MLS Cup 2024 (Saturday, 12/7) pregame/in-game/postgame thread [R]

Herbalife and Red Bull - which quack pseudo-health tonic will win?

 

Maybe what the Quakes need is their own pseudo-health tonic sponsorship. Durvet Ivermectin?

 

I have to sign up for something to see Andrew Dweebe’s combined best 11 for the MLS Cup? :facepalm

 

Hubby and I are heartbroken for Riqui Puig. I love watching him play. So we probably won’t even bother watching MLS Cup.
For all the elimination games, I have only watched the last 15-35 minutes or just the highlights. I just don’t have much interest in MLS this season because of Apple’s scheduling. I have watched few other games besides Quakes games and don’t know any of the players except Miami.

I wonder how overall viewership has fared under the Apple deal; I know AppleTV got more subscribers (probably mostly international-based fans?), but I wonder if all but the top clubs have lost a lot of eyeballs on individual games. Maybe that doesn’t even matter anymore?

 

Puig is a great player but I don’t think his game is that interesting. He’s mostly a slasher who can use his pace to dribble thru midfield. He’s pretty direct. His final ball is good but not great. Hernán to me is more fun to watch even if he’s not as effective. He’s gonna try a trick of some kind just about every possession.

 

Puig is my favorite non-Quakes player in MLS.

 

I respect Puig a lot for what he does, and wish we had someone even like 75% Puig. But I think mine might be Cucho Hernandez. He's got skill but on top of that he plays with pure passion, pure determination, like every possession is his last.

 

As I expected, they opened up the grass berm. My guess for the ticket price was a little high. They are $225 plus a little over $40 in fees, so $265 and change total. Still way too much for me. Maybe I'll find a resale "bargain" with time enough to get the Friday overnight bus to LA. Doubtful. Our television works great with two viewing options, Fox or MLS Season Pass.

 

Why would a Quakes fan want to pay a lot of money to see the Gals play in an MLS Cup unless they were playing the Quakes (heh, fat chance).

 

We have a smallish 32" TV with only 720p resolution. Supposedly, you can't perceive the difference on screens that size and smaller. I think I'll watch on FOX. I'm old fashioned that way. Also, there is no chance of buffering on an OTA broadcast. Apple TV is more problematic than most streaming channels.

MLS Cups are fun. This week, I realized that Carla and I attended all the previous ones in Carson, including the Quakes epic 2003 victory. That streak will likely end. I doubt I can find a ticket at an acceptable price.

The last MLS Cup I attended was in 2018 with Atlanta beating Portland at home. I got a face value ticket with a generic presale code someone put on reddit. It was about $75. The people next to me paid between $200 and $300 each for their tickets on a scalping site.

Since MLS went to a hosted final in 2012, it is usually difficult to get face value tickets. The Galaxy have a relatively small STH base, so getting tickets in Carson is easy, just way too expensive this year. I don't think the game will sell out at these prices, although MLS will claim a sell out. Sound familiar?

I look every year. I went in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. I couldn't even get a ticket in Seattle's NFL stadium in 2019. They let STH's buy unlimited tickets so they scooped them all up in search of profits.

 

They're not fun to me unless the Quakes are in it.

 

I went to the 2010 final in Toronto. Colder than the Niners game last weekend. Fun, yes.

@falvo

 

The game that was so un-fun that it ended MLS Cup being held in neutral venues

 

We were there also. It wasn't that cold by game time. It warmed up throughout the day. Snow flurries in the early morning, high 40's/low 50's (with some wind) by game time, I think. I saw you there. I also saw John Doyle and Alexi Lalas sneer at each other near the entrance to the stadium.

We went every year when it was at a predetermined site from 2003 through 2011, although not in the dark years of 2006 and 2007. I also went to the 1998 game at the Rose Bowl (first time I bought event tickets online) and the 2001 Quakes victory over LA in Columbus with a ticket I purchased in mid-season from the Crew.

 

MLS Cup doesn't have the same panache that Super Bowl has for me. It's just another game. And especially since I don't think all that much of the competition format to determine "champion" in MLS. That's why I'm only truly interested when it's the Quakes, or maybe when it's one of the other teams I like, like Columbus (there are very few - that may be the only other one I really like).

 

I remember that game.

They should have played it at the Sky Dome.

 

I'm in. I got super lucky. I randomly checked the ticketing sites and found a resale GA ticket on Ticketmaster for about $90. The normal cheapest price on all the sites I know is about $250. The regular berm ticket price had dropped a little, but now they are sold out. Some of the other section prices have also dropped, but still at least $320 with fees.

My round trip airfare is cheaper than the game ticket. Go Red Bulls!!!!