These years live in my memory like it was yesterday. I guess I can take pride in the fact that I am now a part of the "pocket of Gray-haired fans." I accept that. To say that MISL has no place in American sports history, may be an overstatement for those of us that lived it intensely and still harbor the memories deep in our hearts. In some cases, as in mine, this era contributed greatly to the player, employee, teenager, and though sooner than we liked, adults. Those memories will simply never be erased. The fact that you are writing about it says plenty. Thank you, sir.
I agree with you 100% that it SHOULD have a place. I just don't think it has received the attention it OUGHT to get. I'm hoping that my stories change that, at least a tiny bit.
I wish that I had been old enough to appreciate the cultural significance of the MISL. I always enjoyed going to Wings games as a kid but was unaware of the popularity of the league as a whole.
Question about the first installment: Did the popularity of KC's MISL team really play a part in the King's decision to move to Sacramento?
Yes, the Comets were a major factor in the Kings decision to leave. Average attendance for 1982-83, Comets: 14,000 vs. Kings 7,500. They played in the same arena at the same time of year, so it was a competition for the limited sports fan dollars in KC.
Maybe something you'll be writing about in the future, but looking back at some of the early MISL franchises, I like to think about which franchises could have been a lot more successful if they had better ownership and community engagement.
I don't know the facts about these teams, but given the success of MISL in similar markets, seems to me like Cincinnati (the Kids) was a missed opportunity. Also, Phoenix. The fire flames that shot up in the air after goals, instead of goal lights. That alone should have gotten 10,000 fans! also, Philadelphia. That seemed like an organization that could have flourished.
Anyway..fun to look back on those very early days. It was all so fresh, new and exciting...it was a missed opportunity to not get those markets into the game early on.
There were so many factors that affected success. It's hard to narrow it down. My next story is about the 1974 Philadelphia Atoms vs Soviet Red Army match that led to the creation of the MISL. But I would like to explore the Fever as well. I will need to connect with some Fever people and educate myself.
i think i will double down on Philadelphia. St. Louis had an early history of being a soccer city, but from what I know, Philadelphia also was one of the early soccer cities in the U.S. The Fever should have been another big MISL success.
Ok...thank you for allowing me to daydream about what could have been! To see arenas packed in some of those markets just like they were in Wichita, St. Louis, Baltimore...the more packed arenas across the country could have catapulted the entire league's profile.
As a young Steamer fan, it was always weird to go to the games in St. Louis with 17,000 crazed fans and then watch a game on TV that as in Houston, Phoenix, even the NY Arrows and others ....and see a scattering of a few fans. It didn't make sense to me...now as I'm older...I understand it was most likely poor ownership commitment.
One of my favoriite things to discuss. How did such a popular "product" disappear so quickly?
I think you hit the main ones - rising salaries, lack of TV contract and certainly the shunning from the soccer purists.
It was always a tricky balance of soccer vs entertainment.
I don't think the indoor game was ever going to make it on soccer alone - on being popular with soccer fans, given the popularity of global outdoor soccer .
Seeing the popularity of "professional" ;) wrestling...it seems that the better long term bet would have been on heavily leaning into the entertainment but then you risk it losing any serious consideration as "sport".
It truly was maybe something that could only have happened in the United States in the 1980s.
Mike, I think there was a confluence of factors that made the 1980s the perfect time for indoor soccer. If we could go back in time, could we have saved the league? Probably... Maybe? But I also wonder if we had saved the MISL would we kill Major League Soccer? The death of one may have hastened the rise of the other.
I think that's a good point. A strong MISL could have made it more difficult to get Major League Soccer going in the right direction. And the 1994 US World Cup was contingent on the U.S. starting a pro outdoor league.
One thing MISL probably doesn't get enough credit for is that it created a lot of soccer fans that otherwise would not have grown up with much exposure to quality soccer. A lot of us 40 years old and older first became soccer fans in MiSL arenas.
Good stuff Tim!
