Alessandro Acquistapace-Volpe
@acquistapace.bsky.social
god, it’s brutal out here | two years away from being two years away | MLS sicko from another continent | anthropology student | knows definitely too much about sports | he/him
Read my stuff here: https://medium.com/@alessandroacquistapace
Read my stuff here: https://medium.com/@alessandroacquistapace
and does a lot to improve upon a number of other issues that MLS faces and that are the one you mention being stated by league sources to justify the change. Imho getting the playoffs in a better slot,not bothered by international breaks and away from CFB/NFL competition is a much better proposition
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
and does a lot to improve upon a number of other issues that MLS faces and that are the one you mention being stated by league sources to justify the change. Imho getting the playoffs in a better slot,not bothered by international breaks and away from CFB/NFL competition is a much better proposition
The reality is that the perfect calendar for MLS doesn’t exist. This isn’t football where you can skip six months of the year. Teams are going to play in some awful climates. Full stop. Split season would be the best to accommodate it, but fall-to-spring with a long winter break is a close second…
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The reality is that the perfect calendar for MLS doesn’t exist. This isn’t football where you can skip six months of the year. Teams are going to play in some awful climates. Full stop. Split season would be the best to accommodate it, but fall-to-spring with a long winter break is a close second…
“Without incident” is disagreeable, but whatever. The soccer played is miserable, mostly, though. Data has shown that MLS consistently gets slower and yet not more skilful. Plus, temperatures are getting warmer, not less. Plus, the winter break is very likely to look the same as it does now
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
“Without incident” is disagreeable, but whatever. The soccer played is miserable, mostly, though. Data has shown that MLS consistently gets slower and yet not more skilful. Plus, temperatures are getting warmer, not less. Plus, the winter break is very likely to look the same as it does now
I’d totally agree with you. I just have started to question how realistic it is. To me now it feels very much like a “everything has to change for nothing to change” situation. MLS is in no way capable of being arbiter of its own destiny, and it needs to at least partially play a rigged game
November 11, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I’d totally agree with you. I just have started to question how realistic it is. To me now it feels very much like a “everything has to change for nothing to change” situation. MLS is in no way capable of being arbiter of its own destiny, and it needs to at least partially play a rigged game
That is the ideal format. IIRC early CPL had a split season too,that should be CONACAF’s thing. Align all leagues on the split schedule and then you can do a whole lot of fun stuff. But unfortunately with some leagues shifting away from it it feels like one of those things where Europe’s way has won
November 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
That is the ideal format. IIRC early CPL had a split season too,that should be CONACAF’s thing. Align all leagues on the split schedule and then you can do a whole lot of fun stuff. But unfortunately with some leagues shifting away from it it feels like one of those things where Europe’s way has won
I’m in Rome. It is dangerous to play here in July. That’s why teams don’t even hold preseason here but move to colder climates. And again, Scandinavia cannot be a direct comparison to the US because they are never as warm in the summer as Saint Paul is — why do you keep deviating from my poiny?
November 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I’m in Rome. It is dangerous to play here in July. That’s why teams don’t even hold preseason here but move to colder climates. And again, Scandinavia cannot be a direct comparison to the US because they are never as warm in the summer as Saint Paul is — why do you keep deviating from my poiny?
Ok whatever but before you start arguing with random people who have not been arguing with you specifically you should read well what they are saying before jumping in people’s mentions with unrelated comments
November 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Ok whatever but before you start arguing with random people who have not been arguing with you specifically you should read well what they are saying before jumping in people’s mentions with unrelated comments
You miss my point though: I’m noting that *all* of the US, in the summer, is much warmer not only than places that do spring-to-fall schedule, but also of most places w/ fall-to-spring. Go check the image I posted. Saint Paul is almost as warm as Barcelona, one of the warmest climates in Europe!
November 11, 2025 at 3:20 PM
You miss my point though: I’m noting that *all* of the US, in the summer, is much warmer not only than places that do spring-to-fall schedule, but also of most places w/ fall-to-spring. Go check the image I posted. Saint Paul is almost as warm as Barcelona, one of the warmest climates in Europe!
No? MLS can’t play in June, that’s FIFA window. MLS doesn’t play a lot in June even with the current schedule. At the very least it’d be an August-May. But with the necessity of a two month break in the winter, MLS could even decide to start late-mid July like many Euro leagues do
November 11, 2025 at 3:14 PM
No? MLS can’t play in June, that’s FIFA window. MLS doesn’t play a lot in June even with the current schedule. At the very least it’d be an August-May. But with the necessity of a two month break in the winter, MLS could even decide to start late-mid July like many Euro leagues do
But *all* of the US and Canada is warmer or just as warm in the summer as countries where they play fall-to-spring while at the same time, while at the same time large swaths of the country is much less cold than not only leagues with spring-to-fall calendars, but also most fall-to-spring!
