Hey, we know this guy!
- Thread starter Joe the Panther Fan
- Start date
I haven't watched much RSL this season but every time I turn them on, the RSL commentator makes a positive comment about his hustle, speed, work ethic, etc.
Seeing him play MF for RSL though makes me wonder if perhaps he should have played there for Pitt last season. I mean he was unreal at RB and played almost as extra midfielder but he did give up the GW goal vs WVU and wasn't really elite at actually defending. Now, he was excellent at tracking back and transition D but when teams actually had possession vs us in our half, he was just ok.
Those are San Jose announcers I think. Doesn't sound like the RSL crew. RSL's color guy used to be on Fox Soccer Channel and would do the bad games on FS1, cant think of his name. Used to play in MLS and might have gotten a few caps for the USMNT.
Wish I had known. I was looking for a match to watch last night when the Charlotte match was postponed due to weather… and I opted for FC Dallas vs the fighting Chicharito’s. I was struck by how vibrant and full the stadium was. I haven’t seen an MLS match yet without a packed house. We talk about it all the time, but these MLS teams do well in their cities. For as bad the league is, it seems to have a form footing.
MLS fans love watching their South American C teamers. Attendance is outstanding. Its the 2nd largest average attendance in the US behind the NFL (average attendance). The massive problem though is nobody watches the games on TV outside the markets involved so their TV contract is trash which means they cant sign anyone any better than South American C teamers. I also saw somewhere where MLS attendance would be near the top of Europe besides the big 5 leagues (Eng, Ger, Ita, Spa, Fra).
They might be, but it seems odd that RSL is using the San Jose feed in their twitter rather than the home announcers.
Maybe they don't televise all their games? That would be kind of odd in 2022.
I don’t know about other leagues, but the reason the Dutch league doesn’t have great attendance is simply the seating capacity of the stadiums. Except for Amsterdam, they are mainly tiny. However, I suspect their television ratings dwarf MLS. And teams like Ajax and PSV Eindhoven would dominate MLS teams.
We were in Bruge the day of one of Club Brugge’s matches. They are one of the best Belgian teams even though it is a very small city. The stadium is in a non-touristy area but that afternoon we saw a lot of town people dressed in their team colors, wearing the “mandatory” team scarf and walking toward the grounds.
Amazingly, there are two teams from Bruges in the top Belgian league, but the other one is like Espanyol in Barcelona — much less popular. Not sure if maybe one originally was the club of the French speakers and the other the Flemish speakers. In Barcelona, Barca was started as a Catalan club; Espanyol as the club of Spaniards.
About the spelling: Because they speak both Flemish and French in Belgium, many cities and towns have multiple spellings. You see Bruge, Brugge, Bruges and Brugges. The most common spelling for the city is Bruges but the team spells its name Brugge. However you spell it, there is no more beautiful small city (100,000 population) in the world.
We were in Bruge the day of one of Club Brugge’s matches. They are one of the best Belgian teams even though it is a very small city. The stadium is in a non-touristy area but that afternoon we saw a lot of town people dressed in their team colors, wearing the “mandatory” team scarf and walking toward the grounds.
Amazingly, there are two teams from Bruges in the top Belgian league, but the other one is like Espanyol in Barcelona — much less popular. Not sure if maybe one originally was the club of the French speakers and the other the Flemish speakers. In Barcelona, Barca was started as a Catalan club; Espanyol as the club of Spaniards.
About the spelling: Because they speak both Flemish and French in Belgium, many cities and towns have multiple spellings. You see Bruge, Brugge, Bruges and Brugges. The most common spelling for the city is Bruges but the team spells its name Brugge. However you spell it, there is no more beautiful small city (100,000 population) in the world.
Last edited:
Oddly enough, both top flight clubs in Bruges play in the same stadium, Jan Breydel Stadium. It seats over 29,000. Last season Club Brugge averaged over 25,000 fans per game. Cercle Brugge averaged less than 5,000.
Of course, a reason why MLS attendance is better than most Euro leagues is due to stadium size. However, stadium size is also a factor of team popularity. If the lower teams in NL, Austria, etc had more fans, they'd build bigger stadiums
Not really true. PSV Eindhoven wanted to build a new stadium and it was rejected by the Dutch government. Then they wanted to expand seating at the current stadium and the application was reduced by 75% of their proposal.
