AC St. Louis, anyone?

[dmiles2186]

Yeah, I know, I know...some of you hate soccer. Get out of the thread, please.

Now that St. Lou has its first professional soccer team in awhile, will any of you support it? I most definitely will, though I live 2 hours away, so it'll be hard to keep up with them game in and game out since they aren't an MLS team. But I plan to go to a few games if possible. And this seems a good sign to me; AC St. Louis already has 10,000 fans on St. Louis and its not even a top level team. Hopefully that will translate to an MLS club sooner rather than later, since Don Garber has failed in his assurance that St. Louis would get a team.

[DaDitka]

Yeah, I know, I know...some of you hate soccer. Get out of the thread, please.

Now that St. Lou has its first professional soccer team in awhile, will any of you support it? I most definitely will, though I live 2 hours away, so it'll be hard to keep up with them game in and game out since they aren't an MLS team. But I plan to go to a few games if possible. And this seems a good sign to me; AC St. Louis already has 10,000 fans on St. Louis and its not even a top level team. Hopefully that will translate to an MLS club sooner rather than later, since Don Garber has failed in his assurance that St. Louis would get a team.

Hell, I'll take soccer over basketball any day and I'm getting (at times) to where I enjoy watching it more than baseball, that said......the biggest factor here will be how much media coverage the team gets. If the post and the local news casts don't give it enough coverage (not a ton, but as much as the Grizzlies and the Rascals) they’ve got no chance.

[dmiles2186]

That's true--it will be interesting to see just how much coverage they do get. The women's team, the Athletica, got marginal-to-decent coverage last year and they are in the top tier women's league in the US. The NASL is a second tier league, but already there's a lot of buzz around the team. Soccer Park is where they will play, and it sounds like they are going to try to add seats to make it hold 10k, and ownership says it plans to sell out every game.

[Prngr44]

I'll only watch if Daryl Doran, Jeff Cacciatore, Slobo Ilijevski, Don Ebert, and Tony Glavin are playing.


*** I had no clue we were getting an MLS team. Where the heck are they going to play? Were they here last year??

[dmiles2186]

I'll only watch if Daryl Doran, Jeff Cacciatore, Slobo Ilijevski, Don Ebert, and Tony Glavin are playing.


*** I had no clue we were getting an MLS team. Where the heck are they going to play? Were they here last year??

They aren't going to get an MLS team, not at this juncture. But they had been trying for 3-4 years, and MLS commish Garber said, "It's not a matter of if St. Louis gets a team, but when..."

That was before they got passed up by Seattle, Philly, Vancouver, and Portland for MLS teams. So Cooper and his ownership decided to start this team and pull in some teams from USL-1 to form the new league, NASL. They will play at Soccer Park. I think the ultimate goal is to prove that St. Louis is too big for the smaller leagues (Vancouver and Portland both had teams in USL-1 that got the call up to MLS, and they will start there in the next few years), and earn their spot in MLS.

So we'll see...

[big d note]

I'll only watch if Daryl Doran, Jeff Cacciatore, Slobo Ilijevski, Don Ebert, and Tony Glavin are playing.


*** I had no clue we were getting an MLS team. Where the heck are they going to play? Were they here last year??

Didn't Slobo die about a year ago? You want a zombie in goal?

[glen a richter]

european football blows.

[dmiles2186]

Thoughts on the crest? I like it. Simple, yet stands out.

Oh, and you blow, glen.

[sseagle]

The logo is kind of cool... I've been watching a lot of soccer since there isn't anything but basketball on now.

[dmiles2186]

They signed Steve Ralston, former member of the New England Revolution and the US Men's National Team. HUGE signing. He's a player/asst. coach.

[Nyghtewynd]

I'm probably going to buy tickets. I went to a few Athletica games last year, and it's about time we had a higher-level mens' side.

[F Keenan]

I am so pumped for the season to start. Hopefully this will help our MLS chances.

[dmiles2186]

Went to the inaugural home opener last night. It was such a fun time. Definitely recommend any soccer fans to go.

[DaDitka]

Went to the inaugural home opener last night. It was such a fun time. Definitely recommend any soccer fans to go.

How was the attendance?

[dmiles2186]

Went to the inaugural home opener last night. It was such a fun time. Definitely recommend any soccer fans to go.

How was the attendance?

Sold out. 5,695 were there. Here's a video with the first ever goal, you can see the crowd size and the atmosphere.

[strocklen083]

My neighbor is part of a supports club. They get together and drink for a few hours before each game. He tried to get me to go on Saturday, but I already had other plans. Def plan on going in the future. He said they had a great crowd and lots of fun.

The only way we get an MLS team is to support these guys!

[DaDitka]

Looks like a great time. I'll make sure and make a game or two.

[dmiles2186]

The only way we get an MLS team is to support these guys!

That's the key. We have to show up for games that aren't the home opener. One sellout is great, we need to sellout those random games in mid-season, regardless of how the team is performing. I was really impressed and even surprised at the size of the crowd on Saturday. I live 2 hours away, so can't go all the time, but will try to make it to a few more this summer.

[dmiles2186]

Well...AC is dead. All hail AC.

Reports are that the GM phoned his players and said they would not be in operation in 2011. Two St. Louis teams fold within 6 months. Unbelievable.

[dmiles2186]

And right after I posted that, AC posted a message on Facebook.

"AC St. Louis would like to state that despite unsubstantiated reports to the contray the club has yet to make any final decisions with respect to their participation in the upcoming 2011 season. These reports apparently stem form the club’s decision to not renew club options in the contracts of some players."