Review: Dynamo 2018 Attendance & Off-Field Performance Review

But didn’t we win the trophy for most diverse team ever? Surely that will pack the stadium!

 

I'm in section 105 and dropped one seat this season. The guy that sits next to me dropped one also, and I'm pretty sure that the folks who had three seats on my left dropped them all. There were folks coming into our section with paper tickets and occupying seats that I know had been held by regular STH since the stadium opened.

 

What offseason move did the team make over the break that makes you want to go see the Dynamo this season? We have a solid team coming back from last year, but there just wasn’t something that makes the average fan think I need to go check that out this season. Houston is a big market but the owners are not willing to spend to fulfill those appetites. We smashed Atlanta on the field which is important, but Atlanta has the owners with big market ambitions and that means something to fans.

 

As a Mexico fan, I still feel like it was absolute folly to bring in a rising star like Cubo Torres, and then bench him for a year in a city like Houston. I hope we learned a lesson from that.

 

I didn't sit in my usual seats as I attended with a group of whom many were attending their first Dynamo match. They enjoyed the goals, the win, and the general atmosphere. I had no explanation as to why the home opener half-time entertainment was 1 man break dancing for 10 minutes.

 

I would say it is cause for concern when you are top 4 last season finish and yet it's the smallest home opener. You're goofing up somehow for that to happen. Regardless of who we did or did not sign, a final 4 team should have sold itself and yet I didn't see that kind of marketing. I don't doubt that if they made more serious signings, then the team almost markets itself. But short of winning the whole thing we were well positioned to market the team and yet it's attended worse than when they couldn't win for years. How.

I don't know if "we're maybe going to come close to selling out" is productive or wise. The press feels like they were party to over-selling and becomes jaded. And since we are now away from the population areas, the possibility of a sellout may deter walk up. I would instead say, we've literally sold x tickets, which is a pretty good chunk of capacity, and with your help maybe we can sell out. I don't understand telling people who have to drive and pay to park and then see if there are tickets, well, nudge nudge, we'll see if there are some. It's ego polishing which I don't think helps sell the rest.

To me the number and the fact nugget are more useful than some emotive photo. Smallest home opener is brutal enough in context. If we want to talk photos show me a bunch (including a baseline from a night with similar attendance before) from the same populated section like the shaded sideline (not some part that people often avoid) and explain to me how the cold numbers are bull. To me parts of the park often don't look very full even on the good nights.

The thing that jumped out to me was it was a fairly nice temperate day coming off a decent playoff season, with that pseudo sell out pronouncement, and from the minute the TV picked up live crowd shots I see empty seats, not just isolated, whole chunks of rows. The crowd didn't look that bad but I felt like Canetti burned credibility by selling something obviously not true. And then the crowd numbers are what they are and at what point is this accountable.

 

I prefer the DG, but given the current puritanical and economic climate...

 

Hahaha.....you mean bench him for three years?

 

And yet - we are all still here. I honestly thought it was going to happen last year, but then Matt Jordan got Elis and Quioto and Cabezas and Machado and saved his job.

 

no shirt sponsor money. couldn't afford anyone that was any good. the great caruso is burnt (burned?) down so they had to hire some one from Americas

 

I grant your point for old hands but in the media there is some turnover and I recall at least one Chronicle article and maybe one TV sports report echoing the "sellout" talk. Which, well, you had some people happy to print your spin and then you burn the new ones and you maintain the consistent rep, until there is someone else new to fool.

It's just dumb strategy because you burn the reporters and you take the edge off the positive press, and what for? It's still not a sell out. So you don't achieve the business goal, either. Maybe it's an ego thing or a boss-notice-me action. He does come across to me as a credit-hund.

 

I don't think shirt sponsor cashflow matters near term. I think they spent their winter wad on turning the loanees into signings, and then Torres took too long to get done to be replaced calmly in the window. I think from an annual accounting perspective they need the shirt sponsor some point this year. I think they would make more interest off it if it happened earlier, but I think sequentially it probably just needs to precede the summer signing with Torres' money.

I mean, they are probably saving a substantial chunk of change on payroll this spring minus Torres. So they don't get the BHP check but they also don't have to pay Torres' high six figures, pro-rated for the first half of the season. I say prorated because at some point this summer we will take on a new salary in its place so it's only a half season payroll reprieve.

 

I’ve been parking near there for several years, and someone finally broke into the box in the bed of my truck during the game last Saturday. Luckily I don’t keep anything valuable in there.

 

I'm going to repeat myself but in the Golden Era of Ching DeRo et al the thing was we knew we had a bunch of good players but the hard cap, legacy dynasty players, and I think at the time there was 1 Beckham exception, meant that your first thought wasn't "the owners are cheap." Interestingly, we wouldn't necessarily know, because the cap hides the cheapness. And there weren't so many marquee cap busters it was so in your face.

Mind you, I prefer a team that wins to one that spends, and the old team might have had an advantage at the time in that they spread around moderate money, rather than blow most of their cap on specific players. But we fielded a very good team of name brand players and other than occasional complaints about what LA spent we didn't obsess about money like we had an inferior cheaper product.

Anyhow, now they haven't won a league title in 11 years and with less of a cap and more expensive exceptions coming in, it's more obvious we don't even try to spend competitively. This is pro sports and at least part of what we pay for is to see the best soccer players. This is an inherent flaw in moneyball, which is that people are paying to watch the best. I find interesting stats analysis but that's something different. You can crunch numbers on Red Sox payroll. The Astros claimed to be a moneyball team both now and when they were barely paying players. Guess which one is better?

The reason I think the attendance is what it is, is fans don't see a big name on the field, and perhaps implicitly understand that a solid team not much improved has the same quality and ceiling. Plus I think we do compete for corporate customers and casual fans with the Astros, who are no longer half-a$$ing it. When we were the title winners and fresh and the Astros were deteriorating, where might a business get tickets? But that situation is reversed.

 

I will also repeat myself and say that we have not caught on to the MLS 3.0 game experience. The SGs in 2.0 that we came in with were at the time fairly cutting edge. The crowd sizes we used to get used to be second only to teams like LA. It is now passe. We were better than the empty football stadium approach of the Metrostars and Dallas. But we have not pursued the newer full stand approach. I don't understand watching Atlanta, Toronto, Seattle, Portland, etc. come into the league and not learning from them.

At least one aspect of that, that we ignore, is that if people enjoy the experience, they will come for that as much as for soccer. If you want fans less obsessed with table standing and payroll, improve the experience.

And by that I do not mean upgrading the cash machine side. They focus way too much on revenue makers, food, etc. It comes across like a business that does a modest job of game presentation. If the sport is the focus and the fans feel like they are revenue, you better win.

 

I expect we will see some spending this summer given the Torres slot/savings. I think who fills that spot will be telling.