The summer friendly debate: let’s make sure it’s a fair fight

I know disparate opinions exist on mid-season friendlies that match MLS sides against the fancy-pants sides from Europe and Mexico. I’m on record as saying, essentially, they once held great value as MLS established its brand, they still hold some value … but that the value will gradually diminish.

But there is one element to the argument that I don’t see mentioned very often. Soccer America’s veteran curmudgeon Paul Gardner just brushes by the subject in this piece as he rails against a practice that he labels “demeaning” to MLS. And as I've mentioned, Dave Clark has written extensively on all this at Sounder at Heart. (Spoiler alert: he ain't a fan.)

The (frequently missing) factor in question is this: somebody will host these friendlies, even if MLS teams opt out – and that someone will most likely reap boffo profits from them.

Whether you care for them or not, you must acknowledge their money-making potential for MLS clubs. Personally, and I have zero problem with owners attempting to make a buck off an enterprise that remains, on the whole, mercilessly unprofitable. But for all the reasons we’ve talked about (dents to perception of MLS quality, fixture congestion, additional personnel wear and tear, etc.) the whole summer friendly bit remains highly imperfect.

But all that may be beside the point. Unless, that is, you’re OK with some slick event promoter or NFL owner who couldn’t care less about soccer or MLS, but who is happy to step in and siphon off some soccer supporter dough – money that might otherwise have gone to the very MLS clubs that have worked so hard to develop the markets.

Let’s take a guy like Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys profit-minded owner, who wants so badly to fill dates that he recently ponied up for 2,100 man hours to construct a bowling alley inside his colossus of a stadium, which became the unlikely venue for the 2011 Bowling U.S. Women’s Open finals.

So, he probably doesn’t need the World Football Challenge, which is tied to Soccer United Marketing, which is an arm of MLS, to bring in Mexican teams to town and make a fast buck. He’d be happy to act as promoter on his own, fill up the place and count his money. Instead, because MLS has remained involved, Barcelona will face Club América on Aug. 6 as part of the World Football Challenge. Jones still gets his cut, but it’s only a cut. S.U.M. and MLS get their cut, too.

Obviously, there’s no MLS team involved in this one. But pairing these matches with contests that do involve MLS teams defrays the costs of it all, which adds cash to individual teams.

So, you may not fancy these friendlies, and I get it. Just be sure not to gloss over this important element of the debate. The guerilla marketers are out there, and they are hungry.