The Week 30 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Final Week | YTD | YTD | ||||
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2006 | 20,277 | NA | 6 | 15,502 | NA | 192 |
| 2007 | 20,575 | 1.47% | 7 | 16,767 | 8.16% | 195 |
| 2008 | 17,338 | -15.73% | 7 | 16,460 | -1.83% | 210 |
| 2009 | 19,916 | 14.87% | 8 | 16,037 | -2.57% | 225 |
| 2010 | 17,292 | -13.17% | 9 | 16,675 | 3.98% | 240 |
| 2009 season ran 32 weeks | ||||||
| End of Season | ||||
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>20k | |
| 2006 | 15,502 | 14,175 | 18.75% | 18.75% |
| 2007 | 16,767 | 14,655 | 8.21% | 29.74% |
| 2008 | 16,460 | 15,188 | 10.95% | 24.76% |
| 2009 | 16,037 | 14,686 | 14.67% | 20.44% |
| 2010 | 16,675 | 15,332 | 7.50% | 22.50% |
Here are the attendance comparisons to 2009:
| MLS Attendance – Equal # of Home Games | |||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | ||||||
| Att | Cap % | Att | Att +/- | GP | Cap % | Cap | |
| Seattle | 30,897 | 95.36% | 36,173 | 17.08% | 15 | 101.90% | 35,500 |
| LA Galaxy | 20,416 | 75.61% | 21,437 | 5.00% | 15 | 79.40% | 27,000 |
| Toronto | 20,344 | 92.57% | 20,453 | 0.53% | 15 | 93.06% | 21,978 |
| Philadelphia | NA | NA | 19,252 | NA | 15 | 91.24% | 18,500 |
| N.Y./N.J. Red Bulls | 12,491 | 49.59% | 18,441 | 47.64% | 15 | 73.21% | 25,189 |
| Houston | 17,047 | 75.77% | 17,310 | 1.54% | 15 | 76.93% | 22,500 |
| Real Salt Lake | 16,375 | 81.00% | 17,095 | 4.39% | 15 | 88.39% | 19,340 |
| Chicago | 14,689 | 73.44% | 15,814 | 7.66% | 15 | 79.07% | 20,000 |
| Columbus Crew | 14,447 | 72.23% | 14,642 | 1.35% | 15 | 73.21% | 20,000 |
| ChivasUSA | 15,092 | 55.90% | 14,575 | -3.42% | 15 | 53.98% | 27,000 |
| D.C. United | 16,088 | 71.50% | 14,532 | -9.67% | 15 | 64.59% | 22,500 |
| Colorado Rapids | 12,331 | 68.18% | 13,329 | 8.09% | 15 | 73.70% | 18,086 |
| NE Revolution | 13,732 | 61.03% | 12,987 | -5.43% | 15 | 57.72% | 22,500 |
| FC Dallas | 12,441 | 58.70% | 10,815 | -13.07% | 15 | 51.03% | 21,193 |
| KC Wizards | 10,053 | 96.81% | 10,287 | 2.32% | 15 | 99.06% | 10,385 |
| San Jose | 14,114 | 92.56% | 9,659 | -31.57% | 15 | 93.78% | 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
A little over 9,600 showed up for the Quakes match that only had seeding implications. They were treated, however to a hat trick by Chris Wondowlowski, setting a single season franchise record of 17 goals. The Red Bulls had 15,800+ for its Thursday match. Disappointing, considering they were playing to clinch the Eastern Division. A terrific turnout in Houston for the season finale. Over 18,000 in DC for Jaime Moreno’s last match for United. An SRO crowd in Kansas City. A good showing in Colorado saw a wild finish. Chivas USA had 14,800 for a meaningless match. Columbus closed out its season with its largest crowd of the year.
Rookie Watch: Tony Tchani had an assist for RBNY. Eric Alexander has an assist for FC Dallas.
Joel Lindpere, on my preseason ‘watch list'(bottom of post) scored for RBNY. Geoff Cameron scored for Houston.
