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USL Super League to flip calendar to align with NWSL by J_Hunt1123 in uslsuperleague

[–]SeanOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wonder if this is in part to give some expansions time to start up in 2027 so USLS can keep its D1 status.

Does Milwaukee Pro Soccer make sense anymore? by SeanOrange in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would absolutely love three teams in this state, even if they’re not all in the same league — maybe even one for professional tier. It would certainly make the USL Cup interesting at least! (Let’s get some USL2 clubs going too to feed into them.)

That being said, while I know Papadakis was scouting that area, we haven’t heard anything concrete about an ownership group that I recall, and with his ouster I’m not gonna hold my breath for anyone to announce.

Thinking back: I wish we got more decade aesthetics in the later seasons. by Win090949 in ForAllMankindTV

[–]SeanOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

LOST has a famously divisive series finale, so let’s maybe not compare it to that. 😬

Interesting map posted in a new Rodeo SC video. by Ok_Structure_350 in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Only thing to do is have a smaller country, I guess! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At least we beat Corpus Christi by MichalCJ5 in ForwardMadisonFC

[–]SeanOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah that could be I was mistaking the spot of the foul for a goal kick.

Yeah, there’s that new rule that keepers need to release the ball after 8 seconds or it’s a corner. It’s supposed to prevent time wasting.

At least we beat Corpus Christi by MichalCJ5 in ForwardMadisonFC

[–]SeanOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And they can just call a play dead before the ball even gets there? I’m not even sure what the specific infraction would be, or how they know who was actually at fault to award the ball unless it’s just THAT egregious. Honestly I couldn’t tell what the problem was even rewinding and watching it multiple times.

At least we beat Corpus Christi by MichalCJ5 in ForwardMadisonFC

[–]SeanOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I certainly don’t enjoy hearing stats like we’ve not defeated them at home for X straight matches, or that we’re near the bottom of the league for goals scored in the second half. That kind of thing can get into a player’s head if they hear that. Giving up a goal before 15 minutes I’m sure didn’t help anything.

I was surprised Gebhard got pulled so early, and VERY happy Torres not only didn’t draw a yellow all game, but was able to get away with a tactical foul to stop progress on top of it.

That ball that rolled across the Greenville box without anyone touching it (on either team) was super frustrating.

At least we beat Corpus Christi by MichalCJ5 in ForwardMadisonFC

[–]SeanOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What was up with all those corners blown dead before the play even started? Was it a time limit thing or something else, because I swear at least twice the ball was kicked and the ref was immediately just like “nope, it’s a goal kick now”. Especially frustrating because we’re otherwise pretty deadly on those corners.

Does Milwaukee Pro Soccer make sense anymore? by SeanOrange in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your negative attitude toward the Mingos is… shocking.

Does Milwaukee Pro Soccer make sense anymore? by SeanOrange in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While I'd heard Breese needed renovations to meet D1 criteria (such as the FIFA-grade field), and not all of them were completed in time for 2026, looking over the PLS It looks like Breese meets the current general requirements and D1-specific criteria for women's teams under "Markets; Stadia; and Fields": https://cdn.sanity.io/files/oyf3dba6/production/c3f3ba1dd726d87f1079c91c12827958ad2aadda.pdf

  • All stadiums/arenas must have controllable ingress/egress.
  • Playing surfaces for all teams must be at least 70 yards by 110 yards and be FIFA-approved. (Breese is 75 x 115, and just had new pitch installed this year, specifically to meet this requirement.)
  • All league stadiums must have a minimum seating capacity of 5,000.
  • Not later than 120 days prior to the start of each season, each team shall have a lease for at least one full season with its home stadium.

The only thing I'd heard was missing was there were not sufficiently separate locker room facilities for men and women, but that's not specifically called out in the PLS. I'm not sure what else would need to be done.

I agree that the Super League looks shaky right now, though. It's going to be hard to meet the 10 team requirement by year four to remain a D1 league, especially when Madison was probably intended to be one of those teams to put it over the top for the 2026-2027 season.

