Ok, so after reading Gardner's article about Arena's uninspiring product on the field, I am left to ponder whether this makes a difference in MLS. Ive seen the bandwagon effect work in many sports, but I suppose this is just as much a measure of MLS as it is the Red Bulls. But for argument's sake, lets say RBNY won the MLS cup playing an Arsenal-esque brand of attacking soccer. Would this really force NYC media to sit up and take notice or boost next years attendance? I say not in the slightest, but lets hear your thoughts.
If we win they will come. Won't be a packed house but people love winners and being part of it. Yes is the answer. Let's just win and see. We can then invite all the reporters and papers to our parade around Giants stadium.
The Cup would tend to validate what Bruce has done at RBNY (not sure if I like that ). Attendance and media coverage? I think not. Our game remains the #5 sport in a 4-sport nation. Live with it
So then, what is the point of playing at all? If nothing else, winning will justify better DPs and a rush on RB park. A pity I wont be here to see it. Bring back the Mutiny!
The point is that there are some of us that prize this game above all others. Enough of us, apparently, to support a league that gets national TV contracts and can attract (some) quality players from around the world. Good enough for me, even if we remain beneath the notice of many "sports fans" and the general public, most of the time.
You lost me there. Competing for least intelligent thread? Of course it would f'ing matter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think what winning would do is bring out all the soccer fans in the area who have either stopped going to games or have ignored this team through their existence. That is a considerable amount of people in this area. Easily enough to lead MLS in attendance. As more people go to games I think the media would give it more coverage. I seem to remember reading an article with Jack Bell of the NY Times where his editor explained the lack of coverage for Red Bull was because the crowds and tv ratings are low so it shows a lack of interest in the general public.
the problem with the red bulls and attendance is that 50% of the time, we play disjointed soccer with no emotion. to coin bruce's phrase, it's a crap shoot. while he referred to the outcome of an mls game, i'm referring to the product on the field. so even if there's a bump in attendance, the new people who do come out have an equal chance of seeing a crappy red bull team as they do a good one. one will make sure they don't return, the other will. until they show up and see the crappy side. hopefully, they're hooked by then, but chances are they won't be. stop trying to convert this countries top young prospect at forward into a midfielder. it's not genius...its stupid. angel/alti up front is the best combo we have. we didn't need doe. so until bruce stops trying to come up with these "genius" formations because everyone else doesn't seem to understand soccer the way he does, we'll be stuck in mediocrity....team and attendance wise.
what's funny, is that when he coached DC and the nats way back, he seemed to be a better coach because he didn't seem to overcomplicate what is essentially, a simple game. play your best players in their best positions. if they really are that good, the rest of the team will tend to elevate their game because they get to see a great player doing great things at their position.
Anyone who's been down to one of the area's many bastions of Eurosnobbishness knows that many "soccer fans" have ignored the team and the league throughout its existence because they don't rate its quality, or atmosphere, or whatever. You and I might think that's a load of bull, but if it's their perception it's going to guide what they do. So, exactly how would this team winning a competition they don't rate put those people on the road to Damascus? A minor, and short-lived bump is all you'd get. I don't think anyone really has to worry about it, though.
Preeeeecisely. And winning the Cup this year (or any one year) is not going to magically ignite a passion for this club or this game in the "general public".
Believe it or not there is still a huge number of people in the tri-state area that have no idea there is a professional soccer team playing in the area. Add to that the number of people who have turned their back on the team over the last 11+ years and you really don't have much left to gain. It took the NFL and the NBA many, many, many years to acheive equal standing with MLB in this country. MLS has barely scratched the surface in comparison.