November 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM
But *all* of the US and Canada is warmer or just as warm in the summer as countries where they play fall-to-spring while at the same time, while at the same time large swaths of the country is much less cold than not only leagues with spring-to-fall calendars, but also most fall-to-spring!
Because the temperatures in June, July, August are considered dangerous and not suitable to play in Barcelona and Rome, so why should they be suitable for two of the *coldest* cities in MLS. Look, a soccer league in the US is going to play in some shit weather! It’s both too hot and too cold!
November 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Because the temperatures in June, July, August are considered dangerous and not suitable to play in Barcelona and Rome, so why should they be suitable for two of the *coldest* cities in MLS. Look, a soccer league in the US is going to play in some shit weather! It’s both too hot and too cold!
I don’t want to force them being away from home more than they already do. My point is that the winter break in the new schedule would go roughly from where the season stops now to when it starts now. All that changes is that you give up July,which is genuinely too dangerous to play in 95% of cities
November 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I don’t want to force them being away from home more than they already do. My point is that the winter break in the new schedule would go roughly from where the season stops now to when it starts now. All that changes is that you give up July,which is genuinely too dangerous to play in 95% of cities
MLS would face *less* competition with the fall-to-spring schedule than what they do now. I’d 100% pick going up against NHL/NBA playoffs (but not the finals as those are in June and MLS would have to wrap up by May) than having to go against CFB/NFL, which the league currently competes against
November 11, 2025 at 9:10 AM
MLS would face *less* competition with the fall-to-spring schedule than what they do now. I’d 100% pick going up against NHL/NBA playoffs (but not the finals as those are in June and MLS would have to wrap up by May) than having to go against CFB/NFL, which the league currently competes against
Scandi leagues do not have to face as warm of a summer climate as MLS does. And I’m not even saying in warmer cities. MN’s Twin Cities are warmer in the summer than any Scandi city. By the time climate gets as warm as it does in July in St. Paul, most Euro leagues have already finished the season
November 11, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Scandi leagues do not have to face as warm of a summer climate as MLS does. And I’m not even saying in warmer cities. MN’s Twin Cities are warmer in the summer than any Scandi city. By the time climate gets as warm as it does in July in St. Paul, most Euro leagues have already finished the season
Russia has been on the fall-to-spring schedule for a decade btw. They’ve found a way. MLS would have it easier bc they could schedule games in warmer markets. In a way, by taking playoffs out of cold season, they could reduce the amount of cold games as you can’t schedule around that in playoffs
November 11, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Russia has been on the fall-to-spring schedule for a decade btw. They’ve found a way. MLS would have it easier bc they could schedule games in warmer markets. In a way, by taking playoffs out of cold season, they could reduce the amount of cold games as you can’t schedule around that in playoffs
Scandinavian countries though aren’t as warm as those same cold MLS cities in the summer. Bürki has said MLS should change the schedule bc the summer in St. Louis, not Houston, is unbearable. The avg temperature in July in Minneapolis would be considered too hot to play by most Euro leagues
November 11, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Scandinavian countries though aren’t as warm as those same cold MLS cities in the summer. Bürki has said MLS should change the schedule bc the summer in St. Louis, not Houston, is unbearable. The avg temperature in July in Minneapolis would be considered too hot to play by most Euro leagues
My guess is that they’d just start the league a couple weeks earlier than the big Euro leagues do. They could start early august, even late July. Many European leagues already do this in order to prepare their teams better for European cups playoffs.
November 11, 2025 at 8:52 AM
My guess is that they’d just start the league a couple weeks earlier than the big Euro leagues do. They could start early august, even late July. Many European leagues already do this in order to prepare their teams better for European cups playoffs.
They’re not going to play in January. Easy. They’re going to stop playing in December (like they do now) and start playing back in February (like they do now)
November 10, 2025 at 11:10 PM
They’re not going to play in January. Easy. They’re going to stop playing in December (like they do now) and start playing back in February (like they do now)
MLS is very likely not going to play in January, as they’re going to have a winter break from December to February, and will likely play quite a few August games, as that’s when the season will start, they could even easily start early August to allow a longer winter break, maybe even late July
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
MLS is very likely not going to play in January, as they’re going to have a winter break from December to February, and will likely play quite a few August games, as that’s when the season will start, they could even easily start early August to allow a longer winter break, maybe even late July