You may recall that I was less than jazzed about Seatlle getting an MLS expansion side for more reasons than I feel like recounting right now. Today I'm about 70% o.k. with it. But one of the big reason that I was not down with it was the effect it would have on other USL teams in the area, namely Portland and Vancouver. So when I read this article in today's Vicotoria Times Colonist (which is about the most imperialistic name possible seen for a print publication) I couldn't help but have an I told you so moment.
That's not a good thing by any stretch though; sometimes you hate to be right and this is one of them. Victoria B.C. was deep in the throws of working toward a USL1 club for the island a few months ago. But once Jet City went big time, and Vancouver & MLS started up with a bit of PDA they got shook. Now they only want a minor, minor, minor-league PDL team.
Said Alex Campbell, the businessman behind the push "[USL-1] is a moving target and we need to sit back and see how things unfold. The Seattle Sounders have pulled out and the Vancouver Whitecaps could be looking to do the same in future years. There may not be much left of the USL-1 on the West Coast of North America."
Sad shit y'all. With the California Victory folding after a single season and Seattle having only one season left, Portland and Vancouver's day's may be numbered as well due to eventual financial strain brought on by isolation and the disappearance of a great rivalry. Here's to hoping that the Seattle USL franchise ends up in Tacoma next year.
3 comments:
I've been following the Victory saga and as it stands right now, they are sitting this upcoming season out while the behind the scenes folks figure out the new ownership (since they lost their owners in the middle of last season, they're being especially cautious for round two). USL expects the Victory to be back by 2009. And I hope at Kezar too. Apparently the Lacross team just left for the South Bay because its too cold in San Francisco (no lie).
I don't understand why the USL and MLS can't keep a club/franchise/brand/team in the same area and make them work together. With some level of cooperation one could be the reserve for the other or even schedule matches so that they don't conflict with one another and keep the franchise going.
Drew Carey ruins everything.
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