The mainstreaming of StubHub and other online ticket brokers has made it almost impossible to control having a US majority. Maybe the best way to handle things is to put up a fence barrier and if you're entering with a US jersey you go on this side of the fence, and if you're wearing opposition colors then you go on the other side of the fence. I guess it would have to be general admission. Fans should not be mixed together in this rivalry any longer.
I LOLed. That would be pretty cool though. If there was only some way we could convince Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck to go to the USMNT games, then all the tea party people that follow them would go to the game. It would be a 100% pro-US crowd.
I suggest the USSF consult these fantastic heat bubble maps before determining where to schedule the next qualifiers. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html
That'd be uber lame. I had the time of my life with Mexican supporters in LA. I really dont get the collective freakout over a handful of idiots. There were 70-80k Mexican fans in that stadium, if the majority of them were as bad as you say nobody would have made it out alive.
Venue would be great if it wasn't for the fact that Lambeau is specifically made for football (as in, the field is too small to allow a proper soccer pitch. Nothing a few renovations can't fix, but some Packers-only fans might be slightly upset by that). Camp Randall in Madison would make more sense, but the chances of that happening are less than the chances of me dating Alex Morgan.
If this game was played in Juneau, Alaska, I'd guess that there'd be 90% Mexican fans there. No matter where we play this game, there will be a lot of Mexican fans there. Mexican fans aren't stupid- they know how to get tickets, they'll travel from all over the country (both from the United States AND Mexico), and they'll pay whatever $ necessary to support their team. If this game is in Southern Cali or Texas, it'll be 90% Mexican. We don't want to play in Portland or Seattle on a sh*tty turf pitch (and bringing in real grass for one game isn't a good idea as it often goes poorly). KC is a nice venue, but why not just keep it in Fort Columbus- where it'll likely be about a 60/40 Pro-US crowd? And Columbus isn't only good for cold-weathered games- in 2005, we played in Columbus against September. No matter when this game is scheduled, we should play in Columbus. Viva Fort Columbus. Viva Dos a Cero.
Bold part is FACT. And to reiterate, Mexicans will travel. Chicago is right up the road from Columbus, so that fact can't be slept on when we think about regional hubs of where Mexican-Americans reside. The South? Atlanta is a hub. The PacNW isn't even a certainty that there would be a Pro-US crowd simply due to again the west coast being a hub of sorts. The only place I could think of is the New England area where it's somewhat not that thick with Mexican-Americans. DC perhaps? There's plenty of Central-American immigrants in the DC area that I'm sure would LOVE to cheer against Mexico
Same problem, as it's built specifically for baseball with no intentions of having any other sport there, but it's not impossible. And even if it did host a US game vs. Mexico, we would have to deal with the Mexican population from Chicago travelling up to the game along with the Mexican population in Milwaukee.
when choosing a venue, the goal isnt to eliminate the possibility of Mexican supporters. Mexican supporters will travel anywhere at any cost to follow their team. look at the Wolrd Cup travelling support Mexico has. the fans are dedicated and passionate, they will be WHEREVER the match is played. the goal is to put the match in a place where the USMNT can enjoy the greatest home field advantage. no matter where the match is played, we wont have our own version of Azteca. the sport and support just isnt at that level as it is in mexico. what venue gives us the best advantage? right now its columbus because of the support, the atmosphere, the environment and the fact that it has been successful fo the team so far.
The US Soccer Federation should maintain a database of supporters, and release tickets to that group a month in advance of any public ticket sales. Members would need to purchase tickets to a minimum of 3 games per year to remain in the database...this would remove people (i.e. Mexican fans) from signing up solely to get first dibs on a USA-Mexico matchup. Just a thought...
Well I would say look up the Insight Bowl & Chase Field, but they may have to do some minor adjustments to get the field to fit.
eh, true. I mean look at what they did for Citi Field for the Greece/Ecuador friendly. But like I said, even if they did play at Miller Park, it wouldn't be a good place to play Mexico, as the Chicago-based Mexico fans will just make the drive up. Not to mention Milwaukee has a pretty sizeable Mexican population as well.
I say play it in a giant stadium and charge top dollar for tickets to either keep Mexi's out or profit off them. I used to respect the Crew Stadium thing but we have to outgrow that model.