This is the first time I have chimed in on this topic of a double header with the USOC. Many, fo the people at the International Friendly would have been people from Chi-town area. The majority being Spanish speaking people. Now I don't know the attendence demographics at the Fire games, but I would venture to say that it is more English speaking people than anything else (that was my impression from the trip to Naperville). It seems to me that it is a lost chance for USSF to encourage and bring added viewership and awareness of their Div I teams in the Spanish speaking community. When people go to a neutral game they tend to find one side to cheer for more than the other. It is even more obvious which side they will cheer for when they have some kind of attachment to it. That attachment in this scenario would be loacation. The attachment is even greater when it is in a championship game, since the value of the game is increased. It might even bring over some band wagon fans. Wouldn't it be nice if a team, any team in MLS, could have bandwagon fans?
ojsgillt gets it. This isn't so much about the Fire getting screwed, or even the Metros being given every opportunity to win a championship for that club. The decision to move the game to NY was a bad precedent. The USSF needs more stability and exposure for the tournament, and that's what should have been the motivation for their decision. Until a home crowd can easily pull in 20K for the final with only two weeks notice, the USSF has to be much more careful with how they market and place this game. In this instance, the best thing for the tournament and for the USSF would have been to let the game be played in Chicago. We had several extra weeks to market the game, we had presumably better stadium leasing terms for the event and we had the dinger of the double header. Any of these factors outweighed any comparable factor for putting the game in NY. I don't want the game in Chicago. I don't not want it in NY. I want an intelligent decision to be the basis for where the game is played. A predetermined neutral non-MLS site would draw as well or better than NY did for this even. Always play the game in Atlanta or something. Set the precedent that the location of the game will be a weekend and announced a month or more before the actual game is played. Do something, anything, smart about it. Just don't treat it like a toy.
Why didn't they let the teams bid for the game? Isn't that done in earlier rounds? This way the Metros would have been compensated but the league would have gotten more exposure and revenue. For that matter, why not switch to a home-and-home format? As it stands, the USOC is clearly Mickey Mouse because no serious competition would let a team get away with a huge advantage like home field.
Is MLS Cup also Mickey Mouse for the same reason since New England advanced to the final played at their stadium?
I don't remember Chicago fans complaining when the '98 final was moved from Virginia Beach to Chicago instead of another suitable neutral venue - like Indianapolis, for example.
Well when the goofballs at the Metros can't work to draw at least 10k for the event sure why not?? Oh I get it Major League in NewYork means small crowd.
Since I know who you are I wont rip on you too much. But I feel that this apparent inferirority complex some of you feel toward Mexico is for the small minded and insecure. We beat them in World Cup. We beat them on a regular basis. You shouldn't feel so insecure because they have better fans than the Metros do. Now I know why US Soccer is so second rate. We have people that put there racist small minded ness infront of making right business decisons.
HERE! HERE!!! I agree with you!!! Trek Convention is perfect. Retards!! Easy for them to say when they are not paying for the bills involved in putting on these events!!!
I think you may be missing the point. I am pretty sure that if they knew that the place that the match would be held would draw only 5,000 people and in Man U they would draw 50,000 they would probably place it right in Man U's nice little stadium almost every time.
No I am fraid your wrong. I got into this discusssion with a guy from the Metros. If the Metro Stars had a international game that night scheduled and they gave it to Chicago I would be saying exactly the same thing. For me this is about attendance and good business decisons for a growing sport and the powers that be have shown time and time again they have no clue how to run a business. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx who thinks the world is out to get em. Its about the money and apparently US soccer has some massive trust fund that noone knows about. I have donated money to Us soccer to help it gow but I will stop doing it if they contimue to squander money away with poor business decisions like this. Edited by MeridianFC for content
There are plenty of problems with the USOC. The fact that it wasn't held in Chicago this year is hardly one of them.
Well, that was by coincidence, not by design. Big difference. Kind of like PSV hosting and playing in the UEFA Cup Final, or France hosting and winning the World Cup, or the 49ers winning the Super Bowl at Stanford.