I don't know. IT did not feel as electric to me on television. Maybe it did not translate well on my plasma. There were moments the stadium felt loud but I did not get the same feeling of "wow" like in Salt Lake in 2005 or Portland 1997.
Tweet Wars: http://www.thecrew.com/blog/post/2012/09/11/usa-vs-jamaica-tweets American Outlaws: Shawn Mitchell: Jozy Altidore: Nike Soccer: Brek Shea: Roger Bennett (quoting Danny Williams): Adam Jardy (quoting Tim Howard):
Well, CLEARLY, we should be MORE concerned with how it translates through television, and not how it actually felt to those in the stands and on the field.
Why care? Last night, Columbus -- and all the US fans that traveled there -- delivered. Big time. The beer I just opened is to all of you.
espn article on the game yesterday : The U.S. is now 6-0-3 when playing at the functional yet rowdy Columbus Crew Stadium, outscoring opponents 13-1 in the process. "We were talking about Columbus in the locker room," Howard said. "There can be no bigger home-field advantage than here." A wide-eyed Danny Williams, still buzzing after the game, agreed. "I have played before emotional fans in Germany, but never anything like this -- 24,000 fans felt like 50 or 60,000 in here," he said with a broad smile. "They made it a special night for us."
It was an amazing match to attend. 95% of the stadium was on their feet for the whole 90 minutes. Feels good to win, and I would be lying if it didn't feel good to prove any doubter wrong.
I was just about to post this same thing. Even if you live in a place like New York on up to New England, north-northwest of Chicago, or places that are much farther, you can always attempt to cut costs and fly to a place like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, or Indianapolis and road trip with other people the rest of the way. FWIW, I know someone who was considering doing just this for the Jamaica game. Another thing to look at is the travel for the players. With many of the players coming from Europe, do we really want them to travel an additional three time zones and however-many thousand miles?
Pretty amazing atmosphere. A lot of times when you're in the supporters section, it can be hard to tell how loud the rest of the crowd is. Last night, you could tell the whole place was charged up.
If Seattle or Portland had grass I'd advocate them getting a June qualifier like the one in Tampa this year. It's the end of the club season, so timezones matter less. Unfortunately there is no grass.
Because I want to know if what I was watching on tv was verified in person or if it was just as electric as those other matches.
Unfortunately I don't believe that either stadium had any instruments in place to measure decibles so there will not be any scientific conclusions to show that Stadium A was louder than Stadium B. Anybody who was indeed at both games will measure the passion differently based on personal experiences (alcohol) and other factors (such as importance of the game, weather, date of the game, etc). The fact that the players, coaches and media are falling over themselves to talk about it possibly being the best atmosphere for a game in the USA is really the only thing that can be used. I live in Columbus so of course my personal views are going to be tainted a little which is why I didn't even want to post yesterday.
Well people tend to remember things they want to remember. I remember players and the media gushing over Utah and Portland back in the day as well. Also the context of 9-11 taints things along with the bias shown in this thread. Just sayin.
Next time turn the volume up. Check these player quotes out then, if you want to read about players "gushing" over the crowd. There couldn't be any less bias in the players comments. They want to play where they can win. Undefeated, pro American crowd every time....sorta speaks for themselves. https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...the-jamaica-game.1943263/page-3#post-26446056
1) I had it on loud and clear 2) Players were saying great things about those venues too. None of these players quoted played in those respective games back in 2005 and 1997 which is why I am asking if anyone can give me a fair comparison on this board.
I'm not trying to show any "bias" just as much as you I'm sure are not trying to come across as a bitter fan in the West/NW who is just upset that the game is not being played there. There will be no conclusive evidence to support or refute your worry about which venue had a "better crowd" for the game. Why not just try to enjoy the fact that it's great that there is this "worry." It shows that soccer has come a long way although it still has a long way to go so that the US could play in even more places with passionate, partisan crowds.
I am not asking for conclusive evidence. I am asking for opinions. I loved the fact the crowd was huge and pro-usa. I just personally don't think it was by far the best atmosphere ever and would like to hear other people's opinions who have actually been to those matches. I live in the midwest by the way so I am as neutral on the subject as they come.
For instance here is a quote by Bruce Arena : .http://www.examiner.com/article/sel...kle-for-world-cup-qualifier-sandy-on-saturday
For a US game, I think it was the best fan effort we have seen. Better than Salt Lake 2005 IMO and it showed how far the fans have come. A huge tip of the hat to the Outlaws, Union and HSH for their enthusiasm.