At least the folks at bigarenafootball.com aren't saying "Move San Jose"----they're doing quite well, actually.
Uhhh... the Arena Bowl is in San Jose and the owners are so desperate they are slashing upper deck tix to get a sell out.
I wouldn't draw any grand conclusions from such a small sample. It's likely within Nielsen's margin of error. But it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. And I wasn't talking about the Arenabowl when I said "San Jose is doing quite well". They went 13-1 and were third in the league in attendance at 13,493. I think they're doing all right.
And, oh, by the way, they got 16,945 for Arenabowl, so whatever they did, it worked. And until Saturday, at least, San Jose can claim the current champions of three leagues---MLS, WUSA, and AFL. Their California League team, however, is not doing so well (25-31 in the second half), but has won six straight.
These figures courtesy Kenn's famed "Champions of Obscure Leagues" and "Standings of the Minors" databases. Data for all seasons. It IS impressive.
neilson ratings Here's a little tidbit for those critical of nielson ratings... Personally, the argument I mostly see about ratings is the argument that no one knows anyone with a box. I do, but unfortunately he isn't a soccer fan and all attempts at conversion have failed up to this point. He's a big golf fan, maybe that's why there's been a jump in the ratings... But anyway, while skimming the Metro I noticed a little article that a handful of Boston TV stations have severed their ties with Neilson Media Research claiming that the data is inferior (unreliable). These stations include, among others, the cbs, nbc, abc network affiliates. This type of info is more persuasive than complaining about Neilson just because no one you know has ever been a Neilson Family.