These years live in my memory like it was yesterday. I guess I can take pride in the fact that I am now a part of the "pocket of Gray-haired fans." I accept that. To say that MISL has no place in American sports history, may be an overstatement for those of us that lived it intensely and still harbor the memories deep in our hearts. In some cases, as in mine, this era contributed greatly to the player, employee, teenager, and though sooner than we liked, adults. Those memories will simply never be erased. The fact that you are writing about it says plenty. Thank you, sir.
I agree with you 100% that it SHOULD have a place. I just don't think it has received the attention it OUGHT to get. I'm hoping that my stories change that, at least a tiny bit.
I wish that I had been old enough to appreciate the cultural significance of the MISL. I always enjoyed going to Wings games as a kid but was unaware of the popularity of the league as a whole.
Question about the first installment: Did the popularity of KC's MISL team really play a part in the King's decision to move to Sacramento?
Yes, the Comets were a major factor in the Kings decision to leave. Average attendance for 1982-83, Comets: 14,000 vs. Kings 7,500. They played in the same arena at the same time of year, so it was a competition for the limited sports fan dollars in KC.
Read this for more info: https://theathletic.com/1747622/2020/04/16/from-despised-gm-to-missing-on-magic-to-low-attendance-the-story-behind-the-kings-demise-in-kansas-city/
Maybe something you'll be writing about in the future, but looking back at some of the early MISL franchises, I like to think about which franchises could have been a lot more successful if they had better ownership and community engagement.
I don't know the facts about these teams, but given the success of MISL in similar markets, seems to me like Cincinnati (the Kids) was a missed opportunity. Also, Phoenix. The fire flames that shot up in the air after goals, instead of goal lights. That alone should have gotten 10,000 fans! also, Philadelphia. That seemed like an organization that could have flourished.
Anyway..fun to look back on those very early days. It was all so fresh, new and exciting...it was a missed opportunity to not get those markets into the game early on.
There were so many factors that affected success. It's hard to narrow it down. My next story is about the 1974 Philadelphia Atoms vs Soviet Red Army match that led to the creation of the MISL. But I would like to explore the Fever as well. I will need to connect with some Fever people and educate myself.
i think i will double down on Philadelphia. St. Louis had an early history of being a soccer city, but from what I know, Philadelphia also was one of the early soccer cities in the U.S. The Fever should have been another big MISL success.
Ok...thank you for allowing me to daydream about what could have been! To see arenas packed in some of those markets just like they were in Wichita, St. Louis, Baltimore...the more packed arenas across the country could have catapulted the entire league's profile.
As a young Steamer fan, it was always weird to go to the games in St. Louis with 17,000 crazed fans and then watch a game on TV that as in Houston, Phoenix, even the NY Arrows and others ....and see a scattering of a few fans. It didn't make sense to me...now as I'm older...I understand it was most likely poor ownership commitment.
Excellent piece. Great reporting and writing.
Thanks Kurt, your editing made it better.
One of my favoriite things to discuss. How did such a popular "product" disappear so quickly?
I think you hit the main ones - rising salaries, lack of TV contract and certainly the shunning from the soccer purists.
It was always a tricky balance of soccer vs entertainment.
I don't think the indoor game was ever going to make it on soccer alone - on being popular with soccer fans, given the popularity of global outdoor soccer .
Seeing the popularity of "professional" ;) wrestling...it seems that the better long term bet would have been on heavily leaning into the entertainment but then you risk it losing any serious consideration as "sport".
It truly was maybe something that could only have happened in the United States in the 1980s.
Mike, I think there was a confluence of factors that made the 1980s the perfect time for indoor soccer. If we could go back in time, could we have saved the league? Probably... Maybe? But I also wonder if we had saved the MISL would we kill Major League Soccer? The death of one may have hastened the rise of the other.
I think that's a good point. A strong MISL could have made it more difficult to get Major League Soccer going in the right direction. And the 1994 US World Cup was contingent on the U.S. starting a pro outdoor league.
One thing MISL probably doesn't get enough credit for is that it created a lot of soccer fans that otherwise would not have grown up with much exposure to quality soccer. A lot of us 40 years old and older first became soccer fans in MiSL arenas.