Unequaled heights of profit and international television ratings?

What brand of English was he using to articulate his point?

He could have just said people are mean now and fans think they know more than the people paid to play, coach, ref a game. These people think their opinion is the most important one and have learned to hate the teams they say they support - oh, and everyone thinks there is conspiracy.

Hands down the most successful sports product in world history?

Unlikely!

p the boiler: What brand of English was he using to articulate his point?

He could have just said people are mean now and fans think they know more than the people paid to play, coach, ref a game. These people think their opinion is the most important one and have learned to hate the teams they say they support - oh, and everyone thinks there is conspiracy.

Yeah. How dare he not dumb down his writing. Doesn't he know people in America might be reading this stuff?

What they need is a Christian player who fascinates the media and draws new fans into the league which make the old fans hate both the player and his loudmouth, know-nothing, n00b supporters.

Lifeless: Unequaled heights of profit and international television ratings?

Done in one.

RalphW: p the boiler: What brand of English was he using to articulate his point?

He could have just said people are mean now and fans think they know more than the people paid to play, coach, ref a game. These people think their opinion is the most important one and have learned to hate the teams they say they support - oh, and everyone thinks there is conspiracy.

Yeah. How dare he not dumb down his writing. Doesn't he know people in America might be reading this stuff?

exactly! USA USA USA

Marcus Aurelius: Endless commercial breaks? That's hard to do with European football. Maybe a split screen, with the game on one side and the commercials on the other...

At least we'd have something to watch.

European football has become an arms race between a select few teams with owners who don't care about operating at a loss year after year. The fair play initiative is well intentioned but I don't see it solving the problem. The EPL is more like MLB than the NFL. Frankly the NFL is competitive and exciting becuz sochulism.

Can't believe I'm the first to note... the Premiere League? Do they hold events in a cinema? Do they only play rookies?

is thread about those primadonnas in the EPL, or comparing football to throwball?

And EPL tickets are reasonable compared to NFL tickets. Just wait until more NFL owners get a hold of teams and ruin the league.

/and Saudi oil billionaires.

I don't get it. It sounds from the article like the problem is money in general, not just American money as the picture suggests. Or am I to believe that American money=bad and russian/saudi money=good?

Overpaid athletes may be an American invention, but we no longer own the rights.

Red fury: Liverpool fans vent their feelings towards their American owners

I'm fairly sure that picture is about the old American owners. Liverpool fans are pretty happy about the new American owner.

They will pop up like angry meerkats accusing the official responsible of everything from blindness, through incompetence, to being part of widespread collusion to do down their club.

That's almost every sport everywhere ever. Also there should be more meerkats at sporting events. That would be super adorable.

It's America's fault that fanatical sports fans often behave like assholes? I did not read the entire FA, but from what I did that was all I got...

Rapmaster2000: What they need is a Christian player who fascinates the media and draws new fans into the league which make the old fans hate both the player and his loudmouth, know-nothing, n00b supporters.

Christian Viera?

Langston: TheKnownUniverse: That's almost every sport everywhere ever. Also there should be more meerkats at sporting events. That would be super adorable.

Arsenal already has one:
[qoo6.com image 320x240]
/also stands around a lot

Hakuna matata!

Homer Nixon: European football has become an arms race between a select few teams with owners who don't care about operating at a loss year after year. The fair play initiative is well intentioned but I don't see it solving the problem. The EPL is more like MLB than the NFL. Frankly the NFL is competitive and exciting becuz sochulism.

THIS

Compare the EPL with U.S. sports leagues:

Last 10 completed seasons:

MLB - 8 different champs - 13 different pennant winners
NFL - 7 champs and 14 Super Bowl participants
NBA - 6 and 9
NHL - 9 and 14
EPL - 3 and 4

As an American, I made a resolution to pick a EPL team and follow them this season. I gave up after a couple of months. The lack of parity is worse than anything the MLB could ever dream of. The shameless mercenary attitude of the players make LeBron look like Robin Yount or Ray Bourque. There's just a very corporate and soulless culture that permeates the entire league that I just found very un-alluring.

I'm still committed to a greater understanding and appreciation of the game, but I just find myself more drawn towards Bundesliga, or even MLS, matches. I fully recognize all my criticisms could equally apply to any of the major American sporting leagues, but at least I grew up around those and can still wrap myself in the cocoon to nostalgia to delude myself otherwise.

BloodySaxon: Marcus Aurelius: Endless commercial breaks? That's hard to do with European football. Maybe a split screen, with the game on one side and the commercials on the other...

At least we'd have something to watch.

oh look, mommy finally let timmy back on the computer so he can troll again.

Homer Nixon: European football has become an arms race between a select few teams with owners who don't care about operating at a loss year after year. The fair play initiative is well intentioned but I don't see it solving the problem. The EPL is more like MLB than the NFL. Frankly the NFL is competitive and exciting becuz sochulism.

Obama is that you?

AliceBToklasLives: THIS

Compare the EPL with U.S. sports leagues:

Last 10 completed seasons:

MLB - 8 different champs - 13 different pennant winners
NFL - 7 champs and 14 Super Bowl participants
NBA - 6 and 9
NHL - 9 and 14
EPL - 3 and 4

American sports have a bigger range of champions because of the randomness of playoffs. If we, as a nation, decided that the team who won the most games over six months instead of 3 weeks was the best, there'd be far fewer champs. Baseball would pretty much be the Yankees, Angels, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies. Football would be the Patriots, Colts, and not much else.

Playoffs exist so the 10th best team can have the same shot at a title as the 1st best team. Even though they just played six months to figure out who the 1st best team was. It's kinda stupid when you think about it.

