atlanta is the most deserving of a new club and if they do get one they will be the most successful! soccer is very popular here and is the fastest growing sport in the south. more young kids play soccer here than any other sport.
Oh wow, more young kids play soccer there then anywhere else? What a coincidence, that's about the same as everywhere in the US. Just because soccer is played by a bunch of kids in ATL, doesn't mean that it will transfer to people in the stands. Kansas City has a big youth soccer system, but you don't see KC up in the top of the league attendence list do you? And judging by the average attendence for the Silverbacks from the 2002 season, I don't think you'd support an MLS club. http://www.a-league.com/Teams/Atlanta_Silverbacks.shtml. 1006 was your average attendence, that is just plane bad. Now I don't know if you were any better attendence wise this year, but I doubt it went up much.
what is the avg. standings for A-league teams? now that is just plain bad! nobody cares for the A-league.
Atlanta soccer fans should just enjoy what they have now: The Atlanta Silverbacks!!! Just be lucky that you even have a team, while we here in Tampa are still praying for one to come back here.
i think that the league should reach certain level of stability before it attempts to enter the southern market again. then, and only then will atlanta be an option... but i would put it well ahead of any possible florida team. atlanta may be a bad sports town, but its significantly better than any city in florida. atlanta is also a bigger soccer hotbed than any other region in the south. for further proof, simply look at all the great young players that have started coming out of georgia. but i am a realist, and i understand that we are not at the top of the shortlist for numerous reasons... most importantly the lack of an adequate stadium and potential owner (ted!?!? ) until then, go silverbacks!!! ...a damn cool name may i add.
atlanta's metro population is 4,112,198. i gaurantee that a mediocre atlanta team would outdraw league-leading san jose any day of the week, despite its 3 million person deficit. i can honestly say that a competitive, relatively well-advertised atlanta team could average 13,000+ and much more with a sss and a commited owner. while not an ideal situation, it would be respectable. honestly, where else in the south could mls expand besides georgia and florida? maybe birmingham or nc, but i doubt that they would be anymore successful.
If San Jose had these conditions, they would average 19,000+. Unfortunately, it had decent ownership but a bad team, then a good team and a horrific owner, then a good team and an o.k. owner who has way too much on its plate (stadia en LA, Chi, NY/NJ, sale of COL, expansion, etc.) and has marketed to an area that is 1/3 the size of Atlanta. It doesn't do ANYTHING to promote itself in SF, Oakland and the East Bay.
the key to having a well-attended atlanta mls team, as noted in another post; is marketing! and more marketing, plus an owner who is a soccer enthusiast with deep pockets. Who can do this?
Doesn't Elton John live in Atlanta? He's rich as hell and he likes soccer. A future team can play in that stadium that the Atlanta Beat used to play in. I think that stadium would be perfect. It's seems very cozy.
The Silverbacks do not draw very well ... focus on the little challenges before biting off the bigger challenges. Still, they are building a new stadium in Atlanta.
As long as "not right now" equals "not anytime soon" i voted for that one. Atlanta has historically been a bad sports city... Didn't support the Flames Don't support the Hawks well Don't support the Falcons well Don't support the Thrashers well Don't even support the Braves well enough to outnumber Cubs fans in the playoffs, even while they've won so many div titles, games, etc... Don't support the Silverbacks well That's top level pro sports and highest level of soccer outside of MLS.....so....NO. But you never know, maybe 25 years from now, the sporting menatality here will have changed, and they'll support a team
BulaJacket, I don't mind someone bashing my town if they know what they're talking about but you need to check your facts first. Flames - don't know about that one, I was a kid and didn't like hockey. Hawks - You put that team with the owners they've had (AOL/Time Warner) in most cities (where there's anything else to do) and you'll get the same results. Falcons - Not once in the history of the franchise have they had back to back winning seasons, but with a new owner who seems to give a damn the fans came back. Sold out every seat for every game this year. Thrashers - Check they're attendance!! Braves - Say what you want about the playoffs this year, the braves have been in the top two in attendance in the national league for the last ten years in a row. How can you get better than that? Who's better? Philly? Chicago? Nope check the facts. Silverbacks - That is do to poor choices by the owners, stadium, no marketing (even kids in one of the largest clubs in this part of the country don't know about the team) etc.. but look at The Beat; if you take away the other WUSA team's MLS doubleheaders they lead the league in attendance. Why? Because people knew the team existed and they didn't play in a hellhole.
the braves are often behind the cardinals, dodgers, giants, diamondbacks and/or rockies - in 2003, they were 6th in the NL... in 2002 they were 7th... 3rd in 95, 96, 98, etc. so nice try... besides, if they had a bad season the crowd would be back down to 3K in no time
LMAO.... check my facts? You basically agree with me except for the Braves and Thrashers....NOTHING to do with "checking my facts." As for the Braves, I didn't even say they had bad support, just not good/great. Bluedaddy then brought the stats. Much obliged. With the record they've had, they should be on top for attendance, but they are generally middle of the pack... As for the Thrashers, they have had below average attendence for 3 out of the 4 years they've been in the league and there have been rumors of them moving. I hope they stay and actually like them. They are having a good year this year, and hopefully their attendance goes up. I actually attended a couple games in December. Still, these facts don't lie. BELOW AVERAGE. http://www.kenn.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl_atl_attendance.html http://www.kenn.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl_lg_attendance.html Team.................Season... G....Total...Average Atlanta Thrashers 1999-00 41 705,446 17,206 Atlanta Thrashers 2000-01 41 625,780 15,263 Atlanta Thrashers 2001-02 41 560,404 13,668 Atlanta Thrashers 2002-03 41 552,535 13,476 Year.....Season......G....Total.......Average NHL 1999-2000 1,148 18,800,139 16,376 NHL 2000-2001 1,229 20,346,372 16,555 NHL 2001-2002 1,230 20,613,951 16,759 NHL 2002-2003 1,229 20,390,908 16,591
why must every thread involving atlanta sports teams degenerate into a myriad of "lets take potshots at the shittiest sports town in america" type posts? atlanta is a mediocre sports town. nothing more, nothing less. sure there are better towns, but there are also much, much worse. anywhere in florida, arizona, and la (nfl ) is much worse and some of these places already have or have had mls franchises. both successful and not so successful. -so what if we don't like hockey? its *#*#*#*#ing hot! have you ever seen a georgian ice skate? that sounds like the setup to a good joke. -who would go see a hawks franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs in 5 years? when dominique played and we actually won, they were the hottest ticket in town. all they need is a star and an owner. -the falcons sell out the georgia dome every game, have a committed owner, and a franchise player, so i have no idea what you are bitching about. -the braves always rank amongst the top half of the national league in attendence. while they may not be as cuddly as the cubs or as storied as the yankees, they are a good team with a sizable following. in baseball's current state, that is an accomplishment. so whats the problem with the town? atlanta lacks passion. and the only way to get that is to build a tradition with your sports franchises, something that only the braves truly have (and maybe the hawks to a lesser extent). when the silverbacks build their new stadium, use better marketing, and establish themselves as a mainstay, we will finally begin to see how they fit into the sporting landscape. until then, i suggest you all take a wait and see approach. soccer has potential in this state, but thats all it is. potential.