Commentary: Upcoming National Team Vists a Chance to Show US Soccer What DFW is Made of

it’s like a Fraternity when you meet someone supporting FCD. Where do you sit? Who’s your favorite player? etc. etc. I usually wear my jacket or jersey on the weekends and I always get a few questions. The big complaint everytime: it’s too far; it’s expensive; and soccer is boring.

I fire back with: you’ll drive an hour and pay out the A$$ to see the (fill in the blank)
FCD has free parking and better tailgating than ( fill in the blank)
Soccer is never boring, you just don’t know how it’s played…..non stop action, not commercials.

Do you think for a minute that the popularity of ice hockey in the north Texas region over the last 2 decades could have succeeded without a total buy-in by the local media of the Minnesota Northstars move to Dallas? I submit to you that if the Stars had been covered by the DMN like they have covered the Burn/FCD since it’s inception that the Stars would have relocated a long time ago.

Do you think that if the DMN had decided to relegate the Dallas Mavericks to ‘minor league’ status during the mid 90’s when they were actually the worst sports franchise in ALL of professional sports in America that they would have been an attractive acquisition by Mark Cuban who turned it around in the 2000’s? What if the media had just stood by and watched after Cuban’s interjection…they probably would not be hanging a banner right now and probably would not be playing in the AAC.

Do you think that I would have traveled to Arlington what surely is well over a couple of hundred times in my lifetime to sit in a minor leauge park (Arlington Stadium) and watch the dreadful product that the Rangers put out since all the way back to the 70’s if there had not been a total buy-in by the Times Herald, Morning News and Star Telegram so that I could read box scores and follow the team when I was a kid? Without the papers coverage of my Rangers over the decades do you think they would be playing in one of the finest ballparks in America and now currently one of the top franchises in the majors? The egg does come before the chicken in professional sports…if you are a large market team and a television network makes a commitment to money and time to the franchise then it translates into affording superstar players which translates into wins and championships and thus huge attendance numbers…it is projected that the Rangers could for the first time in their existence exceed the 3 million mark in attendance this year…could not have done it without the media machine.

Do I need to even go back to the 60’s when there were actually 2 professional football teams playing at the empty Cotton Bowl?…do you think that without the constant refrain of “America’s Team” by the media over the decades to describe the Cowboys that they would be playing in the finest stadium on the planet right here in DFW? I think not.

I understand what you are saying, Daniel, about the movement has to be organic…I think you are actually talking about the game day experience. That is well documented and this thread even deteriorated into that subject… but it all started off great when they built PHP…the first 2 seasons were great. I had season tickets and the crowds were big and loud. We had a competitive team living in a cutting edge stadia on the finest playing surface IN THE WORLD. But where was the DMN then? Out of sight, out of mind…no buy-in by the media and the organization has been just treading water since.

Dallas is one of the best, if not the best, city for spectator sports in America…there is a major void, however, in the coverage of the sport of soccer here in north Texas. It is inexcuseable. The media element is crucial to the success of any professional sport in any city in the world.