Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderball
It was a response to the idea that none of the markets matter internationally and the notion that somehow having a Toronto City or Montreal City soccer club would alleviate that issue for CanPL. My point was the location of the team/size of the market is irrelevant in football if the team/league quality is there and fan support is there. Which it won't be right away, there's just simply no way. Long term, there's no reason why the most well known team in CanPL in Canada and abroad can't be Halifax or Pacific, despite being the smallest markets, if they have the most success (and the revenue that comes from exposure to CCL and even possibly someday, club world cup (though no Canadian or American team has made that yet)).
This is Canadian USL and "North America Division 2" until the revenue and popularity grow to where it can compete with the bottom of MLS, and that's coming from someone who is cautiously optimistic.
Right now I know comparing Liverpool to Cavalry is like comparing the Calgary Flames to the Guildford Flames (at best), but I just don't see how having a Montreal or Vancouver team helps internationally. Domestically, absolutely, but internationally, no.
The people who tune in that aren't from Canada are going to be watching to see what sort of league us ice bound hockey and curling playing Canadians can drum up as a curiosity. They won't care which cities are playing.
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It has absolutely nothing to do with whether they matter internationally - it's a moot point because the league itself fundamentally won't matter internationally. Counting on some kind of bizarre European cult following to gravitate towards the CPL for no reason beyond 'novelty' is completely deluded. It's as nonsensical as trying to argue that any portion of Canada's population beyond a rounding error is a serious follower of the Czech or the Belorussian hockey league. Just stop.
The issue is purely one of domestic viewership. Half the country's population in a 'national' league has little to no motivation to tune in because they already have a well established and objectively superior local produc. That's a massive obstacle that little short of time travel or the MLS gradually forcing Canadian franchises out is ever going to truly solve.