The 16,675 average attendance is the 3rd highest. It says something about David Beckham’s star power that even with Seattle’s fantastic 36,000+ average, 2007, Beckham’s first season, is still the 2nd highest attendance. And it’s even more astounding since he didn’t arrive until late in the season.
| Week 30 Games | |||
| San Jose | 3 | San Jose Center Line Soccer | 9,633 |
| Chivas USA | 0 | Chivas USA – Official Blog | |
| RBNY | 2 | Red Bulls Reader | 15,866 |
| New England | 0 | Revolution Soccer | |
| Houston | 2 | Soccer y Fútbol – Jose de Jesus Ortiz | 23,990 |
| Seattle | 1 | Seattle Times | |
| DC United | 2 | DCU – Steve Goff – Soccer Insider | 18,071 |
| Toronto | 3 | TFC Connected | |
| Kansas City | 4 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road | 11,518 |
| San Jose | 1 | San Jose Center Line Soccer | |
| Colorado | 2 | Undercurrent | 17,729 |
| Real Salt Lake | 2 | RSL – Behind the Shield | |
| Chivas USA | 1 | Chivas USA – Official Blog | 14,825 |
| Chicago | 4 | Chicago Fire Confidential | |
| Columbus | 3 | Columbus Dispatch – Crew XTra | 19,006 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | Philadelphia Union Talk | |
| Los Angeles | 2 | LA – Official Blog | 24,993 |
| FC Dallas | 1 | 3rd Degree – Buzz Carrick | |
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GFA | GAA | PPG | PTS | GD | |
| Los Angeles | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 44 | 26 | 1.47 | 0.87 | 1.97 | 59 | 18 |
| Real Salt Lake | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 45 | 20 | 1.50 | 0.67 | 1.87 | 56 | 25 |
| NY Red Bull | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 38 | 29 | 1.27 | 0.97 | 1.70 | 51 | 9 |
| Dallas | 30 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 42 | 28 | 1.40 | 0.93 | 1.67 | 50 | 14 |
| Columbus | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 34 | 1.33 | 1.13 | 1.67 | 50 | 6 |
| Seattle | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 39 | 35 | 1.30 | 1.17 | 1.60 | 48 | 4 |
| Colorado | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 44 | 32 | 1.47 | 1.07 | 1.53 | 46 | 12 |
| San Jose | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 33 | 1.13 | 1.10 | 1.53 | 46 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 35 | 1.20 | 1.17 | 1.30 | 39 | 1 |
| Chicago | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 37 | 38 | 1.23 | 1.27 | 1.20 | 36 | -1 |
| Toronto FC | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 41 | 1.10 | 1.37 | 1.17 | 35 | -8 |
| Houston | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 40 | 49 | 1.33 | 1.63 | 1.10 | 33 | -9 |
| New England | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 50 | 1.07 | 1.67 | 1.07 | 32 | -18 |
| Philadelphia | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 49 | 1.17 | 1.63 | 1.03 | 31 | -14 |
| Chivas USA | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 31 | 45 | 1.03 | 1.50 | 0.93 | 28 | -14 |
| DC United | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 21 | 47 | 0.70 | 1.57 | 0.73 | 22 | -26 |
Well, the final weekend didn’t hold the interest of past seasons, as for the first time in a while, all playoff teams were decided last week. This week was for seeding and the Supporters’ Shield.
Colorado finishes above San Jose because of goal differential after they split their two matches. Same for Dallas over Columbus except they drew both games. Overall goal differential determines the standings after head to head.
KC missed the playoffs by seven points. That’s the largest gap since the league returned to 2 conferences in 2002.
