MLS attendance report: July 19, 2010

16 Comments

1. 

   Charles

   July 25, 2010 at 12:08 am

   Let me get this straight you want USL teams (promoted) to be signing National team members by 2022. Let me re-read this.
   Yup, I got it right.
   Sorry dude, I am optimistic about US Soccer, that ain’t happening by 2022.

   I like the gist of not signing the Freddie Ljungberg’s of the world, if the Sounders had spent the money ($1.3 million/year ) on Demerit, they would be in the playoffs right now, instead of praying it might happen.

   Reply
2. 

   ExtraMedium

   July 23, 2010 at 11:27 pm

   Maybe more people would attend MLS games if Dempsey, Altidore, Holden, Bradley, Adu, Edu, etc. played in the league instead of being used to raise money to buy 35 year old foreigners.

   Oh, and they’re doing it wrong:
   1. Half the league in MLS-1, the other half in MLS-2.
   2. Play everyone twice in your league. Schedule a super high percentage of games Friday night because that’s the least busy sports date on calender. OWN FRIDAYS!
   3. Pro/reg at the end of the spring season (Feb-May. VAN/POR/SEA/SJ are warm enough to host Feb day-games, and LA/HOU/DAL can host day/night games in Feb).
   4. Play everyone twice in the fall season (JUN-SEPT if no WC/GC. JUL-OCT if those tournaments are played or US/CAN are in Confed Cup). Pro/reg for next year with MLS-1 1st place team declared “MLS Champions” and awarded Supporter’s Shield.
   5. MLS Cup Tournament (games Tue-Fri to avoid football) with all MLS teams in Nov.
   6. Stop awarding franchises. Instead adopt open pyramid, after ending single-entity, but restrict revenue sharing to old franchise owners until they’re reimbursed 100% of their investment plus interest for taking the risk on soccer.
   7. Pro/reg with NASL/USL regional leagues (like Germany) before 2022 WC. New teams join lowest regional league then win their way up.
   8. Ban debt unrelated to infrastructure (this is what ruined Leeds and Portsmouth NOT a lack of a salary-cap or the existence of pro/reg regardless of what Garber and Gutal tell you).
   9. The salary-cap only applies to cash the *team* is legally obligated to pay players…
   10. DPs don’t count against cap or roster limit.
   11. USA/CAN players under contracts they signed before age 23 are DPs. Players under contracts they signed if they represented USA/CAN in at least 20% of senior A level matches the 2 years before signing their contracts are DPs, or 40% in the previous 3 years, or 60% in the previous 4 years.
   11a. For foreign players the minimums are 40% previous 2 years, or 60% previous 3 years, or 80% previous 4.
   12. ALL players who start 60+% of their pro teams’ senior league/cup matches in the last 2 years are DPs if they play in a league equal to, or better than, MLS-2. 80% if it’s a lower league.
   13. Teams may buy/sell/trade DP status. This means LA could take DP status away from, say, Edson Buddle and sell the DP status to SEA while keeing Buddle.

   My $0.02

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   • 

     Charles

     July 25, 2010 at 12:14 am

     Also, not sure how you are going to have your games on Fridays, but play during the days in the winter ?
     Am I supposed to convince my boss my season tickets are more important ? Or is Seattle going to continue to draw 40k in the dark cold nights of Feb Fridays ?

     Reply
3. 

   bandeeto

   July 21, 2010 at 12:54 am

   So you don’t watch your kids sports games? What about college sports? Local AAA-baseball, lower division hockey, basketball, football, etc? Didn’t ever go to your high school sports games growing up? Yes, you ONLY watch the best sports because anything less is trash. ManU’s players are born playing at the highest levels. They don’t develop, learn, or improve anywhere before making the first team. Makes perfect sense to me. By the way, where do you hail from? Just curious about your cultural sporting background.

   PS. If ManU campaigned the EPL next season with the B team they brought here would you still support them even though they’d have 0 chance of winning the EPL? Figure, since ManU wouldn’t be the best, you’d probably want to support somebody wearing blue or something.

   Reply
4. 

   Football fan of Manchester United

   July 19, 2010 at 7:50 pm

   Well, I’ll be at the United game to cheer them on. I will never go to a mickeymouse league game after that, however. The league is shit, no matter how many Mexicans you guys sign. The EPL is where it’s at. I won’t be bothered to follow the usa domestic league. Not in this lifetime.

