I appreciated not having to wrestle through the crowds of DB fans, but having so few people in that cavernous stadium really sours the entire experience. I kept thinking how much better that game would have been at Buck Shaw. Could little judas even hear us booing him?!?
That whole thing could've been better in our new Epicenter. Oh wait. It WILL be better. [So looking forward to the Raiders season in their Black Hole; So looking forward to the Earthquakes playing in their proper Epicenter...with a proper sized pitch and a roof, and local microbrew]
Thierry Henry...would attract a different & large crowd. Serious soccer snobs didnt come to the DB games. They knew he was a gimmick. Only teenage girls and people hooked on the cheesy Hollywood celebrity shows came(I must be old if I cant even remember their names..."Extra"?). If Thierry came, "the serious crowd" would show in equal numbers to the becks crowd.
True. A lot of people would come because he had taken France to World Cup title and almost again in 06. He's my favorite striker of all time. Even bought the Gillette Fusion b/c of him.
Henry, Zidane , Ronaldo (Brazil) and Baggio in their day would have attracted large crowds . I do agree however, in today's soccer world, other than maybe Cristiano Ronaldo, there aren't too many plyaers who would attract the big crowds....
Big-time Mexican players surely can help the gate, but one would hope you don't end up with a bunch of people just rooting on that one guy, at the expense of the team. Of course, that would never happen.
There were plenty of Blanco shirts around Buck Shaw for the Fire match. Not quite like last year in Oakland, though.
Considering how few people he drew this year to Buck Shaw (we didn't even sell out), I think his "star power" is about as big as Kei Kamara's.
Maybe MLS needs star players from other sports to pretend to play soccer, drawing new fans to the league. UFC anybody? Bo Jackson still around? Charles Barkley?
I flew up for the game and brought along 12 of my friends from the Bay Area. I wasn't expecting Beckham-like crowds but the 15k seemed low, especially because of the rivalry. Regardless, I had a great time (even getting razzed by Quakes fans on the BART).
How many are the Galaxy drawing? (Not meant as an in your face statement, BTW ).. If I were a LAG fan I would be livid at Beckham.
Well 15k was what the FO was looking for, and we were just shy of 16k. So it wasn't a bad crowd. But it was a bit stark when compared to the 3 Coliseum games last year (smallest of which was the Blanco 20k game). Just shows how big of a draw that pretty boy was though.
where is everyone's favorite place to sit? i had pretty close sidelines seats, but then half time we went up a deck and behind the goals, and i must say, i MUCH prefer sitting up higher and behind the goals....feels like you get a better look at plays developing and whatnot.....on the sidelines, we were closer to the players but seeing what was going on on the other side of the field was hard at times.....
23k vs. Chivas 16k vs. Rapids 18k vs. DC United Frankly, it's nothing to be proud of, but that just goes to show what 3 years of no playoffs will do (oh and no British guy to draw in the teenage girls/gawkers either)
I moved up to the top of the first deck in the second half after sitting close to the sidelines in the first and I have to agree. Even further away it's better to be up a little because you do see play develop better. The Coliseum is so flat though you have to be really far away to get even the kind of height you get at the top of the Buck Shaw stands.
Anyone else notice that despite what seemed like a low number, our attendance was the highest of the week?
David Beckham was more than just another player; because of his marriage, he was a pop culture icon. There are few other athletes, none of them soccer players, with that kind of stature. I'd say Tiger Woods, maybe Derek Jeter and Tom Brady, Roger Federer, and that F1 guy Lewis something-or-other. "Serious soccer snobs" are (a) vastly outnumbered by the cheesy Hollywood types, and (b) not likely to be fooled by an over-the-hill Thierry Henry.
Just bring the whole brand-name teams like back in the NASL days. Oh wait, they already do that. Its called the World Football Challenge. However, MLS should expand that so that every MLS plays at least one foreign team. These games would count towards MLS standings. In other words, they wouldnt be friendlies for the MLS side. At the end of season, invite two best foreign teams back to vie for MLS cup in semifinals. If they dont come, no biggie. If Quakes played Boca Juniors or Juventus, you'd get 25k to 30k easily.
How about this... forget the Quakes and just have foreign clubs play here. They could have a summer mini-season. I guarantee you they'd fill major stadiums when they're not being used by the NFL. You know, English teams used to do that back in the 1960's. I think I'm just kidding but it sounds too much like a good idea.
Come to think of it, you're right. It could be soccer's version of the cactus league. There would be an "american soccer development" criteria that would include maybe a few American teams (4 to 6 maybe) plus the caveat that the visiting teams had to train and include maybe 4 americans...just like when the NFL would play a pre-season game in Mexico, and one of those teams would just happen to have signed a mexican player to showcase...who, of course, would be let go a week or two later.