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Also from the LA Times article: If I were Aguirre, I wouldn't be so quick to say that MLS is doing it the wrong way when they're getting twice as many people for a first-round playoff game as he is for a Pre-Libertadores doubleheader. Geez, 7,000? I can't even conceive of how that's even possible. They must have been charging the same price for those tickets that the Lakers charge for theirs. Incidentally, I'm starting to think that these promoters are starting to kill the golden goose with respect to Mexican club matches in the USA. There are so many of them these days that no one gives a rip anymore. And it looks to me like the attendance are way down, not just in LA, but also in Dallas. They used to be able to get 20,000 out to the Cotton Bowl on a Wednesday night with no problem. Now, 15,000 is more common. I'm getting the feeling that the "target demographic" is starting to realize that these matches aren't worth the money that the promoters charge for tickets. You might get to see your favorite players, but maybe not. You might get to see your team actually put forth some effort, but maybe not. And for that, you get to pay $30 a ticket.
that'll happen in giants stadium as well.... drawing 70k for real/roma only encourages it...soon, every big euro team on vacation will parade through giants stadium while vacationing.... they'll charge a lot of money for tix, until people start realizing that the only reason they watch sport is to see real competition....which none of these matches have.....
You make a good point. It was reported the Club America game last week in SF drew 22,000 but later I read (I think from Mahoney) that in fact it was closer to 10,000. Hardly impressive.
i realized it right away...but i can't, for the life of me, figure out what the korean won has to do with playoff victories or the first day of the playoffs. i'll check the currency i have left over from the WC....maybe there's a clue there
A few additional thoughts re Pre Pre attendance: - the first game of the double header, Cruz Azul x Morelia, was the interesting one - both popular teams and Morelia still having something to play for - but the local start time was 6 pm. That’s just not a good thing for a weeknight when you know people need to get off work and fight traffic. - the second game was pointless. Pachuca was already eliminated and sent the baby Tuzos. Their first team was playing America in the Azteca live on Telefutura on the same night. - Cruz Azul didn’t even send Abreu and Palencia, their starting forwards and two of their most popular players, on the trip. - both Pre Pre games were on FSWE live, will be rebroadcast this Sunday on FSWE, and may be re-broadcast yet again on Telemundo sometime this weekend. The real test will be Oct. 2-3 when the Pre-Pre semis will be played to determine, IIRC, which two clubs go on to the Pre-Lib. It should also be noted that America, one of Mexico’s most popular clubs and the current Mexican champion, chose not to participate in the Pre Pre - and therefore pass up the Pre Lib - and so will not participate in the next Libertadores. Mexico’s defending champion deliberately chose to pass on a shot to get into the Libertadores, but agreed to fly to SF - and send most of its stars - in the middle of the season to play SJ in a friendly. Make of that what you will. And oh yeah...almost forgot my favorite part of the LAT piece: I wonder if he mentions these concerns about the effects of multiple-team ownership on competition to the Azcarraga family which, through its control of Groupo PEGASO and Televisa, owns America, Necaxa, San Luis, Atlante, Jaguares, and, I think, Gallos Blancos? Maybe he thinks that if one family controls only 6 or 7 teams out of 20, then that’s not so bad? Just wondering.
I'm generally not a hothead about business boycotts and so forth, but whenever I see a Pre-Pre or some other utterly useless competition televised from a U.S. venue, it makes me want to avoid doing business with any company that has its logo on a dasher board. These guys ought to be sponsoring MLS and the A-League. Granted, some companies have a presence at the Pre Pre, MLS, A-League games, high schools, etc., and that's fine. But the ones that choose to put their money behind some penny-ante competition instead of their national soccer league ... yeesh.
Beau, If America and Nexaca, the top two teams in the last Mexican championship, both pass on the Pre Pre, then maybe it signals that this tourney is losing whatever luster it may once have had with the Mexican audience. I've never seen ratings for these Pre Pre matches on FSWE or Telemundo, but the attendances appear to be down so far. If ratings are also down, then maybe Senor Garber and his marketing compadres at MLS hq can get some leverage out of numbers like the comparative attendances last Weds night in LA. Otherwise, it's hard to begrudge corporate managers who are under business and legal requirements to get the most value for their shareholders if they decide to advertise where they think they have a good market.