Thread by @MLS_Buzz

If MLS wants to create culture and expectancy around nationally televised games, here’s where I’d start..

Introduce a Gameday setting similar to what NBC does for the Premier League or what ESPN does for college football (and sometimes basketball)

Thread:

Americans love any reason to chill on some pavement or grass, listen to music and drink alcohol. Bonus points if you can be on national TV, too.

Picture where your local MLS fan base tailgates or hangs before games, now imagine a Fox or ESPN broadcast booth in the middle of it

I could go on and on about benefits..

- builds hype around the “finale” match
- makes coverage feel more grassroots and engaging
- creates a buzz amongst fans when the broadcast is in their area
- puts our American flavor on soccer coverage

Here’s how I would do it..

Say Timbers vs Sounders on a Saturday at 8 pm eastern on national TV

Start “MLS Gameday” at 12. Run for 2 hours previewing all of MLS games that day, recapping last week, tell stories.

Then, come back again at 7 pm to recap the day, hype the game.

I’m not in the TV business, but I’d tune in every Saturday at 12 PM for an MLS Gameday broadcast where fans and the stadium were the backdrop, good analysis was offered, and culture felt like it was being built.

Idk, just a lunch time idea. Take it or leave it @MLS

Forgot to add, that 12 PM gameday could run directly into a 2 PM kick off somewhere else where there is another live crew in a stadium that you pass the broadcast over to. So 7 hours of MLS coverage in stadiums, 4 hours of which are during games.