with the United States. TFC has been a god send to MLS. Everything Seattle has been and more. Vancouver will be amazing when they come up to MLS.

Now USL has announced they are opening a Canadian office to compliment league HQ in Tampa. That’s because USL has so many teams in Canada within its member leagues.

Kartik, Joey Clams and others who make arguments about the Wales situation being different, and Luxembourg, etc are ignoring the reality of the culture in North America.

Why is it Canadian citizens go through the same passport lines as Americans at the airports while all foreigners go through another one? We are in spirit, one nation.

Furthermore, I don’t like the code Kartik is using here. Clearly he was trying to set off some degree of jingoistic fervor by Americans whom he hoped would respond “yeah, Montreal and Vancouver, deal with your own federation and form your own league.” His further explanation just above makes his agenda perfectly clear.

Once USL sets up its Canadian office and the two current USL-1 teams move to MLS, you need to give up this fight.

Nobody even tries to hide the appearance that Canadian clubs are governed by the USSF anymore. The fact is that the management of both Vancouver and Montreal went to New York to meet with the USSF at MLS HQ (another interesting issue: why is the federation holding meetings in the league’s HQ instead of its own?).

Anyway, the USSF/MLS interference in this USL mess seems to have been helpful but I am still struck that nobody appears to have consulted or involved the CSA in these negotiations that involve two teams that must be governed by the CSA because they participate in the Canadian Cup, and in Montreal’s case they represented Canada, not USL or the US in the CONCACAF Champions League last year.

It’s a matter of procedure. We know the answer- the CSA is impotent and irrelevant and so the Canadian clubs seeking a solution to a dispute with the league have asked the USSF to intervene. But it does appear to be a violation of protocol.

He moves so quickly from “a classic match” to flame-baiting that one’s neck could snap from the whiplash. Kartik, if you want to talk diving, there’s this team called the Columbus Crew? They won the trophy that you really prefer to think of as the one of highest value? No comment on the synchronized flops that would have you believe one Seattle player could control the ball while simultaneously tripping two opposing players?

And funny he didn’t turn on New England, who not only plays on turf but has owners who don’t care about removing the NFL lines and logos when another sport is being played at their stadium.

Gotta go. My wife is screaming over an NPR report that claims that New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are part of New England.

Seattle still doesn’t get much written aboutit for what it is accomplishing. It is what the league needs to accomplish, get the average Joe to be a huge soccer fan.
Sure there were only 36,000 fans at the game last night, but that was just because most couldn’t get tickets. The next round if in Seattle will be a real sell out ( 67k ).
I would like to see the amount of merchandise revenue, TV and radio revenue. The sport is huge here. Everyone is sporting Sounders gear, I mean everyone. The guy sitting next to me, baseball guy, Yankee fan, watched the Sounders last night instead of the World Series.
To the guy that called Don the Gerbil an idiot, I don’t disagree, but they should hold the MLS Cup in Seattle every year. Get used to fake grass, unless global warming speeds up it will be raining in Seattle, and unless hell freezes over, the Seahawks and Sounders will be sharing a sold-out stadium.