Homer Nixon: European football has become an arms race between a select few teams with owners who don't care about operating at a loss year after year. The fair play initiative is well intentioned but I don't see it solving the problem. The EPL is more like MLB than the NFL. Frankly the NFL is competitive and exciting becuz sochulism.

The NFL is exciting because of rotating schedules, non-guaranteed contracts, and their playoff structure. The socialism allows there to still be a viable football team in Buffalo, NY and Green Bay, WI.

Daniels: Homer Nixon: European football has become an arms race between a select few teams with owners who don't care about operating at a loss year after year. The fair play initiative is well intentioned but I don't see it solving the problem. The EPL is more like MLB than the NFL. Frankly the NFL is competitive and exciting becuz sochulism.

The NFL is exciting because of rotating schedules, non-guaranteed contracts, and their playoff structure. The socialism allows there to still be a viable football team in Buffalo, NY and Green Bay, WI.

I think Jacksonville missed that memo.

Daniels: AliceBToklasLives: THIS

Compare the EPL with U.S. sports leagues:

Last 10 completed seasons:

MLB - 8 different champs - 13 different pennant winners
NFL - 7 champs and 14 Super Bowl participants
NBA - 6 and 9
NHL - 9 and 14
EPL - 3 and 4

American sports have a bigger range of champions because of the randomness of playoffs. If we, as a nation, decided that the team who won the most games over six months instead of 3 weeks was the best, there'd be far fewer champs. Baseball would pretty much be the Yankees, Angels, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies. Football would be the Patriots, Colts, and not much else.

Playoffs exist so the 10th best team can have the same shot at a title as the 1st best team. Even though they just played six months to figure out who the 1st best team was. It's kinda stupid when you think about it.

Let's see...

Regular Season Champions (last 10 awarded):
NHL - 7 teams in 10 years
NFL - 8 teams (including a 3-way tie in 2002)
NBA - 9 teams

Didn't get to MLB due to time.

NFL - 8 teams (including a 3-way tie in 2002)

I am relatively comfortable in saying that if 2002-2010 Colts didn't concede the last two or three weeks of every season they'd have 13-14 wins more often than not.

Daniels: AliceBToklasLives: THIS

Compare the EPL with U.S. sports leagues:

Last 10 completed seasons:

MLB - 8 different champs - 13 different pennant winners
NFL - 7 champs and 14 Super Bowl participants
NBA - 6 and 9
NHL - 9 and 14
EPL - 3 and 4

American sports have a bigger range of champions because of the randomness of playoffs. If we, as a nation, decided that the team who won the most games over six months instead of 3 weeks was the best, there'd be far fewer champs. Baseball would pretty much be the Yankees, Angels, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies. Football would be the Patriots, Colts, and not much else.

Playoffs exist so the 10th best team can have the same shot at a title as the 1st best team. Even though they just played six months to figure out who the 1st best team was. It's kinda stupid when you think about it.

Playoffs exist so teams make more $$$$$ and, more importantly, to keep fans of that #10 team interested.

/+ there are a million and one soccer "playoffs" at club and national levels.
//That said, why not draw a distinction between the "champion" and the "best team"? If, say, the Giants win the Super Bowl, I'm still comfortably saying they were the not best team this year. But they would still be the champions.

Kurohone: Daniels: AliceBToklasLives: THIS

Compare the EPL with U.S. sports leagues:

Last 10 completed seasons:

MLB - 8 different champs - 13 different pennant winners
NFL - 7 champs and 14 Super Bowl participants
NBA - 6 and 9
NHL - 9 and 14
EPL - 3 and 4

American sports have a bigger range of champions because of the randomness of playoffs. If we, as a nation, decided that the team who won the most games over six months instead of 3 weeks was the best, there'd be far fewer champs. Baseball would pretty much be the Yankees, Angels, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies. Football would be the Patriots, Colts, and not much else.

Playoffs exist so the 10th best team can have the same shot at a title as the 1st best team. Even though they just played six months to figure out who the 1st best team was. It's kinda stupid when you think about it.

Let's see...

Regular Season Champions (last 10 awarded):
NHL - 7 teams in 10 years
NFL - 8 teams (including a 3-way tie in 2002)
NBA - 9 teams

Didn't get to MLB due to time.

MLB 8 Teams (Phillies, Yankees, Angels, Indians, Cards, Braves, Mets and A's).

The EPL is just the easiest way for a billionaire foreigner to buy an trophy. Which is REALLY stupid when you think about it.

sloughtown4ever: As a life long (25 years) Man United supporter, who used to love the game, the article is spot on. I watch the game, but I don't love it any more. It's now just something that's on for two hours I'll watch, be partially interested in then forget about an hour later

You might prefer FC United of Manchester (new window). It's a small, fan-owned, community-oriented team formed by Man United fans who left following Malcolm Glazer's extremely cynical and nasty takeover of Manchester United.

They're the only English team I genuinely like and admire, though I do have a tiny wee soft spot for Liverpool for some reason. Perhaps because they also sing YNWA.

yelmrog: BloodySaxon: Marcus Aurelius: Endless commercial breaks? That's hard to do with European football. Maybe a split screen, with the game on one side and the commercials on the other...

At least we'd have something to watch.

oh look, mommy finally let timmy back on the computer so he can troll again.

Why are Timmy's trolling habits topical? Do you think his grounding was justified?

Hey, even this mystery is more interesting than soccer!

Marcus Aurelius: Endless commercial breaks? That's hard to do with European football. Maybe a split screen, with the game on one side and the commercials on the other...

Please don't. In Spain they already cut to picture in picture advertising. Very annoying.

I'm not sure about going the way of the NFL, but the love has gone from the game. People only care about results now, not their team. The abuse some of the manager get is nauseating. the fans must know that the manager wants the same as tehy do - success, but the feel if he loses three games on the trot they have the right to call him a c*nt and demand he lose his job.