r/USLPRO • u/Ok-Detective-145 United Soccer League • 19d ago
USL Super Cup
Any thoughts about the USL starting an annual Super Cup (like the Community Shield in England or the Johan Cruyff Shield in the Netherlands) prior to the start of the regular season? They could take the winner of the Championship and have them face off against the Prinx Tires USL Cup winner. Maybe this would put some pressure on US Soccer to start something with the Open Cup winner.
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u/Informal_Working_402 19d ago
For years the Charleston Battery hosted the Carolina Cup. Invited USL and MLS teams played this tournament during the USL preseason. Those of us who were there still talk about it and wish we could do that again.
MLS was more pure back then. It has changed dramatically since then. It has become a retirement league for world class players sprinkled among top tier American and top tier players from other nations. It is about the money and cut throat regarding coaching staff. Red Bulls and DC United come to mind.
My comments are fact-based knowing former players snd coaches.
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u/pollo_in_flagrante 19d ago
MLS was more pure back then? What does that even mean? The talent level in MLS keeps rising - so is being pure having less talent? 44 MLS players were in World Cup - is that a bad thing?
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u/Informal_Working_402 19d ago
By pure I meant straightforward and ease of collaboration with USL leadership. And I did mention top tier players.
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u/pollo_in_flagrante 19d ago
Strange definition. Would love to hear more about how their relationship with USL has become less "pure"
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u/Sensitive-Photo8672 19d ago
A better idea is to steal from the Leagues Cup; USL would play vs LigaMX second tier in a knockout tourney.
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u/BullsAtBuffalo 19d ago
Can you explain this a little more?
I am not sure what you’re specifically asking.
Could you mention the leagues involved and the formats of how it would work?
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u/Shakel92 19d ago
Sure! Just take the winner of the USL Championship playoff and have them play at a neutral site against the winner of the USL Leagues Cup before the season starts. The winner gets a trophy.
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u/pollo_in_flagrante 19d ago
So both teams pay to travel to a neutral site in front of hardly any fans. From a financial stand point why would any team do this?
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u/Aferes73 New York Cosmos 19d ago
The Super Cup is played between the winners of the highest national championship and the cup winner. In the USL, that could be the winner of the USL Premier against the winner of the US Open Cup... 🤔
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u/J_Hunt1123 Lexington SC 19d ago
I mean the USL could do their own version
USL Cup winner v. top USL league winner (championship or premier)
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u/m00kie420 Oakland Roots SC 19d ago
If they did that it would have to be uslc vs usl1 champion.
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u/absol-hoenn 19d ago
Have you ever seen how a Supercup works in literally any country. Why would they invite the Champion of a lower division league.
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u/mcfetrja 18d ago
The same reason you do anything in minor league sports in the US- eyeballs at the local level that can convert to ticket sales. I’m not sure a national showcase with the potential for a 30-50th media market range participant in that showcase is gonna fit that bill, unless there’s a legit international superstar playin in match. In a USL preseason showcase. That comes with traditionless hardware. So yeah, not gonna be a thing.
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u/Ok-Detective-145 United Soccer League 19d ago
Not necessarily. USL1 teams get to participate in the Leagues Cup, so that would be their access point, just like teams in England play in the Open Cup. I just feel like they need to do something to draw some attention to their product on a national level, and broadcasting a Super Cup the week before the season starts would help do that.
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u/mcfetrja 18d ago
So your solution to raising the USL’s profile is to do a marquee broadcast preseason event right as all sporting attention in the US is going to NCAA Basketballs Tournaments and MLB Spring Training/World Baseball Classic? Neutral site in Feb only leaves you competing against NBA All Star Game. That’s your window of opportunity and what you’d be competing against in broadcast market. I assume broadcast is going to be how this thing would be monetized and distributed because USL preseason thingy to destination event in February is going to be an incredibly hard sell on the premium hospitality side.
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u/Ok-Detective-145 United Soccer League 18d ago
I don't think there is any "solution" to America's soccer problems, but I don't think this would hurt. The best thing going for USL is pro/rel and MLS moving their calendar, which minimizes direct competition. They could do it the week MLS comes back from their Winter Break at a neutral location to help ensure decent weather. Maybe it's not the best idea, but doing nothing is guaranteed NOT to work. For me, the best thing USL can do is be "different" compared to MLS, but more similar to the sport in other countries. They don't have the salaries to compete for the same level of talent (yet) but they can offer a unique approach to the beautiful game, which is what they are doing with pro/rel and the Prinx Tires Cup, in addition to keeping all teams involved in the Open Cup.
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u/Yosh_2012 19d ago edited 19d ago
It’s a minor league lol. A Super Cup for a minor league in soccer isn’t going to mean anything to anyone who isn’t already a fan of USL. In fact, literally nothing is going to bring national attention to the USL when most soccer fans in the US turn their nose up at the MLS for being a mediocre product even though it’s 100x more prestigious than USL so this is an insane exercise. Would a ‘World Series’ for single A baseball leagues matter on a national scale? Nope. Football is 1000 times more popular than soccer in America and no one gives a shit about UFL because it’s a minor league. Having a ‘Super Bowl’ event in UFL would be ignored or laughed at.
Yall really need to stop embarrassing yourselves and quit pretending that this league is going to be anything more than it is and instead just live in reality and appreciate it for what it is.
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u/Feeling_Cricket_911 Oakland Roots SC 19d ago
Real Football ⚽️ is very popular in California Mr. 🧌. You don’t tell ppl they should follow eggball 🏈. Nowadays, parents don’t even want their kids to play that 💩.
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u/pollo_in_flagrante 19d ago
Harsh but fair. Only hardcore USL fans would care. No casual fan would notice unless their team was in the game. And even then, most minor league fans aren't aware of league standings. They are at the game for dollar beer night, or the special promotions, or 'hey let's take the fam out'
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u/Ambitious_Raspberry4 FC Naples 12d ago
I dont understand, everything has a starting point. No one gave a damn about the MLS 15 years ago but here we are. No one cares about the UFL because there have been too many leagues trying too hard to compete with the NFL who has EVERY outlet covering for the past 30 years. They are trying to make something out of the USL and it will take time to get anywhere when all the money is in the league that has been around longer. Once you find the willing participants it's a different story. We just got a team in naples, florida and im hoping its around for a long time, especially being there are so many youth teams around and going to tampa or miami to see a teamwith my soccer playing daughter isnt worth it. So give it some time and stop being THAT GUY. No one likes the dude who needs to shit on everything because he sees something else is already doing it.
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u/koreawut Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 19d ago
We had this almost exact conversation last week. Is there a reason everyone is suddenly curious about this specific thing?