La Cruda: Preaseason Week 2

New Look Quakes

The San Jose Earthquakes unveiled their new look for the 2019 season. You can read my whole opinion here, but if you are short on time, I will summarize it here. I don’t like them. That being said soccer is not a fashion show and I don’t care what the team is wearing on the pitch if it leads to wins.

What Will the Stadium Be Named?

The financial struggles of Avaya the telecommunications company are well known, but those struggles may lead to a new stadium name. In late 2017 Avaya asked a judge to let them lower the value of their 10-year $20 million naming rights deal for the stadium taking away as much as $12 million from the Quakes. That is a significant reduction especially for a team known for its economical ways, but it is a blessing in disguise. MLS has changed a lot since that original deal was signed and those changes add up to more money. The old saying “a rising tide raises all boats” holds in this situation. Due to the league’s growth and the successes of newcomers like LAFC and Atlanta United a naming rights deal can fetch a lot more money in 2019 even for bottom-feeders like the Quakes.

Playoffs?!

All the editions to the squad have some weary Quakes fans getting ahead of themselves and talking about if this team can make a run at the playoffs. As remarkable and rare as that would be it seems like an unrealistic goal for this season. I am not saying I wouldn’t enjoy watching this squad in postseason play but I would much rather they create an identity for the future. Soon enough Almeyda will move on, and the youngsters will be sold off to Europe or become veterans, and without an identity, this team will fall back to old ways.