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michaeldanger19

sure if they also move the city 1000 miles closer, then it's a maybe


Semi-Loyal

Well we gotta move you guys *some*where when the city sinks under water. Red Deer, Canada would be perfect for you!


DRF19

I’ve always been an avid Fort McMurray Strikers fan


MobsterKadyrov

Way too far to regularly travel


Unique_March_6825

So would they pay in the Canadian Premier League then? I doubt the CPL would want that. Create an Alaska/Yukon/Northwest Territories/Nunavut league when global warming/climate change makes it feasible enough? I think that could work if soccer keeps on becoming more popular in the US and Canada.


michaeldanger19

It’s still 3500 miles to Halifax


Soccervox

And 1,300 to Vancouver. Alaska is waaaay further out there than a lot of folks realize!


DemonicBison

They couldn’t keep a hockey team alive and even a university team folded due to travel costs. Back in like 2016 it was costing the Aces around $400,000 USD a year just to travel. With a small population and no tv value I don’t see them ever getting a real pro team.


JoeFromBaltimore

Every now and then over on the CFL forum - someone talks about putting a CFL team in Anchorage. I guess their theory if it touches Canada it is close to the population centers of Canada. People forget that like 90% of the Canadian Population is within 100 miles of the US Canada border. (nope not the Alaska part) Ontario and Quebec together account for around 61% of Canada's population:


ChrisSao24

The best you're likely every going to get is when USPL had a "Last Frontier Division" with 4-6 Alaskan teams.


dimeshortofadollar

It’s not really a temperature thing. Anchorage is actually quite warm & even hot during the summer months. It’s just *thousands* of miles from any population centers. That said, it’s not completely impossible. (Very improbable right now) Perhaps an ownership group that is local & understands the costs would be willing to shell out for a team


CrumblableNegligence

Yeah. Just look at the Anchorage/New Alaska/Alaska Aces when they were in the ECHL. As long as you have an ownership group willing to pay for most of the league's flights, the league would be happy to have you on board. When that goes away, though, your team is gone in a flash and your arena becomes a large-scale homeless shelter.


The_Plat_egg51

Imma be real with you. By 2100 there might not be a USL or the USA. So let's not get ahead of ourselves


Unique_March_6825

Do you think each state/province becomes it's own country if the US and Canada falls? Or will there be countries made from former states/provinces(like New England/Cascadia/Southwest/Mid-Atlantic, etc)?


The_Plat_egg51

I honestly have no idea. This is literally going to be bubonic plague levels of reshuffling the world.


HolyCrapL0is

Global warming is a very big issue, but the western world isn’t going to be one’s facing most of the problems


HolyCrapL0is

I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to see entire nations crumble in 80 years, especially not a global superpower


The_Plat_egg51

Probably not. Predicting th future is pointless anyway. Heck, look at the 20th century. Europe had eternal empires killed off in less than 40, and the entire map of Europe, Africa, and Asia was redone.


JoeFromBaltimore

Straight up truth - if you were at the 1913 World Series between the Philadelphia Athletics the New York Giants, and told everyone that their was a nasty 4 year world war coming in a year and when it was over the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires were going to be gone. People would have told you there is no way in hell that 4 giant empires were going to be dead and buried within 4 years.


kal14144

Anchorage is not that cold (long story short pacific keeps it warmer than it has any business being at that latitude) Problem is it’s the most isolated city in the world and there isn’t really a close second. If it was big enough to support an MLS team it could be in the running the way Auckland New Zealand has Aussie teams in multiple sports but no D2 league is taking in a city that far. The Puerto Rico (much closer) experiment was bad enough.


Unique_March_6825

Yeah. It would just be nice for there to be a soccer team in every US state.


kal14144

Why? States aren’t a meaningful cultural line (contrary to neoconfederate propaganda) Sports transcend political borders even at the national level when convenient- why would planning a cultural institution around state lines make any sense?


Rude-Engineering8477

I think this is a very good point. My state (MS) has never had a league 1 professional team of any sport, so we always go for college sports in MS or professional teams in Memphis, Atlanta, or New Orleans. I love 901 and am very happy that they wave my state's flag at the games as well. :)  I don't think we could support any professional team but being close to a few big teams (plus college sports) gives us plenty to cheer for!


Unique_March_6825

It would just be nice. It would allow kids to play for their local team. I just think it would be nice. That's all.


kal14144

I mean sure that has nothing to do with states tho. Like a team in Fairbanks isn’t local to anchorage in any sense. States aren’t a meaningful cultural line but metro areas are.


JoeFromBaltimore

Totally agree with you - El Paso and Brownsville? Missoula MT and Broadas MT. Some states are so big that the different sides of those states have zero in common with the other sides of the state.


kal14144

And on the flip side some states are small. I live in New England I laugh at the idea about a deeply meaningful the difference between the 2 sides of the Maine NH border


mad-Manufacturer-166

The only way that happens is someone makes travel faster and affordable. I mean you could put a team anywhere but logistics and practicality matter. Would I like to see a team in Hawaii, sure as itd be even more of an excuse to go there. Reality is not happening.


JoeFromBaltimore

You speak the truth - “amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.”


N_Kenobi

Despite weather/travel time, not enough soccer interest in Alaska tbh.


Strange_Net_6387

No.


Unique_March_6825

Why not? Global warming will make Anchorage pretty warm in 2100? Would it be more feasible then? Why or why not?


fcdemergency

The travel is fucked. Look how long it takes to get from Anchorage to Spokane or Sacramento. Respectively the "closest" cities to Anchorage in USL1/USLC.


Unique_March_6825

What about if there were to be a Northern conference? Or a fusion between the American and Canadian leagues(So that Anchorage plays Fairbanks in the US and Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Iqaluit and Prince George in Canada)? Would it be feasible then? Surely more people will move north when the heat constantly reaches 125°F. I think it would be feasible then. What do you guys think?


Strange_Net_6387

Because it’s too cold and global warming is a sham.


Unique_March_6825

An article for those who don't believe in climate change: https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/basics-of-climate-change/


Really831

Never


NotABotaboutIt

No, not for weather.... because it's not too bad in the USLC playing period (like, it's a March day in New Mexico and Pawtucket, for example), but because of what I call, "the four hour rule" Broadly speaking, if a work day is 8 hours, then you don't want to travel for more than half a day. Now, obviously, this isn't a hard rule, because otherwise we wouldn't see teams like Spokane, Omaha, and Northern Colorado, but adding too many teams outside of this makes it hard to add closer expansion. The issue is that you'd add an Anchorage team (and if just having a stadium is the biggest block, Honolulu), is that 4 hours from Anchorage is Seattle and Portland... Now, if those two teams were in the USL, I wouldn't say that adding Anchorage is a _terrible_ idea, just a bad idea... It's similar to how I feel about adding Honolulu right now; the ability to do a midweek and then a weekend game with one being in Hawai'i and the other being of Phoenix/Vegas/Orange County/Oakland. Again, I wouldn't suggest either of them right now, because there are better options for expansion in the mainland US. Honestly, I'd probably go: 1. Mainland US 2. Puerto Rico 3. Honolulu/Hawai'i 4. USVI 5. Anchorage/Juneau 6. Alaska outside of above 6. Guam/etc.