The cloning of Liga MX' Chivas de Guadalajara to create MLS Chivas USA was "always a risky proposition," and perhaps "no sports brand was less suited to this kind of experiment" than the Jorge Vergara-owned Mexican club, according to Keegan Pierce in a special to SI.com. Pierce, who was Chivas USA Dir of Communications during the club's first five seasons, noted on-field performance was "the first, and most evident" reason the club "failed to live up to expectations." But that was "the least of Chivas USA's problems," which last week was purchased by MLS. There are "important lessons to be learned" from the club's mistakes. Foreign investors "must always remember the importance of allowing a new team to grow its own roots and create its own history and identity." This is "not just a question of establishing community ties (which Chivas USA certainly tried to do); it also means making sure that a new club doesn't feel it is constantly living under the shadow of a parent or older sibling." Things Chivas USA could have "done differently" included having ownership "make it clear from day one that this was going to be a 'multicultural' team, not just because MLS player rules demanded it, but because that was its vision for the club." In addition, the organization "should have thought twice about the name Chivas 'USA.'" Even the club's "most ardent fans agreed -- and we heard this often -- that 'LA' needed to be included somewhere in the official name (objections from the Galaxy notwithstanding) to underscore the club's connection to its home market" (SI.com, 2/24).
FRESH START: In L.A., Nick Green wrote the question to ask is how will Chivas USA or "whatever it will call itself thrive in the crowded local sports market?" How can a newly-branded club "rise from the ashes of one that doesn’t mean anything to anybody and resonate in the hearts of local soccer fans?" If the Galaxy "have a weakness it’s in their corporate, somewhat sterile image that’s about a decade behind the times." The club "still panders to a suburban soccer mentality." If the successor to Chivas USA "wants to tap into the authentic, organic soccer experience seen in the likes of Seattle or Portland, it needs a downtown-adjacent stadium to showcase its game to [the] area’s diverse and growing population." The team also could "play games earlier in the day so downtown hipsters can have a lunch or locally made beer at the increasing number of trendy pubs and craft breweries popping up before or after a game." Green: "Unite these diverse inhabitants behind a game and a club that is their own rather than one transplanted from elsewhere and you already have a bigger foundation for success than Chivas USA ever did" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 2/25).
