I'd estimate it more like this: 1a. 15% 1b. 35% 2. 35% 3. 15% And we were obviously in the wrong section, I've never seen so many ugly people outside of Ames in my life before.
I was sitting pretty close to the pitch yesterday... I thought the grass looked to be in pretty decent condition considering that there was a football game there just the previous day. They painted something over the football lines, and even though it it didn't completely "green" them out, it did mute them some... There did seem to be a fair amount of slipping, but they had a lot of that at the world cup as well. Remember that the USSF had a relatively short amount of time to arrange this match, and also that half of the NFL stadiums were occupied.
I understand your line of reasoning, but I remain unpersuaded. I will admit that I do not know all the steps (costs) involved in 'greening' and repainting football lines, but 40,000+ (attendees) x $40 should provide enough gross revenue to do a decent job. Add in TV revenue, etc. and I would expect a very good job. Now, what's going on over at Gillette?
The "greening" job that RBNY did for the Beckham game at Giant Stadium didn't look so hot either as I recall, although that was a different type of surface.
I didn't mean to be anti Chicago (i've always really liked it, although I've never been there, I do hate the White Sox now though, but that is another thing and sport entirely) I just thought that if a major American city can't get 40K for full strength Brasil that is pathetic (which of course is a moot point). that being said, i think it is crap that USSF acts like there is only a half dozen cities in the US and there should be more accountability in term of attendance, if you are seeing the same cities over and over and they are not putting out then you should go a different route. So with NE out as a potential match site, will every match be in Chicago or Columbus? (not that a bunch of Chicago matches is bad, other than the field [I wouldnt go so far as to say they played on a pitch sunday])
Never thought you were anti Chicago, just trying to give you a picture of what was going on in this town ruled by the Cubs, Tiger and Bears last week Chicago has only gotten National Team Games since the Fire moved to Bridgeview. I guess some dates at Soldier Field opened up. If the pitch is in good shape, its fabulous for soccer. However, there was a college football game there the day before. And sitting in the 6th row, I could tell you that it looked worse on TV, than it was during the game. No chucks of turf came up and the ball rolled pretty well. It looked better last big friendly with US/Eng. and this year for the Gold Cup. On short notice the USSF had little choice. Turf in NY 2 in season teams in LA Too hot/wet in Houston and or home game for Dynamo same in Dallas No fans in KC/turf DC - a lot of US games - soccer and baseball Boston football/soccer Also only about 5 Cities can turn an event in 30 days and get over 25K. Colorado, Columbus - smaller soccer fields - max under 40K
It certainly wasn't Craven Cottage. (don't burn me on the spelling) Never said it was great - but, it was not horrible (see Brasil's run before the own goal)
"A great opportunity for the United States to measure itself on and off the field. Imagine my surprise and disgust (maybe like you) with the absolute horrid conditions of the field for these players. That is just from the issue of safety and then you get into the general way it looks with brown grass and football lines painted all over the field. No doubt it was a financial success but from the standpoint of earning credibility for the presentation of the sport in this country it failed and failed badly. No excuse will suffice here. This was the world’s number one team. So once again when the U.S. claims it wants to align itself with the world in soccer both on and off the field we produce a badly beaten up Soldier Field for this gem of a game. Even Clint Dempsey of the U.S. National team said during a post game interview that the field was in poor condition." www.glenndavissoccer.com HDNet and 06 World Cup announcer.
Folks sitting in front of us had on Brazil jerseys, but flew in from Tenn. for the game. The one picture shows the state of the grass- parts looked very dry, others patched in (bright green) Last- the crowds pouring out of SF
I was in 125. Hardly any of the Brazilian fans around me were Brazilian. I have some crowd pics that I took at the game
I keep reading that we 'maintained our shape' throughout the game. So what is that crazy, unbalanced formation we were playing in the middle picture?!? Half our guys are 'guarding' a small corner of the field, like they're out for an afternoon jog, the other half are just milling around the center circle. Only Tim Howard seems to have maintained a minimum level of discipline. In contrast, look at how nicely Brasil maintained their shape. Adding to the bizarre quality of the photo, fans are apparently cheering, but what ... oh ... nevermind ... but the point still stands!
While we're analyzing pics, anyone want to tell me what kind of message Landon is trying to send in this pic?