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Where do you get that fans arent coming to games in SJ. They are averaging at more than the listed capacity of their stadium at 11,512.
Kansas City's stadium only holds 10,385. They have soldout their last 6 games and if it wasnt for two games played in some of the worst conditions I have seen for a sporting event, they would be averaging capacity.
No you are correct, They are averaging well over stadium capacity. However their average attendance has declined the past 2 seasons.
2008- 13,713
2009- 11,512
The 2008 are figures from the Sports Journal you refer to in your posts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RjRobb2
Can you admit that your knowledge about the history and growth of the MLS is little to none and that your opinions are based on your opinions and a hunch?
I read about this league every single day. I listen to the news conferences from the commissioner, I read multiple articles daily, I read the statistics in Sports Business Journal, and much more. I know where I am coming from and it is based on my personal education about the league and not a hunch or opinion.
First let me say I hope MLS makes, it would rather have people actively involved in sports rather than sitting on their butt being lazy. I am sick of seeing poker on ESPN, not a sport, I would hope soccer would take it's place.
However, this doesn't seem to be a early season attendance slump given the 2008 attendance figures I linked earlier also showed a major drop in attendance. Say what you want but I believe you need major markets to have an interest in the league for it to grow and succeed. I can't imagine any sports journal thinking it's healthy for a sport to have the lag in attendance MLS does.
Last edited by Packersnut21; 07-15-2009 at 05:17 PM..
If soccer is such a popular sport in the US than why is it that the majority of Americans can not name who the greatest soccer player of all time is ?
No one can name that because there is no single greatest soccer player. You have several positions and thousands of players. You cant narrow down to one.
Soccer is not even the 14th most popular sport in the United States, let alone the 4th most popular.
You will be surprised at the number of Americans who do not even know who the hell Pele is. Even Paris Hilton is more famous than Pele in the United States. Making a sex tape in the United States makes you more famous than leading your country's soccer team to 3 World Cup championships. That is how many times Pele lead Brazil to World Cup victory.
Paris Hilton will get a hell of alot more wall to wall coverage from the American media when she dies than Pele will when he dies.
dude, Pele hasn't played for like 25 years at least, what's up with using him?
I think you have a fascination with Paris.
last march the US played mexico in a world cup qualifier that was broadcast on both ESpn2 and one of the main spanish lang. broadcasters, I believe Telefutura or something like that, anywho, at the same time on espn Duke vs. UNC was being played after being hyped forever by espn and there were at least as twice as many people watching the soccer game as the basketball game.
MLS avg. 14-15,000 per game , even without the Beckham effect that we saw initially , this is just under NBA and NHL attendance and the league is only 15 years old.
there def. are some MLS games and teams that don't draw well, Dallas for instance, but MLS's avg. attendance is only going to climb.
I'm a 3 decade long fan of hockey but people on here are way overrating it was the 4th most popular sport. Heck, horseracing, arena football, golf all get better ratings. Not sure where the hockey love is coming from. Their attendance figures are propped up by cheap tix given away at below face value costs so they can call it a "sellout" when it's really not.
soccer is def. on the rise and the growing hispanic population will turn it into a powerhouse. Mark my words.
No you are correct, They are averaging well over stadium capacity. However their average attendance has declined the past 2 seasons.
2008- 13,713
2009- 11,512
The 2008 are figures from the Sports Journal you refer to in your posts.
They didnt have a dip two years because this is only their second year in the league. They have a dip from their first season to their second and their second season is only halfway over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Packersnut21
However, this doesn't seem to be a early season attendance slump given the 2008 attendance figures I linked earlier also showed a major drop in attendance. Say what you want but I believe you need major markets to have an interest in the league for it to grow and succeed. I can't imagine any sports journal thinking it's healthy for a sport to have the lag in attendance MLS does.
New York has never really drawn that well. They are the most unsuccessful franchise is league history and the league is still growing despite that. New York actually has a stadium open next year which should improve their situation. Regardless, MLS has experienced rapid growth without the biggest market in the country having any success. Right now, New York is on pace to finish with the worst record in league history if that tells you anything about that franchise.
Like I said before, the season is only half over and we experienced the worst weather conditions we experienced earlier in this season because the season started earlier than it ever has before. I attended a game that rivals a football game in Green Bay in the middle of December this season in KC. Chicago, NE, and Denver had it even worse. The averages of the first few games of the season were far below average which effects the overall averages.
Overall, the league is only 5% down from last year with many games to go including the games late in the season that are always well-attended due to the playoff chases.
Anyway, the league is not concerned and have said so. There are circumstances in most of the cities that are experiencing lower than normal attendance averages. When the season is over, they will probably see an increase over last season. The only market that is truly experiencing trouble is Dallas. Part of that is that they built a stadium in a location that has turned out to be a poor decision and second is that the team is owned by Hunt Sports Group which doesnt put 100% behind anything but the Chiefs.
No one can name that because there is no single greatest soccer player. You have several positions and thousands of players. You cant narrow down to one.
There is no single greatest player in any sport. If you think that, you know nothing about sports.
Every sport has had thousands of athletes over time. All of them have different skill sets and attributes. What may be desirable to one person, may not be desirable to another.
If you were to survey 20 people who were knowledgable soccer fans, I bet you would get atleast 12 different answers to the question of who the greatest soccer player of all-time is. Because everyone has different opinions on which skill sets, positions, and attributes make a player great.
If you are referring to Pele, that is the most generic answer ever.
If the NASL had conducted themselves as MLS is now, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
Yep.
Although I look at NASL failure as a blessing for soccer in the US. It taught everyone what not to do when starting a professional soccer league.
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