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urbanassassin99 t1_is6fj28 wrote

Reply to comment by MisterAlaska in “I think Philly will burn down if there’s two championships in the same year,” Rob Dunphy said. by LoisLane04

Genuinely curious, why does it seem like Philly just doesn’t like the Union? They are a great team and doing really well. Is it just soccer?

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Trafficsigntruther t1_is6k5gz wrote

A combination of the Union being founded the same time the Phillies were really good, stadium outside the city and AFAIK, they missed having an older, big name from overseas to garner interest during MLS 2.0

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MisterAlaska t1_is6gowh wrote

I think for many people it's a lack of interest in soccer probably combined with the team being in Chester. I'm a lifelong soccer fan and I think I'd support them if they were in Philly proper. I've lived in the city since 2011 and I've been to one Union game when offered a chance to be in a box for free through my job. The bigger issue for me and other diehard soccer fans in my orbit is that the quality of play in the MLS is bad. I'll watch them on TV when I remember, or when they're in a big game, but I don't really enjoy it. I follow the Premier League instead, plus some other European leagues and the bigger tournaments (World Cup, Euros, etc).

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DlnnerTable t1_is6i24a wrote

MLS isn’t as bad as it used to be. The union actually play proper soccer. This isn’t 2010 anymore. Sure the EPL is much higher quality, but we’ll never get there without support for our league. Without support we don’t have money, and without money we can’t build a stadium in Philly…

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MisterAlaska t1_is6ik13 wrote

All fair points but I don’t enjoy lower level soccer and will stick with following the EPL.

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BananaSquid721 t1_is6vdvl wrote

MLS isn’t “low level” it’s arguably top ten leagues in the world and growing quite a bit

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MisterAlaska t1_is6zfca wrote

I disagree it’s a top ten league. The winner of the MLS would get smoked in the Europa League, Europe’s second tier club tournament. The MLS all-star team would fight to not get demoted in the EPL. Sure it’s better than it was in 2011, but it’s not high level soccer for me. I want to watch the world’s best, which I do when I watch EPL, La Liga, Serie A, or the Bundesliga. I applaud anyone who supports the Union and I wish the MLS interested me more but it doesn’t. It’s okay, everyone!

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Nesvik t1_is70wek wrote

Its alright if its not for you. But MLS is better than you think. Philadelphia Union is the highest rankin g MLS club in world club rankings and ranks among several bundesliga and EPL teams! We may not be where you want, but we are much closer than before.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/global-club-rankings/

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MisterAlaska t1_is74bkt wrote

This list you sent has the Union, the highest-ranked team in the MLS, ranked 8 spots behind Norwich, who finished dead last in the EPL last year with 5 wins, 7 draws, and 26 losses, plus a goal differential of -61.

I'm not denying the MLS is better than it was ten years ago. I'm not dragging anyone for liking it or supporting the Union. I hope it keeps growing and that soccer can be more popular than hockey in this country. I'm saying as someone who grew up playing high-level soccer and was in the Olympic Developmental Program as a kid, who watched a lot of Serie A with his Italian grandfather in the 90s, who has closely followed every World Cup since 1990 and went to a game in 1994, who has traveled to England to see the Premier League in person, that I don't enjoy the quality of play in the MLS and I don't enjoy watching it. The first touches, the quality of passes and crosses, the marking, the runs in the MLS, basically everything, are not to a standard that I find enjoyable.

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BananaSquid721 t1_is72fk3 wrote

“Demoted” tells me all I need to know about your football knowledge

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MisterAlaska t1_is75hdp wrote

We're on the Philly subreddit. Notice I'm calling it soccer, too. I know what relegation is.

code-switch·ing

noun

the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.

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