Does SJ mean that the" build attendence around young star(s)" is ineffective?

No...

I believe it's the "build a soccer team around a young star in a city where everybody's unemployed" method that's not working...

 

Given that SJ has improved its attendance over the same time last year by over 3k/game, I'm not sure if that conclusion is warranted.

I think a better conclusion is that MLS doesn't sell itself and if you want to transform your franchise from an attendance whipping boy to all-star you need real committment from a sales team like we saw in KC.

 

Very few soccer players in America can sell tickets all by themselves. Mia could for a while. Pele did. Luis Hernandez did for one match or so. Mattheus didn't.

Based on the reactions of teenage girls when the 'Quakes were here May 10, I think some of that goes on with Landon, but I don't know how big the effect is.

 

even though they talk big i still think mls over all has thousands of miles to go in really marketing themselves to america

by the way, i think they have come hundreds of miles in the past few years

 

Most people in SJ don't know they have a professional soccer team in SJ, even those who are into soccer.

I recently talked to a guy in my amature league about the quakes. He said "oh yeah, we used to have a team called SJ earthquakes, but the league folded many years ago." (He was talking about NASL)

 

Will this finally put to rest the old argument against having American "stars" going off to play in Europe? That American fans will come in droves to watch them play here.

 

Why not look at the hard numbers?

Average attendance after 3 home games

2001 9,645
2002 8,203
2003 11,135

Facts:

1) 2003 home opener drew more than the home openers in 2001 and 2002

2) 2003 second home game drew more than the second home game in 2001 and 2002

3) 2003 third home game drew more than the third home games in 2001 and 2002

I seeing nothing negative in the data. Perhaps expectations are out of whack with the reality of soccer in America?

If every team could show this improvement (cough NE cough), the league would be sitting pretty.

As for Landon, it is impossible to say what his overall affect is, but one can take heart that San Jose is the third highest road drawing team in MLS right now.

Andy

 

So when was the last time you went to a Revs game, Andy?

 

On Bigsoccer? Are you kidding?

 

fixed your post

 

Mia still does. It's true. Freedom road games still draw more than other games. While it's not as pronounced as 2001, Mia is still the biggest draw in the women's game.

 

Move San Jose -- to Oakland.

 

I was at the Holland double header last spring but left before the Revs game started, so that does not count.

Thinking back, it must have been the last game in the 2001 season. Had a tear in my eye leaving the old cement block. I had really grown to like it as a soccer venue.

As you have probably noticed Tom in both the fort concerning diehards and the rest of the stadium for the core base audiance, I am not the only one to have given up on the Revs organization.

Andy

 

Well, Miami and Tampa Bay were showing signficant improvement in attendance -- and sponsorship for TB -- when they were folded. So the 'sitting pretty' comment doesn't really make sense.

 

I said the entire league, not specific teams.

If the entire league was up the same percentage that SJ is up, the league would be sitting pretty attendance wise, at least IMO. YMMV I guess in terms of how much you expect MLS to grow.

Andy

 

Works for me

 

You're right. It's just not as dramatic as 2001, when there was a serious effect.

Outside that, there aren't many players that people will pay to see specifically.

 

i sure wish i had a team that i could boycott. Must suck having an MLS team right at home.

 

It is not a boycott per say, its just I have no interest in an organization that does not care at all about soccer.

Considering you don't have even the slightest clue of the amount of time I have volunteered over the years for the Revs, I will simply ignore the rest of your ignorant comments.

And just to make you look like a total ass, would it help you to know that I am still a season ticket holder?

Andy

 

yes

Because your post was full of terms that included "childish", "lame", "spiteful", "exaggerated sense of self-worth".

My goal is not to make you look like an ass, posts like the one you made attacking me accomplish that quite nicely for you.

Get rid of the term "boycotting" and replace it with "no longer interested", then replace the term "incompetence" with "disinterest" and this statement would be 100% correct.

Andy

 

Back on topic. When you look at the drawing effect of Landon, or someone like him, it's important to remember that the more signifcant draw could be in away markets(as indicated in the quote),where he only shows up once or twice a year, and the hosting team can promote his appearance to whatever extent they want to(we can call this the Hong effect). So even though the SJ front office may not be taking advantage of his drawing power, it doesn't mean that keeping Landon in the league to help attendance has failed.