Down the Stretch(ordered since Sep 1)
| Points per game since | ||||
| the All-Star Game | Sep 1 | |||
| GP | PPG | GP | PPG | |
| Los Angeles | 12 | 1.583 | 8 | 2.000 |
| Salt Lake | 13 | 1.923 | 8 | 2.000 |
| Seattle | 12 | 2.167 | 8 | 2.000 |
| NY Red Bull | 14 | 1.786 | 8 | 1.750 |
| San Jose | 15 | 1.533 | 10 | 1.700 |
| Colorado | 14 | 1.643 | 9 | 1.667 |
| Dallas | 14 | 1.714 | 9 | 1.444 |
| Kansas City | 14 | 1.643 | 9 | 1.444 |
| Houston | 13 | 1.077 | 8 | 1.250 |
| New England | 15 | 1.200 | 9 | 1.222 |
| Philadelphia | 16 | 1.063 | 9 | 1.222 |
| Chicago | 16 | 1.188 | 11 | 1.091 |
| Toronto | 14 | 0.857 | 9 | 0.889 |
| DC United | 13 | 0.769 | 8 | 0.875 |
| Columbus | 13 | 1.231 | 7 | 0.857 |
| Chivas USA | 14 | 0.929 | 9 | 0.667 |
Random Notes
- 5 teams finished with 50 or more points.
- 3 teams won at least 15 games. Last time was 2007.
- RSL and Dallas lost 4 games, the fewest ever in a 30 game season. San Jose lost 4 in a 32 game season in ’05.
- The season ends with Jamie Moreno as the all time leading goal scorer with 133. Jeff Cunningham has 132.
- Chris Wondolowski, getting his shot due to injury, wins the Golden Boot for most goals in the 2010 season.
- Donovan leads the league in assists, despite missing time for the World Cup.
Streaking
- RSL are unbeaten in their last 25 regular season home games, an MLS record.
- RSL are unbeaten in their last 14 MLS games.
- Dallas are unbeaten in their last 10 league home games.
- Seattle are unbeaten in their last 7 league home games.
MLS Throw Ins
- There were 58 draws in 240 matches compared to 69 in all of ’09(225 matches).
- There were 147 clean sheets in 2010, counting scoreless draws as 2.
- Goal scoring was down around 2.6% from 2009, 2.46 vs 2.53.
- RSL has lost only twice in its last 45 home league matches(3 seasons).
- Houston lost only one home game in ’08 and in ’09. They lost 6 at home this year.
- DC United yielded 17 goals in the last 15 minutes of games.
- DC United set a MLS record, being shut out 17 times in one season.
RSL and Columbus are thru to the quarterfinals. RSL finish 1st in Group A, Columbus 2nd in Group B. Seattle assured its place in next year’s CCL by winning the US Open Cup. Los Angeles joins Seattle in next year’s tourney as Supporters’ Shield winner.
- 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 1 RSL 1
- Sep 29 — Municipal 2 Columbus 1
- Sep 29 — Seattle 2 Marathón 0
- Oct 19 — Toronto 1 Arabe Unido 0
- Oct 19 — RSL 3 Cruz Azul 1
- Oct 19 — Seattle 1 Saprissa 2
- Oct 21 — Joe Public 1 Columbus 4
| CONCACAF Champions League | |||||
| A | w | d | l | pts | gd |
| RSL(USA) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 7 |
| Cruz Azul(MEX) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| Toronto(CAN) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -3 |
| Arabe Unido(PAN) | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | -10 |
| B | |||||
| Santos Laguna(MEX) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 12 |
| Columbus(USA) | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 |
| Municipal(GUA) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -4 |
| Joe Public(T&T) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | -14 |
| C | |||||
| Monterrey(MEX) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 7 |
| Saprissa(CRC) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 |
| Marathon(HON) | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | -6 |
| Seattle(USA) | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | -5 |
| D | |||||
| Olimpia(HON) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 |
