Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 26
The Week 26 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Week 26 | Thru Week 26 | YTD | ||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2006 | 15,419 | 7 | 15,014 | 174 | ||
| 2007 | 23,104 | 49.84% | 7 | 16,475 | 9.73% | 174 |
| 2008 | 16,948 | -26.64% | 6 | 16,448 | -0.16% | 174 |
| 2009 | 14,973 | -11.65% | 8 | 15,748 | -4.26% | 183 |
| 2010 | 16,022 | 7.01% | 10 | 16,517 | 4.88% | 204 |
| YTD | ||||
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>20k | |
| 2006 | 15,014 | 13,196 | 20.69% | 16.67% |
| 2007 | 16,475 | 15,008 | 8.62% | 26.44% |
| 2008 | 16,448 | 15,188 | 11.49% | 24.71% |
| 2009 | 15,748 | 14,516 | 15.85% | 19.13% |
| 2010 | 16,517 | 14,935 | 7.84% | 22.06% |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2009:
| MLS Attendance – Equal # of Home Games | |||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | ||||||
| Att | Cap % | Att | Att +/- | GP | Cap % | Cap | |
| Seattle | 30,587 | 94.40% | 36,167 | 18.24% | 13 | 101.88% | 35,500 |
| LA Galaxy | 19,812 | 73.38% | 20,735 | 4.66% | 13 | 76.80% | 27,000 |
| Toronto | 20,308 | 92.40% | 20,622 | 1.55% | 14 | 93.83% | 21,978 |
| Philadelphia | NA | NA | 19,609 | NA | 12 | 90.16% | 18,500 |
| N.Y./N.J. Red Bulls | 12,070 | 47.92% | 17,927 | 48.52% | 12 | 71.17% | 25,189 |
| Real Salt Lake | 16,211 | 79.94% | 16,870 | 4.07% | 14 | 87.23% | 19,340 |
| Houston | 16,107 | 71.59% | 16,860 | 4.67% | 13 | 74.93% | 22,500 |
| Chicago | 14,113 | 70.56% | 15,901 | 12.67% | 12 | 79.50% | 20,000 |
| Columbus Crew | 14,272 | 71.36% | 14,597 | 2.28% | 13 | 72.98% | 20,000 |
| D.C. United | 15,452 | 68.67% | 14,237 | -7.86% | 13 | 63.28% | 22,500 |
| ChivasUSA | 15,551 | 57.60% | 13,925 | -10.46% | 12 | 51.57% | 27,000 |
| Colorado Rapids | 12,614 | 69.75% | 13,046 | 3.42% | 12 | 72.14% | 18,086 |
| NE Revolution | 13,432 | 59.70% | 12,183 | -9.30% | 13 | 54.14% | 22,500 |
| FC Dallas | 9,258 | 43.69% | 10,884 | 17.56% | 13 | 51.36% | 21,193 |
| KC Wizards | 10,022 | 96.50% | 10,097 | 0.76% | 13 | 97.23% | 10,385 |
| San Jose | 15,137 | 91.82% | 9,569 | -36.78% | 12 | 92.90% | 10,300 |
My disclaimer about the capacity calculations
For my calculations, I’ve taken the 3 teams playing in Amercan football stadiums, DCU in RFK, Houston in Robertson and New England in Foxboro and assigned maximum capacities at 22,500. I took the 22,500 number from an approximate average of the soccer specific stadiums in use.
Observations
The week began with Dallas’ return to form, under 7,500 coming out to PHP. Kansas City fell shy of selling out, with just under 9,700 coming out for its midweek tilt. The Galaxy had its 2nd sellout of the season for the battle of the DP’s. Philly drew a good crowd of over 16,400, but I was still expecting closer to sellouts for the Union. Toronto had its normal 20,000+, but with its playoff hopes fading for the 4th year in a row, it will be interesting to see how it draws for its last home game of the season. Over 13,800 came to RFK to see DC United. I guess that’s not too bad considering the team’s performance this year. The Revs had a typical crowd of 13,500+. Chicago had a very decent turnout of just under 17,500. The Wizards sold out. A terrific crowd came to Rio Tinto for the Rocky Mountain Cup match, 18,300+.
Rookie Watch: Teal Bunbury scored this week. Andy Najar scored for DC United.