Would it matter? That's not a very specific question. It certain requires a point of view. Would it matter to Channel 4 news? Probably not. Doubt we'll see more than a single quick mention of it there. And next season, back to no coverage. Would it matter to ESPN? Sure would. They are looking at a growing fan base and want to leverage that. A strong NY team would increase NY viewing audience for the games. Would it matter more than another team winning? Probably not, but if NY won, they'd certainly be sure to leverage the fact when marketing their broadcasts. Would it matter to local media in general? Only to those already covering soccer regularly. Readership will increase based on interest, and interest grows with winning records. Would it matter to the fans? Shut your mouth. Would it matter to the rest of the league? Absolutely. While the fans of other teams may be annoyed, angered, disappointed (all of which indicates it matters!), the league in general wants a successful New York team to help capture the massive potential audience in the area. But, most importantly, would it matter to Red Bull? Would they pony up the bucks to market the team with the type of blitz that would really generate the interest in this area? I would hope so. I would hope that it would kick start the blitz a year early, even though we're in Giant Stadium. My dream is that our attendance in the last month or so of home games in Giants Stadium next year indicates that our stadium might not be big enough to host everyone that wants to attend games. In other words, we have regular Beckham-like attendance numbers because we're returning champs riding a wave of marketing and fantastic soccer.
Fair point. I agree getting these type of people will always be hard because they view MLS as a second rate product but winning can overcome alot. This is a winners town, if teams don't win people don't care. The Yankees had trouble drawing in the early 90's when they sucked. Rutgers Football used to struggle to get 10k a game when they sucked every year. The Nets used to get crowds that made Red Bull games look packed when they sucked every year. Granted, the setup of MLS basically guarentees long term mediocrity for franchises but if the team could ever go on a Houston or New England type run over a course of 5 years I think it would do wonders for interest.
The Red Bull marketing department would have to work overtime to launch some type of media blitz that would get the team noticed, and they would have definitely have to work out a much better TV deal--one that gives the team more exposure. Winning alone wont cure everything, because MLS is perceived by many in this area to be a niche sport or minor league. For example, you can have a team that wins the National Lacrosse League 5 times straight and no one will notice or even care because it's considered to be "minor" in people's minds. It will take winning on the field AND a huge change in how the team is marketed and hyped to make a dent in public opinion.
for marketing they have to show the games on channel 2,4,5, or 7 and then youll see more people going to games
I agree--anything less than exposure on free over the air tv is not going to cut it in the ny metro area. Yes the Yankees play on cable and so do the Knicks, Rangers, and Nets but before they went to cable they had years of just showing their games on free tv and building up a faithful following--and even after they moved they have made it a point to always leave a few games for free tv (except for the local hockey teams who have seen their ratings drop since they adopted the cable only policy) I think a local saturday night tv deal with either channel 9 or channel 11 might go a long way towards helping the situation. But then again, what i think doesn't matter--ultimately what matters is what Red Bull actually does. I hope they wake up to the fact that cable or no cable, next year they simply must do better on the TV side of things.
Would make no difference. Soccer fans who turn on to watch the Red Bulls still see a team with one set play: goalie boots the ball upfield hoping to find Angel's head. Once in a while the team screws up and strings a few passes together, but that doesn't happen very often. Until we get a few creative players to compliment Angel, no titles will mask the truth: Red Bulls is a mediocre team not worth driving to the Meadowlands to see.
Who uses rabbit ears to watch free tv anymore??? I would bet a title would double our core attendance. We can draw 10K on a blah weeknight now. As champs 20-30K would become the norm - at the Swamp. But as someone who has endured the few peaks and all the low low valleys of a dozen plus years, it sure would matter to me. And I think right now that's what RB is doing, playing for the core until the quality shows marked improvement. At least that's what they've said.
i agree that that 9 and 11 don't have the stature or prestige of a full network---but assuming that the Red Bulls would not be able to land on a major network, i felt that maybe 9 or 11 would be more friendly or perhaps more economically feasible and those are channels that for people who have lived in the area a long time have been known to be involved in the local sports scene. Over the years 9 & 11 have shown the yanks, the mets, the nets, and the rangers, as well as showing jets and giants preseason football. Maybe Fox--but i think that might be a long shot...
Ofcourse it would matter !!! Winning in all sports is proven to boost attendance and relevance in the city. New York especially loves to embrace its winners and this would be the best thing to happen to the team