I merely make a point about perception. That being said, when we see a broadcast from PHP and there are literally a couple of hundred people on one side of the stadium, then read that the team reported a sell out, something is dreadfully wrong. I don't think Major League Baseball is too good a comparison. Most teams do not expect sell outs (although some teams, like the Giants and Dodgers, sell a majority of the available seats for every game), plus baseball season is 162 games long (81 home games). 28 of the 30 teams average over 20K per game, with the Yankees averaging over 47k per game (the Giants come in 6th, with a 40K average home attendance, which is close to selling out every game).
Of course they care about it, thats why they want sss's built for every team. the empty stadium looks stupid in arrowhead or any other football stadium.
I'm sure the league is still concerned about image, but that's less quantifiable. They can tell owners to create a situation in which they won't lose money (like they have to), but I suppose they can't say what does and doesn't look good, such as empty seats and gridiron lines. That opens a big bag of worms, whereby MLS could tell teams what jerseys look awful and so forth. I'd rather they challenge it, even with the ambiguity.
I'd actually wager you're in the minority. I've never met someone who is a fan of just one sport. You're the first. I've got friends who are NFL fans, MLB fans, UFC fans, NASCAR fans, Indy Car fans, College football fans, NBA fans, NHL fans, and of course soccer fans. All a combo of some of the above, but never of just one.
It's interesting how the East and South Bay is getting a lot more attention these days. The 49ers...well, most of their fans are still living in the 80's and team was the catalyst for the Salaray Cap in the NFL. The Giants...well, they haven't won a WS since moving to SF and will continue to be the greatest dissappointment in Bay Area Sports! (some may say the Warriors) I've always been an A's and Raiders fan my whole life (even when the Raiders moved to Hell-A) and a Cal fan so by definition, I hate everything in the Peninsula. Say what you will about the Raiders btw, my loyalty will never waiver and they will win at least 5 games this year...they have no where else to go but up!! As far as the Quakes, I will go to a few select matches...Galaxy, RedBulls, Dyanmo, etc...and it will be good to see some pro matches. I went in July to see Chelsea vs Club America and that was great and I left wanting more. Of course, we won't see the level of play that Chelsea WAS capable of (face it, they are not going to win the Premiership and will fail in the Champions League)...but see pro football back in the Bay Area will be nice.
Agreed--I closely follow pro and college football, pro and college hockey, college basketball, and international soccer; and less-closely follow MLB, MLS (will be moved into the "closely" category next season!! ), MMA, and various Euro leagues. There are certainly a number of soccer fans who don't follow any other sport (whether because they're immigrants who aren't familiar with the US sports, or because they're Euro-wannabe hipsters), but the vast, vast majority of Americans follow at least 2 sports closely (unless they aren't sports fans at all), usually 3-4 or more. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=539435
I came to the US when I was a kid and futbol always remained my passion. Another thing to take into account is that while following the beautiful game, not only can one follow your club (In my case, Club America) but you can also watch leagues from across ther world, either by television or radio. Especially thanks to satelite tv and the internet. The end result is that there really is no other time to follow other sports on a consistent basis. The only other sports I watch are Formula 1 (McLaren baby !!!) boxing, and rugby here and there. With the exception of boxing, which is not all that mainstream, the others are not really watched or followed much here in the states. With regards to following "American sports", I certainly am not a hater, but I think some has to do with idiosnycracy. While I certainly respect the hardwork and athletic ability to play any professional sport at its highest level, the fact that there is so much stoppage or dead time is the biggest turnoff for me. When I watch American football, instead of appreciating the plays, etc ..., all I see are people running into each other, fall down, rest, and then watch a commercial for 5 minutes. The constant stopping and starting takes its toll. I'm sure if I grew up watching the other sports, I would have a much greater apprceiation for them.