Jim Alexander: LAFC unveiled the city’s latest Asian star Wednesday, introducing South Korea’s Son Heung-min at a mid-afternoon news conference. (Not great timing, considering that L.A.’s other Asian superstar, Shohei Ohtani, was at work in Chavez Ravine at that very moment, but you take your opportunities when you can, I suppose.)
The positive: Son seems to be a legitimate difference-maker, a star in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur (and for the TV folks out there unfamiliar with English “football,” it’s pronounced “Tott’nm.”) He will appeal to Southern California’s large Korean population. And his command of English is very good, so no interpreter will be needed.
There is a negative, though, and it’s no fault of Son or LAFC. This would be the sort of signing that would get (and probably has gotten) the casual sports fan interested. But MLS’s abysmal linkage with Apple TV+, which has, for the most part, wiped out local TV broadcasts of MLS games, severely limits the potential reach of this acquisition. If you don’t have League Pass – and just having Apple TV+ doesn’t mean you automatically have the MLS package – you’re out of luck.
If you are the fourth or fifth most popular sport in this country – and it’s a legitimate debate whether MLS or the NHL belongs in the big four – can you really afford to shut out potential customers?
That said, if Son has the expected impact, maybe the public at large will be able to see him in the MLS Cup final. I think that’s still on linear TV, isn’t it?
Mirjam, what do you think?
Mirjam Swanson: On Apple TV’s MLS package: The fragmented nature of our modern media consumption is often vexing, to be sure. Once upon a time, people would open a newspaper or watch an evening news show or surf channels to their heart’s content and be exposed to things they didn’t know they’d like. These days, everything is algorithms or appointment streaming/binging and we’re all in our bubbles and it’s rare that someone or something persuades us to try it, try it you might like Green Eggs and Ham … though sports is that thing more often that not.
… that said, the MLS package is pretty tidy and user-friendly. It seems to work better than, say, the WNBA’s League Pass – though WNBA games are more widely available on a range of platforms and channels, so you have a better chance to catch a game … if you know where to look and happen to have the service that’s providing the one you want to watch.
Yeah, I don’t know. More and more, I miss basic cable.
Re: Son.
This is exciting! Such a big deal. This is a legit international superstar coming to the MLS not in his late-30s or to enjoy a seemingly easy swan song in the States, this is a 33-year-old still at the height of his powers, a talent who has had more goal contributions in the Premier League since he made his Spurs debut in 2015 than any players but Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane. And he’s getting paid royally to make the jump across the pond, an MLS record $26.5 million transfer fee – which I’ve read is the third highest in history for a player 33 or older, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.
LAFC isn’t messing around. But we knew that. Now I can’t wait to watch the Son play – and if you’re a soccer fan here in L.A., he might be the thing that entices you try it. And you might like the MLS Season Pass.
Jim: I did some double-checking, and Channel 13 airs replays of LAFC games on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5:30 in the afternoon. Not sure how much late-afternoon tape delays expand the fan base, but every little bit helps and people who didn’t look before might be inclined to check it out. Still, and I’ve said this before, by grabbing the money – a paltry $8 million per team per season – with the promise of global exposure while shutting out local broadcasts, MLS committed an own goal.
Meanwhile, another star has arrived in L.A. – actually, returned. Keenan Allen is a Charger again, and I’m all for it. General manager Joe Hortiz had to make a couple of tough salary cap decisions last year and got rid of both Allen and Mike Williams. This year he brought back Williams, who abruptly retired on the eve of training camp (and then said a couple of days ago that he might change his mind again, but not this season.)
I don’t think Allen will suddenly bail. How much he has left, we don’t know, but he was always a receiver you could trust. He was Philip Rivers’ second favorite target, behind Hall of Famer Antonio Gates, and he was a key component of Justin Herbert’s receiving corps before going to the Bears.
He’s 33, and he caught seven touchdown passes and accounted for 974 yards last year as one of Caleb Williams’ key targets. He has 11,274 yards and 66 touchdown catches (10,530 and 59 in 11 seasons as a Charger) for his career. Gates finished with 11,841 yards and 116 TD catches, a record for a tight end, evidence enough that when all else failed, Rivers looked for Gates and more often than not found him.
Allen will also be a resource and a positive influence in a receivers room full of young guys, and that’s not to be discounted either.
Mirjam: I know some people are wondering where Allen fits on the field, especially because Ladd McConkey, who broke many of Allen’s rookie receiving records last season, plays a lot of slot receiver, like Allen.
Hortiz doesn’t seem concerned: “You get good players on the field and you play them.”
It’s either that simple … or it’s not. Time will tell. I think, though with Harbaugh’s way of doing things, of keeping the main thing the main thing, we’ll see this work well.
Much rather have too many pass catchers than not enough, and if one of them is an old favorite of the fans? Even better. Welcome back, Slayer.
Jim: Hmmm … how to introduce this third topic … Let’s just say that there has been an epidemic of fan misbehavior lately at WNBA games. For whatever reason – and my suggestion would be rampant misogyny in an increasingly coarse society – three times in maybe a week, fans have thrown what have euphemistically been described as “sex toys” onto the floor during games. The latest was this past Tuesday when the Sparks were hosting the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever.
Additionally, it’s been reported that in a couple of other games, similar items have been thrown from the stands but didn’t reach the court and in at least one case, hit a young fan. In Phoenix, at least, someone was arrested. USA Today reported that Kaden Lopez, 18, called it a “stupid prank that was trending on social media” and, according to court documents, bought the sex toy the day before to take it to the game.
Obviously, this hasn’t come out of nowhere. Somewhere in the sewers of social media or wherever this element of society congregates, the boys — and I’m assuming that’s who it is — have decided among themselves that it would be funny to embarrass female athletes. Maybe it’s a response directed at the league itself, and maybe it’s directed at a class of athletes who are activist, outspoken and not willing to settle, as their latest “Pay Us What You Owe Us” action at the recent All-Star Game indicated.
Then again, I’m not sure these folks are that bright or have thought this through that far. More likely, this is the current manifestation of the “He-Man Woman Haters Club” from the ancient Our Gang/Little Rascals comedies.
Mirjam: Someone asked me if I was going to write about this and my thought was, well, no. The Sparks’ Rickea Jackson muttered one word and that about summed it up: “Corny.” Like, what more needs to be said? I don’t care about the motivations of whoever throws it, because not only is it obviously offensive, but throwing objects onto the field of play anywhere is dangerous (which is why one person was arrested and why the league is promising that anyone else caught also faces at least a one-year ban – and I hope “at least” is doing a lot of work there).
And so, yes, I get that I’m writing about it at this very moment, but what I want to say about it is that the teams’ reaction to the incident Tuesday was perfect: Kelsey Plum booted the object off the court and play went on. Anyone who’s ever had to deal with corny people trying to bully or poke at you knows what they’re really trying to do is provoke a response and this whole situation is so beneath a response from these great athletes.
As Plum said postgame when she and Jackson were asked about it: “I thought too, we did a great job, Indiana included, just playing on. Like, don’t give it any attention. And the refs, I really appreciate them, too. It was just, ‘Hey, let’s go.’”
Jim: Honestly, sometimes – a lot of times, lately – I’m ashamed of my gender.