Now that’s funny. If Tepper were SMF, he would have shoehorned a stadium for PITT onto CMU’s campus instead of a building and funding a top rate business school off Forbes Ave.
OT: thank God for Soccer
- Thread starter Fk_Pitt
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Jose Mourinho is a WWE character. He brings so much extracurricular entertainment to the sport. When that Chelsea curtain jerker ran by him and pumped his fist in Jose’s face, José ran after him faster than Lionel Messi runs through the 2nd rate midfielders and backs of LaLiga! Then naturally he gets some F bombs from Chelsea fans and then responds to them by holding 3 fingers up repeatedly and pointing to himself and the pitch reminding the fans that he won them 3 Premier League Championships during his time at Chelsea. Classic stuff from a less than classy guy. But he’s a big time draw and polarizing figure.
Would you invest in an NFL franchise or an MLS franchise? It’s an interesting topic. Maybe the NBA would be the safest. And I think the EPL will continue to grow. How about an FA Association club stateside? Now that would be cool. Find some partners. Pay a few salaries. Get promoted to the EPL and boom—print money!!
1. MLS
2. NBA
I'd have to have an interest in it. I couldn't do NFL, NHL, or MLB because I'd have to watch the games. I mean I probably could watch the NFL but those franchises would be too much for a lottery winner. I would stick with my football/soccer stadium in Oakland. Me, Cuban, Tepper, Druckenmiller, maybe even get the Rooneys involved as minority partners. I like how the Beckham Miami team did it with an all-star ownership team of Miami elites. May even throw in Marino, Larry Fitz and Aaron Donald minority stakes.
Not sure what I'd call the team. How bout Pittsburgh 412 FC? Like Schalke 76 and Hannover 89. Colors? Royal Blue and Yellow to match Pitt. Alternate jerseys would be black and yellow
How is there not a pro kickball league? ESPN televises professional cornhole and there are also pro leagues for Ultimate Frisbee and no-pad, no-helmet tackle football.
Can't wait for the Costa Rica vs US rivalry to be renewed in 2019, I plan to storm the field if US wins.
La Liga hardly is dreadful after the top 4. There are at least six other teams that are better than middle of the pack EPL teams. Once you get past the first six EPL teams, the league is garbage. Newcastle? Everton? Watford? Southampton? Cardiff City? West Ham? Real Betis, Valencia, Villarreal, Alaves are all much superior. Celta Vigo, Athletic, Real Sociedad, Getafe, Levante, Eibar, Girona and Espanyol are all superior, but not by such a wide margin.
There is a reason why after 9 matches this year no team in La Liga has more than 5 wins.
There is quality below them. By contrast, Man City and Chelsea both are undefeated and City is winning by huge margins. They aren’t nearly so successful in the Champions League. Tottenham has the most points it ever has had in the EPL after 9 games. It is 0-2 in the Champions League. I have seen every Barcelona match this year. Except for Huesca and PSV Eindhoven, they dominated Tottenham at Wembley more than they have dominated any other team this season. Girona, for example, is a very solid side. They would dominate the bottom teams in the EPL.
Arsenal sucks. Yet, they are 6th in the EPL. They wouldn’t be in the top half of La Liga. For the money they have to spend, dollar for dollar the EPL has less quality than La Liga, Serie A and possibly any other major European League.
There is a reason why after 9 matches this year no team in La Liga has more than 5 wins.
There is quality below them. By contrast, Man City and Chelsea both are undefeated and City is winning by huge margins. They aren’t nearly so successful in the Champions League. Tottenham has the most points it ever has had in the EPL after 9 games. It is 0-2 in the Champions League. I have seen every Barcelona match this year. Except for Huesca and PSV Eindhoven, they dominated Tottenham at Wembley more than they have dominated any other team this season. Girona, for example, is a very solid side. They would dominate the bottom teams in the EPL.
Arsenal sucks. Yet, they are 6th in the EPL. They wouldn’t be in the top half of La Liga. For the money they have to spend, dollar for dollar the EPL has less quality than La Liga, Serie A and possibly any other major European League.
And that reason, of course, is because the two big teams know they can sleep walk through large portions of their league schedule and still have no worries that they are going to compete for the championship.
Once Real and Barca start taking the La Liga season seriously they'll start winning almost all of their games. Just like they do every year.
I don't know if I'd invest in MLS right now except if it was the Nashville team, the return would be questionable. Nashville is the fastest growing city and is ready for MLS. I'd invest in something that is heavily involved in advertising, and globally recognized as top notch sport. Maybe NBA, NFL, or MLB. But, starting a new franchise in a city would be expensive, and risky. Not sure about NFL popularity in the next 10-20 years. Maybe consider MLS if the US team starts to look better. The possible amount of return for the World Cup could be solid considering we already have the stadiums to handle the World Cup and we are splitting venues with Canada and Mexico. It's not like the olympics where you have to build an entire city from top to bottom.
You’re overall point is wrong. I’ll defer to the soccer world who all say otherwise. And your point about Barcelona beating Tottenham is anecdotal. If you insist that it’s not, I’ll counter with Chelsea dominating atletico in the champions league last year. Athletico hence didn’t even make it out of the champions league group, moved over to the Europa league and the rest is history. Chelsea on the other hand, was a bad turnover away by a rookie center back from eliminating Barcelona. And then That chelsea team showed how average they were and went on to finish 6th in the Premier league.
Mike is passionate about his favorite league. I get it. But again, it would be like me arguing that the ACC is the best league in college football.
Considering the sports dollar competition is the Bungles, no wonder they draw so well.
