Quote:
Originally Posted by agulati
I consider myself to be an average soccer fan. Don’t follow it religiously, but do tune in for a decent chunk of Arsenal games. In a situation like this I’ll watch every game, since the competition will be strong.
I honestly get the anger and vitriol being thrown against the teams. I have bigger problems with poaching than this. Even if the teams are in the same league, they are not at a level playing field. If a mid tier team has a Cinderella run, there is a good chance they lose their top players the next transfer window. That has always been the nature of the sport. In this way, atleast most games are competitive. (being an Arsenal fan, I do understand that we make it “competitive” against teams of all levels unfortunately)
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This is really interesting, because this is what this elite cartel of clubs in banking on. I'm an Arsenal fan and I hate the proposal, but they know there are international and somewhat casual fans who don't care about the history of the domestic game, the idea of qualifying, promotion/relegation and how its woven into the fabric of the sport there.
I'm not bashing you because you are obviously free to consume the sport however you see fit, but the most ardent fans are sickened by this and for good reason. They don't want to just see the best teams week in week out without earning it. And with Arsenal, they most certainly haven't earned anything of the sort for many years. It feels cheap.
But your viewpoint is very eye opening and I think its the very reason these teams are moving forward with it. They know for every North Londener they anger, there is someone in Canada, the US, China, India or wherever else they can sell the brand to. The casual and international fan doesn't care about the mid week premier league game vs Brighton, its irrelevant to that broader audience. They will just say bring on teams like Barca and Real Madrid every week, and the money will still flow.