It seems that Chivas really has only one choice: Spend real dollars and bring in high-dollar Mexican talent... I mean the really big names that would create a splash because their contracts will cost a fortune, making news in and of themselves. Palencia was great, but past his prime and couldn't score if his life depended on it. Suarez is great, but he's not an attacker, and it's attackers that put butts in seats. El Loco did a lot of damage by disparaging the league, and I don't think Chivas USA has ever overcome that. The Mexican fans are so loyal to the Mexican teams, it's ridiculous. Chivas USA is one hell of a good squad, and they play attacking soccer, but everyone seems to feel that they are nothing more than a knock-off of Chivas. They're seen as Chivas Lite, I suppose. Look at what Blanco has done for Chicago. Chivas USA needs someone of his stature that is still very, very productive. ...And Chivas USA needs their own stadium, either in LA or in San Diego. A more intelligent marketing campaign could pull this thing around, but until they bring in a big name Mexican, this thing isn't going anywhere, it seems.
I'm chuckling at the suggestion that people have made that Mexicans won't turn out to watch non-Mexican players. Teams in this league have made it happen, so why not Chivas USA? Chivas USA's big problem is that they're so inherently linked with a Mexican club whose identity is all about being Mexican. It would be different if they were linked with America or Cruz Azul or other clubs who hire plenty of non-Mexican players. This is not to say that it will prevent them from EVER drawing good attendances, but it basically nullifies what a lot of people felt would be an inherent advantage and they have to go out and get crowds the old fashioned way -- to market the team well, to hit the bricks and head out into the community, to get their name out there, to hustle for every single sales, and most importantly, to forget about other clubs named "Chivas," because as we've seen, the name doesn't mean crap unless it's attached to the one from Guadalajara. But to say that the solution is for them to go out and sign a bunch of high-priced Mexican players makes me think that people were asleep or weren't paying attention to the league's early years, when the Gals signed Campos, then Hermosillo, then Hernandez. Yes, they got good crowds, but only for a few games, and they returned to what they were getting before. (BTW, if this sounds familiar, it's what happened with Adu and what's going to happen with Beckham.)
That's a great idea if you're planning on rotating the high-priced talent every season, because that's about how long it takes for the novelty to wear off and for attendance levels to return to what they would normally be. It's what we've seen over and over again in this league. In other words, it's an idea straight out of the Alexi Lalas playbook. Get a few headines, with the actual job of rolling up the sleeves and selling tickets being of secondary importance. If Chivas USA is going to succeed, it's not going to be because of a magic bullet, like high-priced talent, it's going to be because their front office has done the hard work of getting out there and selling the team.
If attendance dropped for Chivas USA, did it look like Galaxy picked up the slack? If I were a casual fan and lived in the same town as Galaxy and had to chose a season ticket pack...I'd buy the Galaxy. (just because of Becks) but I think Chivas is a better team to watch... Do you think that the 'other' team in the same town had any effect on attendance?