Report from Columbus [R]

[Atouk]

A few thoughts from my trip to Columbus:

- 17,368 in attendance? Right. :rolleyes:

- Justin Mapp made his MLS debut. If Justin develops into a legend for the Black-and-Red, I'll at least have that memory from yet another lame road loss.

- I started off hanging out drinking a few beers in the parking lot, hoping to run across a few of the Big Soccer folks that were making the trip. No luck, but instead, I ended up meeting Dennis Ludwig's dad, Bob. Bob and I ended up sitting together in the upper deck during the game. He's a very nice guy and a veteran of the NASL and indoor soccer himself, so he was great to talk soccer with.

- As for the game, Bobby Convey again was impressive. He's maintaining the agressiveness that he's had since returning to the starting lineup... really showing the "menace" that Ray talks about but that we see from very few of our guys.

- McBride was very ineffective, so high marks were earned by the center backs, but it seemed that Nelsen, in particular, had a great game. I'm not sure who puts the "man of the match" options up on the United website, but I don't know how Convey wasn't an option for the Chicago game and I don't know how Nellie wasn't an option against Columbus.

- Reyes did a pretty good job considering he was stuck on the left side. The comments from Crew fans around me gave Rimando, Convey, and Reyes high marks.

- Alavanja had his best game in awhile, I thought. That's not saying alot, but he seemed more useful than against Chicago.

- Overall, we played well enough that we should have, at least, earned a point. Given that we went toe-to-toe with 'em while missing Etcheverry, Quaranta, Pope, McKinely, and then Moreno, it's hard to be disappointed with the effort. Still, 0-3-1 against that team, one of the few I think we should be outright better than, is hard to believe.

Mark

[Chris_Bailey]

I hope you enjoyed your visit.

As for the attendance, I won't be a troll and get all angry with your ignorance, but you do realize 17,368 is 17,368 sold, right? You do know we have high season ticket sales, right? You do know our stadium holds around 22k or so, right?

From accounts I heard, the stadium attendance was pretty accurate, for the stadium was around 2/3's full. Maybe you're just used to 17k in cavernous RFK?

[Bill Archer]

Originally posted by Atouk
A few thoughts from my trip to Columbus:

- 17,368 in attendance? Right. :rolleyes:



Paid attendance is paid attendance. No one, at ANY sporting venue, gives a turnstile count. RFK doesn't do it either.

Was this your first trip to "Galvanizing 'R' Us"? Because in case you haven't noticed, the plazas at the corners and the walkways at both ends usually have 3,000 - 5,000 people. sometimes more.

Fact is, the stadium was specifically constructed to allow for this. The idea was that you could stand in the longest concession line on Earth and still se all of the match very clearly. We've just taken the concept a little further than they intended.

Part of the whole deal is that a lot of people NEVER sit down, and if they do they don't sit in the seat they have a ticket for.

It's very social, you're near the beers, you can see great, you can smoke, and everybody comes through at least once a game and says hi.

Even at USMNT Qualifiers, the East side in particular looks very spottily filled. And those matches are sold individually and you KNOW those tickets got used. It's just more fun to stand and party.

I've met a bunch a DC folk up in the corners, so I know some of your compatriots get the deal. Try it next time.

[Atouk]

Yes, I've been there before (US vs. Ecuador last June).

And, yes, the corners/ends setup is cool enough (of course, how could I miss it since you have to go to the corners at some point because there are no restrooms or concessions along the side in the upper deck?).

And, yes, it's all about paid attendance and you won't hear my say otherwise. I understand that's what's counted everywhere. You guys think I just fell off a turnip truck?

But I've been to many stadia and arenas of many shapes and sizes, yet I still thought "what? whatever" when they announced the attendance. I understand it was a Wednesday, so if that annoucement was truthful maybe you just had more no-shows, despite the lure of cheap sausages, than is the norm. It didn't look that close to 2/3 filled to capacity to me, and 2/3 would be a hair over 15K.

Bailey8, thanks for saying you won't troll yet saying my statements were born of "ignorance" regardless of what you know about how much or little I know.

Anyway, I had a good enough time, thanks. I wish the announcers wouldn't talk during the game (a too frequent situation in MLS), but otherwise Crew Stadium is a nice place for a game. On thing I particularly like is that they show the post-game press conferences on the big screen. That's a great little perk while you're waiting for the traffic to roll out.

[GDopplerXT]

Originally posted by Atouk
You guys think I just fell off a turnip truck?


mmmmmmm.... turnips.....

Sounds like you had a good enough time despite the result. You should be taking notes on all these travels of yours... write a book or something someday.

Or maybe I'll just compile all your posts on big soccer and make a book myself... :D