Kei Kamara and Ryan Smith, on my preseason ‘watch list’(bottom of post) scored for KC v Houston. Smith also scored vs Dallas. Joel Lindpere had a fine match for RBNY v the Galaxy. Geoff Cameron, back from injury, scored for Houston.
| Week 26 Games | ||
| FC Dallas | 2 | 3rd Degree – Buzz Carrick |
| New England | 2 | Revolution Soccer |
| Kansas City | 4 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road |
| Houston | 3 | Soccer y Fútbol – Jose de Jesus Ortiz |
| Los Angeles | 0 | LA – Official Blog |
| RBNY | 2 | Red Bulls Reader |
| Philadelphia | 3 | Philadelphia Union Talk |
| Chivas USA | 0 | Chicago Fire Confidential |
| Toronto | 2 | TFC Connected |
| San Jose | 3 | San Jose Center Line Soccer |
| DC United | 1 | DCU – Steve Goff – Soccer Insider |
| Houston | 3 | Soccer y Fútbol – Jose de Jesus Ortiz |
| New England | 2 | Revolution Soccer |
| Columbus | 2 | Columbus Dispatch – Crew XTra |
| Chicago | 0 | Chicago Fire Confidential |
| Seattle | 1 | Seattle Times |
| Kansas City | 1 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road |
| FC Dallas | 3 | 3rd Degree – Buzz Carrick |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 | RSL – Behind the Shield |
| Colorado | 1 | Undercurrent |
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GFA | GAA | PPG | PTS | GD | |
| Los Angeles | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 21 | 1.46 | 0.81 | 1.92 | 50 | 17 |
| Real Salt Lake | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 39 | 17 | 1.50 | 0.65 | 1.85 | 48 | 22 |
| Dallas | 26 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 36 | 22 | 1.38 | 0.85 | 1.77 | 46 | 14 |
| Columbus | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 35 | 29 | 1.35 | 1.12 | 1.73 | 45 | 6 |
| NY Red Bull | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 34 | 27 | 1.31 | 1.04 | 1.69 | 44 | 7 |
| San Jose | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 25 | 1.17 | 1.04 | 1.63 | 39 | 3 |
| Seattle | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 31 | 29 | 1.19 | 1.12 | 1.50 | 39 | 2 |
| Colorado | 25 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 25 | 1.32 | 1.00 | 1.52 | 38 | 8 |
| Kansas City | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 30 | 1.16 | 1.20 | 1.32 | 33 | -1 |
| Toronto FC | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 31 | 1.00 | 1.19 | 1.19 | 31 | -5 |
| Philadelphia | 25 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 39 | 1.20 | 1.56 | 1.08 | 27 | -9 |
| Chicago | 24 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 32 | 1.17 | 1.33 | 1.08 | 26 | -4 |
| Houston | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 35 | 45 | 1.35 | 1.73 | 1.00 | 26 | -10 |
| New England | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 28 | 45 | 1.08 | 1.73 | 1.00 | 26 | -17 |
| Chivas USA | 25 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 25 | 34 | 1.00 | 1.36 | 1.00 | 25 | -9 |
| DC United | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 42 | 0.69 | 1.62 | 0.69 | 18 | -24 |
Do we now have a 5 team race for the Supporters’ Shield? The top five teams, all with 4 games remaining, are separated by 6 points. Los Angeles and Dallas play on the last weekend of the season. And if San Jose were to win its 2 games in hand, they would join the party. KC lost an opportunity to draw closer to the playoffs with their home loss to Dallas. DC United appears to have all but locked up the 3rd pick in next year’s SuperDraft.
Streaking
- RSL are unbeaten in their last 24 regular season home games, an MLS record.
- Dallas are unbeaten in their last 17 games.
- Dallas are also unbeaten in their last 11 road games, an MLS record.
- Colorado are unbeaten in their last 9 home games.
- New England are winless in their last 11 road games.
MLS Throw Ins
- There have been 51 draws compared to 63 in ’09 thru the first 204 matches.
- There have been 127 clean sheets in the first 204 matches, counting scoreless draws as 2.
- Through 204 games: goal scoring is down around 5.0% from 2009, 2.42 vs 2.54.
- RSL has lost only twice in its last 44 home league matches. They lost only once in ’08 and ’09, a feat matched by Houston.
- DC United have yielded 17 goals in the last 15 minutes of games.
- San Jose has gone from one the worst allowing late goals in ’09 to the 3rd stingiest in ’10(as a percentage of total goals allowed).
Toronto came away with a draw at Cruz Azul, while Seattle gave up a surprising 2 goal lead after 70 minutes, giving up 3 goals in 4 minutes to Monterrey. Too bad, because despite their previous 3 losses, with Saprissa’s loss, the Sounders actually had a chance to advance had they held on to the lead. RSL and Columbus lead their respective groups.
