Congrats to Nashville. Some people around the country may say that the south just doesn't get it when it comes to soccer. I say rubbish and point to Nashville to say that yes, we do get it. For the second game in a row at LP Field, the first being against TnT, the entire lower bowl was sold out. However, that is just a footnote to what i observed. Now, for a total of 180 minutes of USMNT play, the entire lower bowl stood and cheered and never sat down. I cannot recall any other venue where that has happened, let alone in the South! I have been to two WCQ's in C-bus vs MEX and people sat on their asses. So here is to the South! It has risen and refused to sit! Seriously, good job Nashville.
I too was happy that we stood the entire game. Don't forget that this broke the record for soccer attendance in Tennessee. Considering the other two matches were a World Cup send-off and a qualifier, I find that somewhat impressive.
How many people consider northern Tennessee to be "The South?" That's still the heartland for me. Lets see if we can squeeze a pitch into Bryant-Denny Stadium and see how many Bammers show up for a US game. That being said, I have no problem with Nashville (Nor do I have a problem with Dixie at all). It's good to see some good US games being played there.
I look at 29k and say thats nothing when saying this is THE SOUTH! When you are selling out 100k for the Volunteers, Bama, The Swamp, and Auburn, then its nothing. Take a guess at what the record attendance for a soccer game in Seattle and AZ is. over 67k. But of course, we will make a big deal of a crowd under 30k. Sorry, thats nothing for me.
till the day US plays in AZ again, which will likely be when they announce the 8/10/11 game against Mexico.
The only match played in Phoenix that I can recall was against Mexico a few years ago, and US supporters made up maybe a fifth of a crowd of around 60k. Play Mexico in Nashville and it would have sold out. I'd rather have 30k all supporting the US than 50k out of 60k cheering the opponent on home soil. You've got your priorities wrong if you're defending the embarrassment that was the US-Mexico game in Arizona a few years ago.
All the way back in March 2000, Birmingham drew 21,637 for a friendly against Tunisia! In March 2002, Birmingham drew 24,133 for a friendly against Paraguay (Tim Howard made his debut in that game). Pretty good numbers, particularly for friendlies in that era. In '05, on a Wednesday night, they drew 31,624 for a Hex match against Guatemala. They put artificial turf down on that field a few years back and the US hasn't been back since.
I went to a US friendly in Seattle once (March 2003). It drew 17,189. Sure, things would be different now, but let's not pretend that 29,000 in the rain in the middle of the week is a poor US soccer crowd in nearly any market.
Ehh. Not too bad for Alabama. Still, I do think it's wise for US soccer to stay away from Dixie, with the possible exception of Atlanta. Great food, gorgeous women, good football (the other kind); but I just think soccer is better off elsewhere. Although, I would love to see the US beat Mexico in Alabama and then get a Rammer Jammer going. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAmFlZelSfA"]YouTube - Iron Bowl 2008 Rammer Jammer[/ame]
Also, see my edit above. Birmingham also drew 31K on a Wednesday for a Hex match against Guatemala in '05. Salt Lake drew 40K on a weekend against a better opponent (Costa Rica) in the same cycle. You would probably have gotten something similar in Birmingham then under the same conditions. In the same Hex, Hartford drew just 25K+ for Trinidad.
These are my points exactly. The closest MLS team to Nashville is Columbus. It is in the SEC/NFL Mecca, Tues night, rain, 45 degrees, etc....Still drew 30k in a meaningless friendly vs Paraguay. DID I MENTION THE CROWD STOOD FOR THE ENTIRE 90 MIN FOR THE SECOND USMNT GAME IN A ROW IN NASVILLE. It's not the size of the crowd that was impressive, it was the effort and passion of the crowd. I watch SEC football every weekend in the fall and I see everyone's fat asses drop right into their seats right after kickoff. I was not trying to start an argument on the topic of how impressive 30k was or else anyone in attendance at the US-ARG game could have shut me up. However, that's New York, this is Nashville. Not exactly known for soccer of any type.
Hey, I'll be there! Went to the Tunesia and Paraguay games in Birmingham as well. Couldn't make the Nashville game this week but went last time. Wish we had an MLS team.