| Toluca(MEX) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 10 |
| Puerto Rico(CFU) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -2 |
| FAS(SLV) | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | -13 |
| 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 | 20,468 | 11,579 | 14,224 |
| Cruz Azul(MEX) | 5,015 | 6,156 | X | 5,280 | 5,484 |
| Toronto(CAN) | 10,385 | 10,581 | 16,862 | X | 12,609 |
| Away | 8,675 | 5,746 | 13,435 | 5,787 | |
| Group B | Columbus | Municipal | Santos Laguna | Joe Public | Home |
| Columbus(USA) | X | 5,745 | 6,298 | 5,445 | 5,829 |
| Municipal(GUA) | 3,534 | X | 10,414 | 2,498 | 5,482 |
| Santos Laguna(MEX) | 4,700 | 3,600 | X | 7,000 | 5,100 |
| Joe Public(T&T) | NR | 500 | 900 | X | 700 |
| Away | 4,117 | 3,282 | 5,871 | 4,981 | |
| Group C | Monterrey | Saprissa | Seattle | Marathon | Home |
| Monterrey(MEX) | X | 12,042 | 19,697 | 9,628 | 13,789 |
| Saprissa(CRC) | 1,635 | X | 3,000 | 2,899 | 2,511 |
| Seattle(USA) | 22,513 | 11,434 | X | 11,768 | 15,238 |
| Marathon(HON) | 500 | 1,820 | 1,990 | X | 1,437 |
| Away | 8,216 | 8,432 | 8,229 | 8,098 | |
| Group D | Toluca | Olimpia | Puerto Rico | FAS | Home |
| Toluca(MEX) | X | 7,463 | 5,165 | 3,985 | 5,538 |
| Olimpia(HON) | 4,654 | X | 5,550 | 9,200 | 6,468 |
| Puerto Rico(CFU) | 4,122 | 2,632 | X | 2,050 | 2,935 |
| FAS(SLV) | 3,500 | 1,000 | 3,500 | X | 2,667 |
| Away | 4,092 | 3,698 | 4,738 | 5,078 | |
| No Report on Columbus at Joe Public | |||||
MLS Playoff Attendance – 2006-2009
Just a taste to remind you that Take Me Out to the Ballgame will morph into Take Me Out to the Playoffs, as we did last season.
This year’s playoff matchups in the quarterfinals(home team first) – Will Hesmer, Columbus keeper, suffered an injury, out for playoffs
- Oct 28 — Colorado v Columbus
- Oct 30 — Dallas v Salt Lake
- Oct 30 — San Jose v Red Bulls
- Oct 31 — Seattle v Los Angeles
- Nov 4 — Red Bulls v San Jose
- Nov 6 — Columbus v Colorado
- Nov 6 — Salt Lake v Dallas
- Nov 7 — Los Angeles v Seattle
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Totals(both legs) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2005 | 13,273 | NA | CHI, COL, DAL, DCU, LA, NE, RBNY, SJ | |||
| 2006 | 12,736 | -4.05% | CHI, COL, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, NE, RBNY | |||
| 2007 | 17,041 | 33.81% | CHI, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY | |||
| 2008 | 14,960 | -12.22% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY, RSL | |||
| 2009 | 20,755 | 38.74% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, LA, NE, RSL, SEA | |||
| Semifinals Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2005 | 15,454 | NA | NE v CHI – COL v LA | |||
| 2006 | 21,330 | 38.02% | DCU v NE – HOU v COL | |||
| 2007 | 20,645 | -3.21% | NE v CHI – HOU v KC | |||
| 2008 | 17,348 | -15.97% | CLB v CHI – RSL v RBNY | |||
| 2009 | 23,548 | 35.74% | LA v HOU – CHI v RSL | |||
| Finals Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | Venue | |||
| 2005 | 21,193 | NA | NE v LA | Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX | ||
| 2006 | 22,427 | 5.82% | NE v HOU | Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX | ||
| 2007 | 39,859 | 77.73% | NE v HOU | RFK Stadium, Wash DC | ||
| 2008 | 27,000 | -32.26% | RBNY v CLB | Home Depot Center, LA, CA | ||
| 2009 | 46,011 | 70.41% | RSL v LA | Qwest Field, Seattle, WA | ||
| Playoff Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | |||||
| 2005 | 14,390 | NA | ||||
| 2006 | 15,179 | 5.49% | ||||
| 2007 | 19,771 | 30.25% | ||||
| 2008 | 16,488 | -16.60% | ||||
| 2009 | 23,559 | 42.88% | ||||
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