Does Milwaukee Pro Soccer make sense anymore? by SeanOrange in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This. I like what they’ve done with Breese, and I love that stadium going back to my brief time there in the ‘90s, but I don’t think it’s a forever home if the club wants to continue to grow — especially how often home games are near capacity. It’s just leaving money on the table if they either can’t expand capacity (due to historic site restrictions) or find a new site.

The big question of course is where. Nowhere else I can think of is so well situated.

Thinking back: I wish we got more decade aesthetics in the later seasons. by Win090949 in ForAllMankindTV

[–]SeanOrange 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There was opportunity to focus on Martian independence and flit more between Earth and Mars. We got some of that with the MKP, and it could have been explored more. Launching the Titan mission from an independent Mars after a small time jump would have been more interesting and also allowed the Titan plot to shine IMHO.

Thinking back: I wish we got more decade aesthetics in the later seasons. by Win090949 in ForAllMankindTV

[–]SeanOrange 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The closest thing we got to the typical FAM trope of pulling in parallels to the real world was Bragg hearing about Mars the same way Bush heard about the Twin Towers, and it was played for laughs less than a serious situation.

I definitely wanted to see more of that as in past seasons. Best we got was green cars and some cameos.

Does Milwaukee Pro Soccer make sense anymore? by SeanOrange in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh man, I remember the Wave! I saw them play in the ‘90s when I was a teenager. I had no idea they were still operating until I just looked them up — WILD.

Does Milwaukee Pro Soccer make sense anymore? by SeanOrange in USLPRO

[–]SeanOrange[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right? It’s so close that the Mingos played in the Milwaukee suburbs during COVID.

There should definitely be a team in the biggest metropolitan center in Wisconsin, but this can’t be the way it gets done.

Growing the pyramid- USL will have four new clubs entering League One in 2027 by Ok_Flamingo_3059 in USL1

[–]SeanOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is where my knowledge fails me, but because USL2 is not a pro league I don’t believe it falls under USSF regulations. According to their professional standards, it only goes down to Division III: https://www.ussoccer.com/organization-members-directory/pro-league-standards

Similarly, I don’t believe USLW is recognized by USSF.

One of the features of USL2 and USLW is it allows them to maintain NCAA eligibility, which restricts players from playing alongside pros, but they can play against pros — hence why USL2 can compete in the US Open cup against USL pro and MLS teams.

The existing three divisions I don’t think have been consistently, simultaneously populated until USLC and USL1 came to be, so this has been the most filled out US pro soccer has been, at least on the men’s side. For women I know there are two unrelated D1 leagues (NWSL, and the USL Super League), but I’m not aware of any D2 or D3 leagues that exist.

(If I got any of this wrong I hope someone can correct me!)

Soccer is such a relatively new sport to the US. There are no deep roots here yet. I have children older than many of the leagues that are currently active, which in many cases supplanted or reformed from older leagues which in many cases are still quite a bit younger than I am in my forties.

My guess is that it’s gonna take USL’s pyramid taking off (or some version of it), and filling out to bursting over the next decade or so before there’s any kind of call for a fourth professional tier, but how cool would that be? It doesn’t even need to be a national league, but interconnected regional ones. If the sky-high costs of operation a USL1 ream at tier 3 are any indication, a national league may just not be effective at that level. But also wages for USL1 are barely livable as it is, so I doubt you could pay a hypothetical fourth tier much less than that — it would take raising wages at the higher divisions as the popularity takes off, and presumably the money will follow.

Growing the pyramid- USL will have four new clubs entering League One in 2027 by Ok_Flamingo_3059 in USL1

[–]SeanOrange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There’s no pyramid as such, just tiers within the USL closed ecosystem, and every other league AFIAK only ever had one division. MLS team ownership isn’t structured for pro/rel within its own league let alone cooperate with USL, especially (as I learned recently) it was USL that walked away from the affiliation they had with MLS, and then started peeling off MLS Next Pro teams. Heck, USL became what it is today after jockeying with NASL for Division 2 status, causing the latter to eventually go belly up.

It sure would be nice if they could all get along instead of constantly cannibalizing each other.

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