It’s very different in Europe, as the Glaser family found out. They tried to strong arm a new stadium with partial government funding when they first bought Man U. They quickly discovered that won’t work in Europe.
When Arsenal applied to build its new stadium next to the existing one, they first had to relocate all of the residents who were going to be displaced by the construction. They also were required to build 1.25 residences in the neighborhood for every residence they would tear down as a result of the project. Then, when the residences were completed, they would have to offer them first to the temporarily relocated residents. Very different than the US where teams extort public financing by threatening to move.
It’s never happened in Europe, but my understanding is that if the Glasers had moved the team after their demand was rejected, they could have taken the players but not the name or the spot in the Premier League. They would have had to start in a lower division and work their way up just like any other new team.
This is why I worry about Todd Boehly’s efforts to rebuild Stamford Bridge. If the $14B oligarch couldn’t get it done, how is little Boehly going to? There are all kinds of red tape and local home owners around the stadium holding the thing up and they’ve been doing so for years. Now I’m hearing that Boehly has a plan to rebuild the stadium in phases, just as Madrid did. But one of the things I remember hearing is that they can’t build “up” and add capacity as the stadium height is only allowed to be so high. They would have to lower the pitch. I don’t know how they can do that without relocating to Wembley for at least a season.
With Arsenal as the precedent, I think the new ownership will be shocked by what they have to do. It’s not like the US where city after city has been coerced into funding new stadiums. And, if the local council decides it would cause too much traffic, they will just turn it down.
I’m not sure England has the rule but some European countries like Germany and Spain have 50 + 1 rules for soccer clubs. No matter who owns the team, the club needs 50+1 % of the vote to move, and the municipality has 50 +1 % of the vote. I would love to see that in the US but it never will happen. Bayern Munich dropped out of the Super League concept very quickly after the state government made it Cleese it was opposed because the state government has the 50+1% of the vote on major issues like that, even though like Barca and Real Madrid, Bayern is owned by members.
I’m not sure England has the rule but some European countries like Germany and Spain have 50 + 1 rules for soccer clubs. No matter who owns the team, the club needs 50+1 % of the vote to move, and the municipality has 50 +1 % of the vote. I would love to see that in the US but it never will happen. Bayern Munich dropped out of the Super League concept very quickly after the state government made it Cleese it was opposed because the state government has the 50+1% of the vote on major issues like that, even though like Barca and Real Madrid, Bayern is owned by members.
RSL Retains Incumbent Broadcast Homes for 2022 Season | Real Salt Lake
SANDY, Utah (Friday, February 25, 2022) – Real Salt Lake’s commitment to providing its fans across the State of Utah access to the Club’s matches via free, over-the-air and omnipresent television, streaming and radio partners continues in 2022, with the Claret-and-Cobalt’s 18th campaign kicking...
Brian Dunseth is his name. Not a very good color guy but his voice makes me all nostalgic for those Fox Soccer Channel games in the 2000s watching in standard def.
Anyway, it appears that was indeed the SJ broadcast team because all RSL games are on over-the-air TV in Utah and that Twitter clip was from NBC, probably NBC Sports Bay Area. Not sure why they wouldn't have used their own feed though unless maybe they dont bring their announcers to road games and just simulcast the broadcast
Most normal fans have a team they root for, no matter who the players are, here you are watching RSL just because some ex Pitt guy plays there. To me THAT is nuts, or watching a German 2nd division game because a USAMNT guy plays there, I'm more of a traditional sports fan, I have my team of South American C teamers and root for their laundry. Just like those fans of the non Power 5 leagues in Europe, if you lived in one of those countries you'd probably not even follow their domestic league like the normal fans do.
People are SMARTER in Europe, I agree with them, PISS on sports teams asking for money.
Off Topic, but relevant in a way, DC United game was great yesterday, Wayne Rooney's debut as HC, Orlando scored in the 1st 6 minutes, then 2nd half DC had tons of chances and couldn't score, until a DC developed guy who spent a year in Europe scored in extra time, then still in extra time a Greek C Teamer scored the winning goal. Win for my laundry! Entertaining game, THAT'S WHAT MATTERS.