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   • 

     Charles

     July 20, 2010 at 11:12 am

     I will speak on most everyone’s behalf, so we don’t have a million messages.
     Thank you for the boycott. You probably don’t live in Seattle and probably wouldn’t sit next to me, but that was a concern of mine, pre-boycott.
     What a troll.
     What a tool.

     Reply
     • 

       Sam

       July 20, 2010 at 8:35 pm

       Sorry to pipe in here.

       I really never understood this whole state of mind. Should people not watch basketball in Spain? Or baseball in Japan? I don’t have the money or time to book weekly flights to Heathrow. Obviously the EPL is a better league. That’s blatantly obvious.

       Sorry I don’t want to be a poser and buy a Man U kit. I grew up in New York, not Manchester. I love going to Timbers games, and the play is still entertaining despite being nowhere near the quality of play in several European leagues. I support the team because I live in Portland and love the game of soccer. I mean fuck, grow some balls you pussy.

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       • 

         This One Guy in Detroit

         July 21, 2010 at 12:55 pm

         Dammit, where did the thumbs-up button go.

         Reply
5. 

   This One Guy in Detroit

   July 19, 2010 at 5:25 pm

   Philadelphia had a good showing of 17,200+ but I was expecting sellouts for at least the first several home matches at PPL Park.

   You and me both. I have to say, the Philly numbers have been a bit stunning to me. I don’t get it.

   Reply
6. 

   americanizingsoccer.com

   July 19, 2010 at 3:05 pm

   Have we heard anything on the D.C. stadium? I noticed that attendance is only down 1%. I saw a game there once and thought it was a great place for Soccer? Can RFK ever get a foothold and be turned into the great soccer venue that it can be?

   Reply
7. 

   Peter C

   July 19, 2010 at 9:19 am

   Forgot to mention, the Charlotte, Charleston and Portland friendlies were played in small venues.

   eplnfl: i have been preparing the numbers for the other WC years. I’m not surprised by this week. Big heat in some places.

   But I think long time watchers would say …
   Columbus, New England and Colorado simply haven’t been strong markets, regardless of the teams’ performances.
   Don’t think a ChivasUSA move to San Diego would be the worst thing.
   Wonder how many of the good DCU crowd bought their tix pre Beckham injury. Say what you want, but no one has had the influence on attendance that Becks has.

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   • 

     eplnfl

     July 19, 2010 at 9:51 am

     I can tell you that at Toyota Park you did not want to see in the sun! Boy was it hot. The fire game was the first game of the Superliga doubleheader and the fans in the sun where toasted. I moved to a cheaper but shaded seat just to get out of it.

     However, I can’t really say I thought attendance was held down in Chicago at least by the heat. A good amount of the stadium was shaded even for the early game.

     Reply
8. 

   Charles

   July 19, 2010 at 8:51 am

   SOS (same old sh–) eplnfl,

   A bunch of tools show up in Man U jerseys to watch “their team”
   but won’t support soccer in this country.
   I respect the Timber’s fans more than most cities, at least their friendlies draw less.
   ps. I think the Sounders would draw close to 45k, but they cap it at 36k.
   Toronto says they have the same situation, but I am skeptical, I just see sooo many empty seats at those games.

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   • 

     eplnfl

     July 19, 2010 at 10:14 am

     Have to agree Charles.We would like to see a lot of the people who show up for Man U., etc. attend a MLS game on a regular basis. However, Toronto always packs the place and Portland and Seattle. Now New York, Chicago, and LA are different stories.

     Reply
9. 

   The Goggles! They Do Nothing!

   July 19, 2010 at 8:49 am

   I cannot find the attendance figure for the Union-Celtic match at PPL ANYWHERE!
   I also cannot find up-to-date attendance projections/tickets sold for “Football At Fenway” match between Celtic and Sporting OR ticket sales for “New York Football Challenge”.

   Reply
10. 

    eplnfl

    July 19, 2010 at 7:35 am

    This is a tough one to understand. The weekly numbers appear down from last year and the average per game over last year seem only up by a small amount at this point. However, the crowds especially for the big named friendlies seem great. What am I missing other than I am reading this early in the morning?

    Reply