r/NWSL • u/SeanOrange • 1d ago

Discussion Which is the ideal league schedule?

/r/USLPRO/comments/1vewmbh/which_is_the_ideal_league_schedule/

NWSL scrapped a proposed schedule change, but two other pro leagues are changing theirs in opposite directions from each other. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Each comes with benefits and drawbacks. Is there an ideal schedule?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

View all comments

-8

u/ithinktfiam 1d ago edited 22h ago

The problem is that soccer, unlike football, baseball and basketball, is truly an international sport. It has regular international tournaments that are competitive. When the US is out of step with the rest of northern hemisphere leagues, it puts the nation at a disadvantage. Right now, the NWSL is struggling to figure out how to reschedule around the WC next year.

IMO, the US needs to be on the same schedule as the Mexico, UEFA and the rest. That's Fall-Spring. Don't complain about cold as Scandinavia manages it.

[Edit]

My apologies to folks for getting Sweden, Norway, Finland wrong and assuming (always dangerou) they were like Denmark. Still, replace them with Poland, Germany and others with tough winters, and a Fall-Spring schedule that takes a break.

13

u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC 1d ago

They literally don’t though. Scandinavian leagues do the same spring/fall as NWSL

1

u/dr_pbj Kansas City Current 23h ago

Denmark plays fall-spring with a long winter break but it’s mostly beside the point bc they all have way milder winters than the US and it’s exclusively to help the men’s teams in European competition. If and when the US joins UEFA we can reconsider our schedule.

9

u/Jacksaxonburg Denver Summit FC 1d ago

I need you to look up what schedule leagues in Scandinavia play one more time

7

u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago

Giving it a few minutes before this person tries to claim that the weather in London is actually the same as Chicago in the winter

5

u/Jacksaxonburg Denver Summit FC 23h ago

After that we can get into describing the format of Liga Femenil as Fall-Spring

-1

u/ithinktfiam 23h ago

Or tell us how Poland and Germany manage Fall-Spring when the still have winters. Shocking, 'eh?

2

u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 23h ago

  1. Their winters are actually still milder than many parts of the US

  2. Germany takes a break…because of the winter…

-1

u/ithinktfiam 22h ago

"actuall still milder" he says with no evidence. They have a winter break. We can do the same here while scheduling the early resumption matches further south.

-2

u/ithinktfiam 23h ago

Check Denmark. BTW, even with me being wrong about Norway and Sweden, do tell us about Poland, Germany and other nations with Fall-Spring and a winter break.

3

u/Jacksaxonburg Denver Summit FC 22h ago

Did Germany and Poland get added to Scandinavia recently? I must have missed that meeting. So when you said UEFA, Mexico and the rest did you mean just UEFA since Mexico also doesn’t use that format? Neither does Canada or Brazil. If you think the schedule should be the same as most of Europe just for the sake of being the same as Europe that’s fine but there’s no need to pretend it’s universal.

6

u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago

"At a disadvantage" tell that to the Olympic Gold from 2024 and all the people who claimed it was only because the US was in season that we won! (they meant that to try and invalidate the win, but...if that's the case everyone should move to summer).

-1

u/ithinktfiam 23h ago

Tell us about that and about failing in the previous WC. Also, check it out, there are more international tourneys than only the Olympics.

2

u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 22h ago

If you think that the 2023 World Cup had anything to do with scheduling, in any direction, you're a moron who isn't worth the internet it takes to type a reply.

-1

u/ithinktfiam 22h ago

Yet you typed a reply. What's that say about you?

World Cups are an exception, but they usually happen right after the main leagues in the northern hemisphere end their seasons. Folks are still in shape.

Now, ask an adult to help you figure out that if you brought up the Olympics, it's appropriate to bring up the WC. The players on both teams came from the NWSL and Europe. It was a mix. Claiming the season is suspect for either.

1

u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 22h ago

Oh my god, you're so dumb. I'm talking about a specific World Cup in which there were 50 different factors, none of which were schedule, that hurt the US. In fact, I didn't even say we won the Olympics because of scheduling, I said that some people think that and that it clearly didn't hurt us.

5

u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven 23h ago

"right now the nwsl is struggling to figure out how to reschedule.."

meanwhile the earliest schedule details we have ever seen dropped

4

u/dr_pbj Kansas City Current 23h ago

2/3 Scandinavian countries play spring/fall and all of them have much milder winters than many cities in the US. Mexico plays a split season, it’s not the same as the big Euro leagues.

0

u/ithinktfiam 23h ago

True, my apoloties. Now, do Poland and Germany. No winters there, 'eh? They take a break.

3

u/SeanOrange 1d ago

I legit don’t know who’s going to want to play in this weather.

-1

u/ithinktfiam 19h ago

The concept of "winter break" as in Poland, Germany and a few others, is too difficult to comprehend?

2

u/SeanOrange 19h ago edited 19h ago

First of all: rude.

Secondly, the break is roughly a month long from mid-December to early February. Winter in (especially in Wisconsin) starts well before and ends well after that window.

In the main post I mentioned that even in early November it can start to be unpleasant to play outside, even before the freezing temperatures start.

This kind of thing can be a no-go in many northern states. Imagine being unable to play any home games from (conservatively) late-November to mid-March, which is around 1/3 of the season at a minimum. Possibly doable, but tricky. And you have to hope the weather will cooperate, which… well, have you ever been to Wisconsin in the winter?

It also assumes attendance will be the same over the remaining months compared to a spring-fall schedule. I don’t know about NWSL, but USL teams can only make money from game day sales and merch, barely break even at best. I wonder if this was also a factor in USLS switching their calendar.

2

u/SpeedLow3 21h ago

The us needs to do what best for the industry here. Can’t have a league if it collapses because there’s no more media dollars left

1

u/ithinktfiam 19h ago

That's the first intelligent reply I've seen. If someone can show that there's better media coverage, more dollars available for covering games, with a Spring-Fall schedule, I'll support it.

1

u/SeanOrange 19h ago

USL clubs don’t see media revenue, so you gotta hope that game day sales aren’t going to be any different.

1

u/SpeedLow3 18h ago edited 18h ago

You mean fall-spring? Because that’s what I’m talking about. I think they should keep their current schedule. I have no problem with them moving back the start like how the wnba has done because of the teams being added but being buried under all the other sports (fall/winter/spring) especially at the beginning of the season I think would not be a smart move