Having been going to US games since the days when a typical US crowd consisted of players' families, a few dozen diehards, and a flea-bitten dog, it's imperative that I fix your ridiculous post. Even if you were making an apt comparison by denigrating the attendance for a rainy Tuesday night friendly against an off-brand opponent-- and a glance at the facts on the USSF website shows just how wrong you are-- your implication that certain cities or regions don't merit US games because you assert that the sport isn't sufficiently popular there is undermined by the historical fact that soccer crowds increase as local fans are given the opportunity to see games in person. Rather than trying to generalize based on your limited, parochial understanding (i.e., demonstrating your ignorance), just admit that for purely selfish reasons your part of the country should host nearly every US game. You would still be wrong, but at least you wouldn't be dishonest.
30,000 screaming, passionate, die-hard fans is usually going to be more impressive than twice that many with half (or more) of the crowd sitting and being quiet.
I wasn't able to make it home in time for the Nashville game against Paraguay. I won't be getting back from Georgia untill tomorrow. But I did watch the game on the internet. The crowd looked just us lively and into the game as they were back in 2009 (I did go to that game against T&T) Nashville has an ever growing passion for the game and it would be nice for them to get an MLS team. I'm actually going to be moving to Seattle at the end of next month so I will get to see some sounders games
I can remember at least five games that the US has played in Seattle in the last decade, and not just friendlies but competitions. I also remember mediocre crowds for those games, with the exception of a Honduras game when Catrachos badly outnumbered US fans. Looking it up, three games at Qwest had about 15k, one had 19k, and the Honduras game at Safeco had 39k (largely Hondurans). In that light, Nashville could be seen as actually preferable to Seattle for US games. Certainly your assertion that Seattle is some sort of first choice location for US soccer is in tatters.
I never said I had a problem with Nashville, the only thing I said is that northern Tennessee isn't what I would consider "The South." I loved Nashville's crowds so far.
Getting pretty far out to see here, but Nashville had slavery, Jim Crow, and sit-ins. It was a Confederate capital, albeit continuously occupied by the Union Army from 1862. Culturally, it was the home of the Agrarians and WSM's Opry broadcasts, and of course has been central to the history of country music. It's economic importance as a banking, medical, educational, and insurance hub has played a key role in southern development. There are some counter trends-- liberal politics, immigration, and organized labor has been big here, rare for the south, and the migration trends are more like North Carolina's triangle than the rest of Tennessee. But take my word for it-- Nashville is indisputably southern.
Those of us that are from Tennessee (McNairy Co. myself ) consider ourselves to be Southerners. You'd be hard pressed to find a person that is originally from any part of Tennessee that doesn't consider himself to be a Southerner. I think that's the proper way of deciding a question such as yours. And as Southerners, we couldn't give a damn what the rest of the country thinks about us.
I've driven from Knoxville to Nashville for all three full men's games as well as the last Olympic qualifiers that took place there. Each crowd has grown in number and loudness. My only complaint? The damn Nazis that run LP Field. My God. I'm of the opinion that the majority of those that work the stadium probably just hate soccer. There can be no other answer as to how the American Outlaw/Sam's Army section gets treated. First of all, you can't bring anything more than 6inX6inX9 inches into the game. Yes, I understand the safety issues and that this is probably an issue at most major stadiums; however, the small bag I had was - literally - 2 inches too big. It contained 3 flags, my son's epipen and 3 rain jackets. Additionally, we cannot put any flags, banners, etc... on the rails. Something about advertising space. We had sheets of paper plastered to each seat stating that we can't cuss, yell, disrespect, blah, blah, blah... I understand the sentiment that US Soccer doesn't want us to turn in to a bunch of English-style soccer hooligans; however, the Orwellian instructions were a bit alarming. Finally, we are constantly being monitored by security as if we're going to start brawling with the opponent's fans. Hell, during the Moroccan game, someone let off a flare and you would have thought that it was a pipe bomb the way security treated anyone within 20 feet of the flare. Yes, I know that there has to be rules. Individually, I kind of understand each rule; however, as a whole, it's a bit excessive.
i can tell you az will never do that. Also, with the scumdevil bowl getting kicked out of the BCS after all these scandals that were released yesterday, I can see the University of PHX Stadium become more "desperate" to schedule money making events.