One thing I'm fairly certain about. If the good folks attempting to make a go of it in Winnipeg with a Premier Development League franchise are to succeed, they won't do so by pretending to be something they're not.
That's why I crooked an eyebrow upon seeing the Facebook page promoting next Monday's press conference to announce the name and crest. Saying that Elite soccer is coming to Winnipeg is not going to fool anybody. Not even anybody in Winnipeg.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Winnipeg is not a "soccer city" in the way that Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver may be, but the city embraced the World Cup as feverishly as any other its size in the country. Even my friends back home who don't give a shit about the game know TFC isn't really the big leagues. As for the people ripping around the West End last June with Dad's flag up on the antenna, I'd be surprised if even 2% of them ever end up at a PDL match in Winnipeg.
But back to the Facebook page. Whatever, in the end it really is just a Facebook page. I'm thrilled that any form of pro soccer** is coming back to Winnipeg and I commend the guys who are backing the project for doing it. I just think the best chance of success lies in targetting the hardest of the hardcores and - and least in the beginning - the team not trying to pretend to be anything it isn't.
Winnipeg already boasts three successful pro sports teams: the Manitoba Moose, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and baseball's Winnipeg Goldeyes. Depending on how you view the CFL, at least two of those are minor league caliber. Based on numbers from this explanation of the Canadian soccer pyramid, it costs about $200,000 to operate a CSL team annually. If that figure roughly translates to the PDL, we're discussing a significantly smaller operation than any of the city's other pro teams. The as-yet-unnamed franchise will play in the Winnipeg Indoor Soccer Complex, which seats about 2,000.
I can remember the Fury drawing upwards of 9,000 fans to games at Winnipeg Stadium in the late 1980's. That was the exception rather than the rule and I think the majority in the stands saw the game as a novelty, but the fact they were there proves Winnipeggers* will pay to watch soccer.
If the team's owners want an example of what not to do, they could do worse than studying up on the city's ill-fated minor-league basketball franchise, the Winnipeg Thunder.
Hockey, football and baseball have traditional followings in Winnipeg. Basketball doesn't (or at least it didn't in 1994) and despite the existence of the Winnipeg Fury 20 years ago, neither does soccer.
I truly hope that this team can build on a solid base of modest support and some day become part of whatever happens with the CSA's poorly articulated plans to launch some kind of Canadian second (third?) division.
Various Winnipeggers have already made their thoughts known on the supporter boards, but I'm curious to hear more opinions below. Can the PDL make a go of it in Winnipeg?
*The correct demonym is Winnipegger. This article was originally published using the demonym Winnipeger.
** It has been pointed out to me that the PDL is purely an amateur league, although in the past some clubs have had certain players on contracts.