- Aug 17 — Toronto 2 Cruz Azul 1
- Aug 18 — Columbus 1 Municipal 0
- Aug 18 — Real Salt Lake 2 Arabe Unido 1
- Aug 19 — Marathón 2 Seattle 1
- Aug 24 – Arabe Unido 1 Toronto 0
- Aug 24 – Santos Laguna 1 Columbus 0
- Aug 25 – Cruz Azul 5 Real Salt Lake 4
- Aug 25 – Seattle 0 Monterrey 2
<!– - Aug 19 – Marathón v Seattle–>
- Sep 14 — Columbus 3 Joe Public 0
- Sep 14 — Saprissa 2 Seattle 0
- Sep 15 — Real Salt Lake 4 Toronto 1
- Sep 21 — Columbus 1 Santos Laguna 0
- Sep 21 — Cruz Azul 0 Toronto 0
- Sep 22 — Arabe Unido 2 Real Salt Lake 3
- Sep 22 — Monterrey 3 Seattle 2
- Sep 28 — Toronto v RSL
- Sep 29 — Municipal v Columbus
- Sep 29 — Seattle v Marathón
| CONCACAF Champions League Group Phase | |||||
| Group A | Arabe Unido | RSL | Cruz Azul | Toronto | Home |
| Arabe Unido(PAN) | X | 500 | 2,975 | 501 | 1,325 |
| RSL(USA) | 10,626 | X | NP | 11,579 | 11,103 |
| Cruz Azul(MEX) | NP | 6,156 | X | 5,280 | 5,718 |
| Toronto(CAN) | NP | NP | 16,862 | X | 16,862 |
| Away | 10,626 | 3,328 | 9,919 | 5,787 | |
| Group B | Columbus | Municipal | Santos Laguna | Joe Public | Home |
| Columbus(USA) | X | 5,745 | 6,298 | 5,445 | 5,829 |
| Municipal(GUA) | NP | X | 10,414 | 2,498 | 6,456 |
| Santos Laguna(MEX) | 4,700 | NP | X | NP | 4,700 |
| Joe Public(T&T) | 900 | 500 | NP | X | 700 |
| Away | 2,800 | 3,123 | 8,356 | 3,972 | |
| Group C | Monterrey | Saprissa | Seattle | Marathon | Home |
| Monterrey(MEX) | X | 12,042 | 19,697 | 9,628 | 13,789 |
| Saprissa(CRC) | NP | X | 3,000 | 2,899 | 2,950 |
| Seattle(USA) | 22,513 | NP | X | NP | 22,513 |
| Marathon(HON) | NP | 1,820 | 1,990 | X | 1,905 |
| Away | 22,513 | 6,931 | 8,229 | 6,264 | |
| Group D | Toluca | Olimpia | Puerto Rico | FAS | Home |
| Toluca(MEX) | X | NA | 5,165 | NP | 5,165 |
| Olimpia(HON) | 4,654 | X | NP | 9,200 | 6,927 |
| Puerto Rico(CFU) | NP | 2,632 | X | 2,050 | 2,341 |
| FAS(SLV) | 3,500 | NP | 3,500 | X | 3,500 |
| Away | 4,077 | 2,632 | 4,333 | 5,625 | |
| No Report on the Toluca/Olimpia match | |||||
The winner will compete in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.
In the semifinals, Columbus defeated DC United and Seattle beat ChivasUSA. Seattle, the defending champion, will host the final at Qwest Field on Tuesday, October 5.
The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup structure
Some Euro League Teams with Less Than 21,000 Attendance(in response to a reader’s request)
Total number of league teams in parenthesis.
