I keep reading how the big crowd for the US-Mexico means Houston is ready for a MLS team. Am I crazy or do they NOT realize that Mexico is sort of playing playing in this game and attracting 80% of the crowd? There is no connection to a big crowds when Mexico is involved to big crowds for MLS games. Just ask the Galaxy staff. If not for the great Salvadorian and Guatemalan fans, the crowd in LA would be as dismal as Kansas City or Dallas. I just hope the MLS isn't getting all happy about this. They need to put a new team in a city that will go to MLS games, not Mexican soccer. As long as the talent keeps improving, the Mexican supporters will one day start supporting the MLS too. Or is that just a pipe dream, since the MLS will always just be a U.S. league?
Plenty been said on this topic here (incl. quotes from relevant parties): https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37429&perpage=15&pagenumber=5
If there is a good showing, I see no reason NOT to have a team in Houston, espicially when some MLS teams (or most if not all) play in front of nearly empty stadiums every game.
The Galaxy have a large Mexican fan base. Not huge, but many Latinos/Hispanics/Mexicans attend their games.
If MLS gets a team and can't get the Mexican fans to show up then those fans are Mexico fans rather then soccer fans. Which soccer fans wouldn't want professional soccer in their towns? You can always make the argument that they don't like MLS because the quality isn't up to par with their mexican league, but watching live soccer is so damn fun. Why would they want to miss out on that.
A sellout crowd at Reliant is nice, and especially nice for the pocketbooks of the folks at Houston Texans Entertainment, who are marketing the match (and not forgetting U.S. Soccer and the FMF, of course). However, seeing that HTE are supposed to get more friendly games at Reliant, I'd reserve judgement until the USA plays someone else there, whether it be another Latino team or otherwise. Let's take more than one match into account before we rush to placing an MLS expansion team in Houston. Sixty-eight thousand fans for one game is nice, but let's evaluate on a larger sample size of matches.
Same argument can be made of those buying tickets for Manchester United's tour in the summer. Just because fans of Man Utd, Juventus, Barcelona, Club América, etc., are buying tickets and selling out stadia, that doesn't necessarily mean that they will support the MetroStars, Galaxy, Revolution, per sé. They are fans of their particular teams, and not necessarily MLS or a wider range of soccer in general.
It's amazing how everybody outside of Houston seems to know what the demographics of the ticket purchasers are here. There will be virtually no way to "prove" Houston's viability as an MLS city just through a friendly like this. But this friendly aside, the numbers that MLS will look at include: 4.5 million residents, 1.3 million of them Hispanic; stadium location and quality, willingness of the owner to spend money on a team and market it. As far as I'm concerned, it's at least as impressive that the US national team when they last played in Houston, drew 10500 fans to a high school football stadium--in a 1988 friendly when we hadn't been to a WC in 38 years. No, this match isn't the proof your looking for. But with the right owner, the evidence is already in place. Oh, we've got PLENTY of Salvadorans and Hondurans here, as well.
Re: Re: MLS in Houston? <sigh> Steve Patterson and other Texans execs have stated that this game is just the first step in a longer process to analyze the feasibility of MLS in Houston. Also note that McNair has a right of first refusal on MLS in Reliant through the end of 2005. (You can read up on both those topics and the broader context by clicking on the link that I provide above.) And Guatemalans! I was at the Galaxy (MLS) x Santos (MFL), Aguila (ES) x Olimpia (Honduras) double header at Robertson Stadium last year. No Guatemalan team was involved, but a large and vocal number of Guatemalans showed up to cheer for Pescadito. The stadium announcer felt compelled to explain to the crowd that the organizers believed that Ruiz would be there and apologized for his absence.
MLS in HOUSTON =Success I have been living in Houston since 81 and the level of soccer has grown leaps and bounds since. I remember having to play games at 10pm and Midnight, because those were the only times teams were allowed playing fields in the parks. Now football is played everywhere in the city, the burbs, and the rural towns too. I attend U of Houston where the majority of Pro games are played and for the past 3 to 4 yrs there has been a consistent level of sellouts for every game that has been played there. From FMF games to LIbertadores Qualifiers to Galaxy/Santos doubleheaders. MLS would do better her than many think. Especially with the wide range of Stadiums we have to accomodate a team: Rice, Robertson, or even a Football specific Stadium around the Dome. We have the fans, the support, the stadium, all we need is an owner. I will be first in line for Season Tixs on day one.
US vs Mexico doesn't matter.... Come up with an awner/investor and a good stadium deal and MLS can have a truck at your door within hours. Without those two things, you can sell out Reliant twelve days in a row and you won't get an MLS team. Nobdoy doubts the level of support for soccer. Hell, the sport's pretty much exploding all over the country. But you need someone with some bucks to step forward.
Re: US vs Mexico doesn't matter.... Read here (see post subject "of course..."): https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37429&perpage=15&pagenumber=5
All the new Houston franchise would have to do would be to hire a big time Mexican National Team star. I wonder what El Matador is up to?
The condescending attitudes of people about the chances of MLS in Houston really aren't warranted. I'm not sure if they know all the details, but things are really starting to be put in place. First of all, it isn't the City of Houston or some small interest group that is putting together this match. It is McNair, the owner of the Texans. He has been in talks with MLS for quite some time about becoming an I/O, and I think his willingness to host a match at his place will not only see him quite a bit of profit, but also let him know how the community will react to a match. Houston has some of the highest TV ratings of any city (MLS or NOT) in the nation. There IS an audience. I really can't reiterate the importance of this match. Everyone is saying "oh attendence doesn't matter, stadiums don't matter..." Well, to MLS they don't, but to McNair, this sure as hell is an important match. I know for a fact that this has blown away my expectations. Especially the coverage it has received in the Chronicle and in the local Media. With all of these things occurring, McNair has to notice and it really should spark an interest in MLS.
You're right. I think some posters are a little uninformed about what's been going on in Houston with McNair. No one's assuming that Houston will get an MLS expansion team just because this game is a massive success - but some people would benefit by going over to the "MLS: Expansion and Stadiums" forum and doing a little background reading in the Houston expansion thread to learn more about the nature of this process.
MLS in Houston more than ready Houston is ready, all we need is to start thinking about our Club name. F.C. Hurricanes my first choice any suggestions?
Re: MLS in Houston more than ready Hmmm. I'd suggest Houston Cosmos, so we could kill three birds with one stone - first, you keep Houston's Space City-themed sports names (e.g., Astros, Rockets, Comets); second, you get a name that works in both English and Spanish; and third, and most importantly, you kill off all future NY Cosmos revival threads.
I'm sure the same people in Dallas and Kansas City say the same thing. I won't waste a second researching the viability of Houston. My point was not to take this game as anything but a great game between two countries. I hope 12 more cities can eventually get MLS teams, maybe in Houston, but I don't want to see another team in the Bible Belt with crowds averaging 8,ooo people. that wil only hurt the image of the MLS. And as for Mexican supporters going to watch Galaxy games, give me a break...maybe a couple hundred. El Matador who????