If Pgh had a team of South American C teamers playing in MLS, I'd watch every game and root for them.
As an MLS outsider, when I seek out entertainment, I look for teams like LAFC first because they have players I can identify with (players I know).
Dunseth is a regular on XMFC. I listen to him a few times per week. He’s ok. Here he is with Tom Rennie, who is the most obnoxious guy on the channel. I can’t stand the guy. He’s a West Ham supporter, which makes him harmless. I just have a hard time listening to him.RSL Retains Incumbent Broadcast Homes for 2022 Season | Real Salt Lake
SANDY, Utah (Friday, February 25, 2022) – Real Salt Lake’s commitment to providing its fans across the State of Utah access to the Club’s matches via free, over-the-air and omnipresent television, streaming and radio partners continues in 2022, with the Claret-and-Cobalt’s 18th campaign kicking...www.rsl.com
Brian Dunseth is his name. Not a very good color guy but his voice makes me all nostalgic for those Fox Soccer Channel games in the 2000s watching in standard def.
Anyway, it appears that was indeed the SJ broadcast team because all RSL games are on over-the-air TV in Utah and that Twitter clip was from NBC, probably NBC Sports Bay Area. Not sure why they wouldn't have used their own feed though unless maybe they dont bring their announcers to road games and just simulcast the broadcast
That's cool, but it's like the chicken and the egg thing, before you started watching EPL, you didn't know those players either.
I do. They're my favorite team since I know their players but I dont go out of my way to watch them. I need to know the players to watch. Take NYCFC. Good team, big market, Yankees/Man City backung, but they have all South American C teamers so I have no idea who those guys are so I cant watch it.
Yeah but they are stars. I’ll pick a movie with an actor/actress I know before some curtain jerker I never heard of. It’s just human nature.
He doesn't get it.
If you replaced all the MLS South American C teamers with all 35 and over former UEFA stars, who at this point in their careers, are worse than the South American C teamers, I'd watch the hell out of it. I dont care about guy on the bubble to make the Paraguay play for friggin Kansas City or whoever
It works for me, because I know very few of the UEFA stars so it's kind of the same, whether they are South American C teamers or UEFA legends, I have probably seen Wayne Rooney play like 20 times, 18 with DC United and twice with Man U when they played Olympiacos in the UEFA CL in 2012, Most of these UEFA stars, I never heard of until they played in MLS. So you must watch a lot of top UEFA and EPL and La Liga soccer to know a significant amount of players? I watch international soccer,- like Euro Cup, or UEFA CL or WC, but not enough to remember the players much, like I knew of Christian Bale, but hardly ever watched him play. Most of the international soccer I watch is USAMNT, so mostly CONCACAF, WCQ, Gold Cup, etc. I'm like the local Yinzer watchin' da Buccos an 'at.
I dunno. It just adds to the enjoyment of, say, the World Cup in November when you have all these dream teams competing against each other and we know all the players, while all the MLS players are watching from a bar or their sofa just like us.
It's not the municipality, it's the club members that have 50+1% of the vote. Commercial investors aren't allowed to own more than 50-1%.
But there are exceptions to even that. Bayer Leverkusen was founded by, not surprisingly, a group of people who worked at Bayer. Wolfsburg is essentially owned by Volkswagon. And of course they had a big kerfuffle in Germany when Red Bull started RB Leipzig. All of the club members at Leipzig are Red Bull employees. German fans seem to pretty much hate them because of their ownership structure. But they can at least argue that they started at pretty much the bottom and worked their way up.
It doesn't really add anything to me to know who the players are, and you'd be surprised how many MLS players are there playing.
My mindset on sports has never been about individual players or STARS , it's always been TEAM TEAM TEAM, even NFL, I know every Steeler by number, even the practice squad, but any other team, off the top of my head, I'd be hard pressed to name 3-4 players.
Weird coincidence, I had never heard of Cercle Brugge until Sunday, when I met one of their fans. He's originally from Scotland but lives in Brugge now and was visiting Pittsburgh. We were watching a game and he was describing what team he supports in Belgium. He was saying something that sounded to me like "Circle" but I was only familiar with Club Brugge.
