More quotes of fans of leagues similar to the ISL. Today, we have a quote from a fan of the old North American Soccer League which lasted from 1969 to 1984 in the United States. This league at one point had Pele, George Best, etc. This quote relates very well with what anti-ISL people believe about the ISL today.
"The old NASL was more like disco -- a coke-fueled bubble with people at the top who had no idea what they were doing, but thinking that as long as they kept raising the stakes, everyone would end up in gravy. Gravy made of cocaine.
It was the Cosmos that led this, of course, and it was the Cosmos that broke the league and killed the sport in its cradle.
Here's the thing: the Cosmos never made a dime. Even when they were packing Giants Stadium, they never actually operated in the black. How was anybody else supposed to compete with that, especially given that most NASL teams were drawing fewer people to matches than the new NASL does today?
No, the old NASL was not a "golden age". It was a hell of a party, but not at all a party that was going to last."
He did. Honestly, if you want to see the ISL abroad, it would be the Cosmos. The early 70s were pretty much barren for US Soccer and the NASL. No fans, no fields anywhere, the league was shit, and the league was going to die. All of a sudden, Warner Communications (I would say the IMG-Reliance of the NASL) came in and used their money to bring in superstars such as Pele, Beckenbaur, Chinaglia etc. on board and really "sexing" up the team. They went from barely having any fans at a shitty stadium to playing at one of the best stadiums in the world at the time (Giants Stadium) and filling it up every night. They were up there with global American sports brands today such as the Yankees, Knicks, and Giants.
Sadly the rest of the league could not keep up and the money soon ran out with Warner. Other teams tried spending money they did not have and the popularity of the game could not keep up. Soon it all just went to shit and that was that. The national team also did not do well and thus there were no Americans for the targeted American audience to look up to. Team America, a team that was Pailan Arrows but for the senior US players (minus a few), played 30 games and lost 20 of them (no ties).
It is actually really interesting and why MLS goes with the slow-and-steady approach. They have now outlived the NASL so I guess it is working.
I guess this is also why I wish IMG-Reliance and the rest of the ISL would also focus on looking at leagues like MLS or Liga MX and how they operate. The Premier League is nice, it's the best, but not everything it does is perfect. Also, look domestically at Bengaluru FC. They may not have the sexy appeal of the ISL and only draw 8,000 fans but the way they opperate, I can see them outliving and being more successful and more appealing to sponsors long-term than the ISL.
I meant in terms of presentation and how they "manage their money". There is a reason why, for example, the Premier League has a massive grasp over the world right now and is the most followed while the Bundesliga, other than Munich and Dortmund (and a bit of others), are barely heard of.
And you are right on with that "In order to run longer, run slowly." I mean, I am not surprised they lost a lot of money last season but they really went hard on unneeded expenses like the bloody fireworks after every goal.
Comments
Would be nice if they get Anirudh or Ar Rahman to Sing
And THE PREMIER LEAGUE IS NOT NICE :ar! It's not the best, Bundesliga is :x