Proving That I Still Watch MLS
I've been holding off on saying this for a while but I'm seriously coming to the conclusion that Pizza Hut Park is cursed. I think they should do some research on what used to be on the site in Frisco. Maybe it was the spot where someone planned to assassinate Pele and angered the footcer gods or something.
With tonights 1-2 loss to D.C. United, who are not exactly beating the world right now either, FC Dallas now stands at 0-3-2 in their new stadium. Mind you, it's not like they're faring much better on the road since they're winless in ten no matter where they lay their hats.
Perhaps they need a footcer shaman to come in and remedy the situation. But not, of course, before the Fire come to town for the U.S. Open Cup semi-final on Wednesday. ;)
The Fire for their part tuned up with a 4-1 demolition of the Milwaukee Wave in an outdoor friendly against an indoor team to build hype for the hopeful expansion team north of the border (and I don't mean Toronto).
Or perhaps the curse is just Carlos Ruiz (for those who don't believe in curses). He flew down to Guatemala even though he was suspended for the game against the United States and when he got back he apparently complained he was too tired to play. He's already expressed his wishes to get out of MLS at the conclusion of the season and that can't be good karma in the locker room.
I actually feel really bad for Colin Clarke since if he plays Ruiz, he's gotta be worried about him not giving 100% but we all see the results when he doesn't.
And that's the only time you're ever going to see me feeling bad for FC Dallas. :)
Though one silver lining came out of tonight - the game drew 15,263. Meanwhile a team going in the opposite direction again, the New England Revolution only drew 9,167.
Though those fans who did show up witnessed a well rested Taylor Twellman (who didn't seem to expend too much energy showing up about as much for the United States as Carlos Ruiz did for Guatemala, except Twellman was actually in the match) score a hat trick to take the MLS lead with 14 goals. How he can't translate this on the international stage, I'm dumbfounded to contemplate.
I'm kind of tired of hearing people who only follow the United States MNT thinking Twellman is overrated (and a bad goal finisher to boot). Anyone who missed the header on the first goal tonight or his break dancing for another might think that.
But the attendance story of the night has to be the San Jose Earthquakes. I think the fans finally realized that boycotting the stadium after the rumors about the team's eminent demise really wasn't helping their cause much. Tonight they drew an astonishing 22,311 (their highest attendance of the season in a game that wasn't against their cross state rivals by almost 7,000).
This was almost the first time this season that they outdrew Los Angeles (who missed a home sellout for only 7th time this season) with the Galaxy drawing 25,874.
Does anyone worry that the country's footcer attendance is just going to tip over as it seems to be a little west coast heavy?
With tonights 1-2 loss to D.C. United, who are not exactly beating the world right now either, FC Dallas now stands at 0-3-2 in their new stadium. Mind you, it's not like they're faring much better on the road since they're winless in ten no matter where they lay their hats.
Perhaps they need a footcer shaman to come in and remedy the situation. But not, of course, before the Fire come to town for the U.S. Open Cup semi-final on Wednesday. ;)
The Fire for their part tuned up with a 4-1 demolition of the Milwaukee Wave in an outdoor friendly against an indoor team to build hype for the hopeful expansion team north of the border (and I don't mean Toronto).
Or perhaps the curse is just Carlos Ruiz (for those who don't believe in curses). He flew down to Guatemala even though he was suspended for the game against the United States and when he got back he apparently complained he was too tired to play. He's already expressed his wishes to get out of MLS at the conclusion of the season and that can't be good karma in the locker room.
I actually feel really bad for Colin Clarke since if he plays Ruiz, he's gotta be worried about him not giving 100% but we all see the results when he doesn't.
And that's the only time you're ever going to see me feeling bad for FC Dallas. :)
Though one silver lining came out of tonight - the game drew 15,263. Meanwhile a team going in the opposite direction again, the New England Revolution only drew 9,167.
Though those fans who did show up witnessed a well rested Taylor Twellman (who didn't seem to expend too much energy showing up about as much for the United States as Carlos Ruiz did for Guatemala, except Twellman was actually in the match) score a hat trick to take the MLS lead with 14 goals. How he can't translate this on the international stage, I'm dumbfounded to contemplate.
I'm kind of tired of hearing people who only follow the United States MNT thinking Twellman is overrated (and a bad goal finisher to boot). Anyone who missed the header on the first goal tonight or his break dancing for another might think that.
But the attendance story of the night has to be the San Jose Earthquakes. I think the fans finally realized that boycotting the stadium after the rumors about the team's eminent demise really wasn't helping their cause much. Tonight they drew an astonishing 22,311 (their highest attendance of the season in a game that wasn't against their cross state rivals by almost 7,000).
This was almost the first time this season that they outdrew Los Angeles (who missed a home sellout for only 7th time this season) with the Galaxy drawing 25,874.
Does anyone worry that the country's footcer attendance is just going to tip over as it seems to be a little west coast heavy?
posted by incendiarymind at 9:13 PM
7 Comments:
American footcer attendance seems a lot like league 1 football over here...
I would hate the city that ICI built on normal occasions, but they have just beaten Arsenal. They don't need me hating them either, the smoggies have it tough enough as it is just living there.
It's very similar to league one. Except the problem is the talent level is the same as the mid-level of the Colaship and the attendance doesn't match.
There's talk of trying to make the New York franchise, the MetroStars, something of a super club that would get larger attendance and be our Leeds United. But so far we've only got Los Angeles averaging around 25,000 and Salt Lake City averaging 18,000 that we're even willing to admit attendance numbers to to the rest of the world.
Actually, San Jose's attendance boost has come in large part from actual marketing from the front office. The Quakes interim GM has worked harder with youth leagues and even convinced Telemundo to broadcast two Earthquakes games. Marketing leads to increased attendance? Wow, that must be shocking to AEG.
I can't resist, I'm sorry... you mentioned Milwaukee Waste Removal United... so...
Stand up *clap clap* if you hate Milwaukee!
Otherwise, I have to echo the thought about marketing. Shocking, isn't it? If you actually do some marketing, you get results? Some people still don't get this about soccer in the US--you have to invest in order to get return.
I agree on the marketing but I think it helps they're marketing a winning team in San Jose. I mean, you can get people to come out once but if they lose, people won't come back.
I think that LA and San Jose get helped, in part, by the ethnic make-up of their communities. Also, what is the competition for the sports-viewing dollar? Losing baseball teams, and a couple of losing football teams in the Bay Area. New England, on the other hand, has the division leader in baseball and the defending champions in football. I'm not sure what the Fire's excuse is, what with the Bears being stinky and all, but the Cubs and the White Sox have put together decent years in the last few seasons, so perhaps that is it.
Don't forget San Jose has a hockey team that's pretty good that they didn't have to contend with this season. If any two sports overlap fans, it's hockey and footcer.
San Jose's pretty much in the same sporting situation as Columbus. What's your excuse. :p
Chicago has a very negative media toward footcer so that's our excuse.
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