| 2009-10 | |
| Under 21,000 Attendance | |
| Bundesliga(18) | |
| FSV Mainz 05 | 20,085 |
| EPL(20) | |
| Burnley | 20,653 |
| Portsmouth | 18,249 |
| Wigan Athletic | 18,006 |
| La Liga(20) | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | 20,337 |
| CD Tenerife | 19,148 |
| Villarreal CF | 17,572 |
| Real Valladolid | 17,187 |
| CA Osasuna | 16,615 |
| Racing Santander | 16,351 |
| Xerez CD | 16,201 |
| RCD Mallorca | 13,452 |
| UD Almería | 11,661 |
| Getafe CF | 11,658 |
| Serie A(20) | |
| Bologna FC | 20,145 |
| Parma FC | 17,790 |
| Udinese | 17,014 |
| Catania | 15,669 |
| Atalanta | 14,021 |
| Cagliari | 13,592 |
| Chievo Verona | 11,944 |
| AC Siena | 11,053 |
| AS Livorno | 10,369 |
| Ligue 1(20) | |
| Toulouse FC | 19,176 |
| Montpellier | 17,981 |
| AS Nancy Lorraine | 16,312 |
| LOSC Lille | 14,933 |
| Grenoble | 13,909 |
| FC Sochaux | 13,309 |
| AJ Auxerre | 12,337 |
| FC Lorient | 12,208 |
| Boulogne | 12,133 |
| Valenciennes FC | 12,122 |
| Le Mans | 9,214 |
| Nice | 8,714 |
| AS Monaco FC | 7,893 |
| SPL(12) | |
| Hearts | 14,484 |
| Hibernian | 12,164 |
| Aberdeen | 11,012 |
| Dundee Utd | 7,864 |
| Kilmarnock | 5,919 |
| Falkirk | 5,635 |
| Motherwell | 5,028 |
| St Johnstone | 4,717 |
| St Mirren | 4,414 |
| Hamilton | 3,005 |
6 Responses to Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 26
Well inspite of Seattle having zero points out of 4 games, they will still win the attendance standings for CCL !!!
For those annoyed by Seattle fans….our fans are the greatest !!!
For those not annoyed by Seattle fans….MLS with 3 out of the top 4 attns
Dallas losses watch. I believe that four losses was the previous low. Obviously most points would be more important of a record, but this team just does not lose. May 20th being their last loss.
They still play LA ( who they lost too previously ) and SLC ( who they beat ).
No wonder people are annoyed by Seattle fans.
Interesting posting of other league attendances. Funny that 5 Spaniards or 5 Germans can make more noise than 13,500 New Englanders. I was at the Revulsion game this past weekend. Doubtful that there were 13,500 in attendance. I did not pay for my ticket as I was attending a function but being in the stands reminded me of why I will NEVER be a season ticket holder. Yes, I was a season ticket holder way back in 97 but no more. Watching a soccer game on the gridiron, in Gillette, despite it being a PERFECT evening weather-wise, was horrible. There was absolutely NO ATMOSPHERE. Until they find a suitable ground on which to play, I will never attend another match. I left at halftime it was so boring. The Fort was the only saving grace and they are kept about a mile from the field and watched by 100 menacing security guards (American love nothing more than overdoing it with security, especially at those foreign soccer games!). If it weren’t for the beer, I would have never watched the match. Easily the most boring way to spend a Saturday night. The place was packed with suburbanites and children. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that it is a great family outing to go to a sporting event together. What I am afraid of is that the kids aren’t getting the real experience. By “real experience” I mean a real soccer game, played on an appropriate field, in an appropriate stadium, surrounded by passionate fans who are close to the action who are watching players who can actually play the game. Sorry, Rev fans, the product on the field was AMATEUR at best. I’ve been watching alot of MLS lately and I’m starting to see the huge rift between leagues, not just in atmosphere and attendance but in general interest by the media at large and in the quality of the athletes. It’s just not there.
What do you mean by it is just not there ? In New England. yeah I agree. Shame.
In other places ? it is awesome to see.
I read Vancouver already sold 14k season tickets and Portland is not far behind with 11k or so.
Going to a Sounder’s game is the complete opposite of what you just described.
New England may always be the Clippers of soccer, but as the league grows, and it will VERY quickly, I will be surprise if the experience isn’t upgraded substantially.
Nice posts, Charles and I agree with you. Sorry for the REV fans but in DC the experience is completely different as well. We may not draw 35,000+ to RFK but the experience and atmosphere even in this bad year is fun and exciting!
I also found the other leagues attendance interesting and it backs up the fact that I keep reading where MLS is like the 5th(going off memory so I might be wrong) best attended league in the world and that the Bundesliga is a very well attended league. When I see that half of La Liga’s and Serie A teams and over half of Ligue 1 teams don’t draw over 21K then it does go to prove that perhaps over time MLS can actually become one of the top leagues in the world. It is crazy how many teams in those 3 leagues to average under 13k with one under 8k. WOW! If we keep getting good expansion franchises like Seattle, Philly, Portland, Toronto and Vancouver and others with their new stadiums like RSL, Houston and Kansas City then perhaps the money will eventually be in place to lure a lot of big players to the league. MLS will probably not in our lifetimes or never over take MLB or NFL in attendance but it seems to be already relevant in attendance on a world scale. England with even 3 teams under 21k.