Chelsea was a “bad turnover by a rookie center back from eliminating Barcelona?” Dream on! The final score of the tie was 4-1. They drew 1-1 in London and Barca won 3-0 in Barcelona. It wasn’t even close. Sevilla also eliminated Man U in the round of 16. Three La Liga teams were in the round of 8. Two EPL teams were. Both of the EPL teams that won had easy draws (Liverpool drew Porto and Man City drew Basel), and then they played each other in the round of 4. Those are the facts.
As far as Atletico’s Europa League title being tainted because they got there by finishing 3rd in their group in the Champions League, so did Man U the previous year. That is the only one of the 12 European titles won by an EPL team in the last 6 years, and by your logic it is tainted. But, at least Atletico won. Among the EPL teams that dropped to the Europa League and didn’t win in the last 6 years are Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.
Once you get beyond Man City, Man U, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea, the EPL is mediocre. I will repeat what I said before: Not one of those other teams would finish in the top half of La Liga. The fact that you haven’t seen La Liga teams like Alaves, Getafe, Real Betis, Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad play doesn’t mean they are bad. They are quality sides. They are far better than Watford, Bournemouth, West Ham, Southampton and some of the other poor sides we are subjected to watching almost every weekend on Fox.
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I don't like soccer as a rule but I did have one fun time on a business trip to the UK.
I sitting in a Birmingham UK Pub that was packed to the rafters watching what they explained to me to be the equivalent of NFL playoffs leading up to the Superbowl.
It was fun being with real soccer fans since this is their sport.
The place was wild, and it was fun to watch opposing fans screaming and yelling at eachother as the downed their Euro pints.
Although they did serve Miller, and Bud.
I was amazed at the prices of draft beer in Birmingham UK. No happy hour or beer specials. If I recall the pints were in the $5-$7 ( US $) range.
I do believe I purchased a few rounds for the Brits at my table since they were nice enough to put up with me and answer my stupid questions about soccer.
When the soccer was finished we watched Cricket? until about 2 am. I didn't get very far learning the rules of that game and was happy to catch my flight home the next day.
"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!
I sitting in a Birmingham UK Pub that was packed to the rafters watching what they explained to me to be the equivalent of NFL playoffs leading up to the Superbowl.
It was fun being with real soccer fans since this is their sport.
The place was wild, and it was fun to watch opposing fans screaming and yelling at eachother as the downed their Euro pints.
Although they did serve Miller, and Bud.
I was amazed at the prices of draft beer in Birmingham UK. No happy hour or beer specials. If I recall the pints were in the $5-$7 ( US $) range.
I do believe I purchased a few rounds for the Brits at my table since they were nice enough to put up with me and answer my stupid questions about soccer.
When the soccer was finished we watched Cricket? until about 2 am. I didn't get very far learning the rules of that game and was happy to catch my flight home the next day.
"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!
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I appreciate the response, Mike. You’re one guy who may exceed my love for Soccer and everything Pitt. But you completely disregarded what I said. There’s a reason why Premier League teams do not fair as well in the Champions League as Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, Munich and PSG. I’ll say it again—the Premier League is too tough from top to bottom and it’s taxing on the players. You can say that it’s not, but I prefer the opinions of the people who actually reside inside the sport, and they acknowledge that the strength of the Premier league, combined with the Christmas break that the rest of Europe gets that English teams do not get, puts English teams behind the 8-ball. It’s a fact. Not opinion.
Using your rationale, the French League is better than the Premier League too, given that French clubs have done significantly better in Europe than English teams. But then again, your bias only covers Spain because you’re a Barcelona fan.
@mike412 And right on cue, don’t want to believe me? Take Gareth Bale’s opinion. You know, the guy who spent quite a bit of time in the Premier League before going over to Madrid and winning multiple Champions League titles? Here is what he has to say about it...
“Every game in the Premier League you have to be at 100 per cent for 90 minutes or you will lose,’ he told Sportsmail recently. ‘In Spain, you can be up at half-time against the bottom club and take your foot off the gas. You can rest players and take people off. If you try for 45 minutes you won’t win a match in the Premier League.’
‘Obviously the winter break is massive. In England you’ll play four or five games and we don’t play any. You don’t get many rest days and it really does burn you out for a long time after that.’
‘It’s nice to really get away from it, mentally as well as physically.
‘Spanish teams definitely know they have this edge over the English. Every country does: Spain, Italy, Germany, they all have the winter break.’
“Every game in the Premier League you have to be at 100 per cent for 90 minutes or you will lose,’ he told Sportsmail recently. ‘In Spain, you can be up at half-time against the bottom club and take your foot off the gas. You can rest players and take people off. If you try for 45 minutes you won’t win a match in the Premier League.’
‘Obviously the winter break is massive. In England you’ll play four or five games and we don’t play any. You don’t get many rest days and it really does burn you out for a long time after that.’
‘It’s nice to really get away from it, mentally as well as physically.
‘Spanish teams definitely know they have this edge over the English. Every country does: Spain, Italy, Germany, they all have the winter break.’
Anyone who understands football tactics knows that if Chelsea wins the front end 1-0, not allowing the away goal, it changes EVERYTHING on the 2nd leg. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending Chelsea. They were a mediocre English club last season, who didn’t make the transfer market additions needed to compete in three domestic competitions and Europe.
I’m not saying that their Europa title is tainted. Frankly, the Europa title is like the NIT. I know that English teams aren’t thrilled to play in it and sometimes struggle because the Thursday games are difficult to play with the clubs top players because there’s a more important and grueling Premier League match a couple days later. There’s not much emphasis put on the Europa League by Engkish clubs. Maybe Spanish clubs can because their weekend match isn’t as tough. My point was that Atletico wasn’t even good enough to come out of their champions league group and got rolled by Chelsea in the process. The 2nd place team from La Liga should do better than that. Right??
