Why MLS should have picked us over them
Major League Soccer announced Wednesday that Minneapolis has been awarded the league’s 23rd franchise, beginning play in 2018.
Although Sacramento is considered a near lock for a future expansion team, we wonder how commissioner Don Garber could have picked the “City of Lakes” over “River City.”
Here’s how we see the comparison:
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▪ Their NASL team, Minnesota United, averages about 5,900 fans per match; our USL team, Republic FC, averaged 11,294 in its inaugural season.
▪ They don’t have a stadium-financing plan; we have a group of investors that has pledged to build a stadium without public funds.
▪ Their summers are hot and humid, and it doesn’t cool down at night; we have dry heat and Delta breezes.
▪ They have to plug in engine-block heaters if they park outside in the winter; we plug in our cars to be green.
▪ They ice fish; we fish.
▪ They eat lutefisk; we eat fresh salmon.
▪ Their state has 10,000 lakes; we have two great rivers.
▪ Their state bird is the mosquito; ours is the quail.
▪ They have one Prince; we have a team of Kings.
▪ They had Jesse “The Body” Ventura; we had Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
▪ Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges collects Wonder Woman memorabilia; Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson collects political allies.
▪ They are in the Midwest; we aren’t.
Tom Couzens
tcouzens@sacbee.com
What to watch I
Men’s NCAA Tournament, UCLA vs. Gonzaga, 4:15 p.m., Ch. 13: The first of the day’s four regional semifinal games will decide West Coast supremacy.
What to watch II
NBA, Kings at New Orleans, 5 p.m., CSNCA: Kings are going for their fifth win in a row.
Worth repeating
MLS Commissioner Don Garber, after Wednesday’s announcement about Minnesota: “We all know they’ve got to get a project done. And if not, then we’ll have to take a step back, mutually, and assess whether or not it makes sense.”
On this date
1971: UCLA beats Villanova 68-62 for its fifth NCAA basketball title.
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