NE- Chicago 6,954 Col-Dallas 8,008 LA - KC 14,713 OUCH! Guess everyone stayed home to watch the games on the Shootout package.
The Krafts made another brilliant move yesterday. The Revs game against the Crew has been bumped from Saturday night, until Sunday afternoon due to a conflict with Spooky World (Halloween Theme Park), I kid you not. What could have been an acceptable attendance on Saturday night could turn into a disastor on Sunday afternoon. Youth soccer + the Pats game is not going to help things at all.... Andy
I am very disappointed with the attendance figures. Especially in New England where we supposedly have the best fans in the league. Only 7K each for two playoff games is really bad. Sunday afternoon won't be too good either. (The Patriots are playing). Why are the playoff attendances so poor? Are people just not going out of their way to get to a playoff game? The fans at Gillette last night were great but it was a shame there weren't more of them. Why are the attendances poor if the whole league attendance has been up? I realize they were midweek games but why can't people get up for the playoffs? I'm puzzled.
There isn't much to be puzzled about. This happens every year in the playoffs. This sport simply does not have a hard core fan base - yet. During the regular season lots of tickets go through youth soccer, etc. Those are "events" that get set weeks in advance for the attendees. With the playoffs there is little time to sell the games. So what you get are the hardest of hard core fans. And there simply are not a lot of us out there. It doesn't help that media attention for the league is incredibly low. Hard to sell a product with fewer avenues of promotion. Once the playoffs come just forget about attendance and enjoy the games. L.A. looked very dangerous last night. Ruiz definitely gets my vote for MVP. He is lethal.
Again, this is a falicy. In years prior, the attendance was as good or BETTER than the league average. This year it's SUBSTANTIALLY less. Mean attendance excluding MLS cup 1997 - 16,015 1998 - 17,855 1999 - 14,434 2000 - 10,274 2001 - 11,227 2002 (to date) - 9,687
"Always" means "all time" as in the history of the league. If you don't mean to say that then say what you mean. The last 2 years have shown decreased attendance compared to the season average (not 3). this year is consistent with that trend. PRIOR to that there was better attendance.
Two quick questions: 1) What year did we switch to First-to-5 format? 2) What year did DCU stop making the playoffs?
Do the historical playoff attendance numbers include all playoff games? If so, wouldn't they be skewed by the large MLS Cup attendance. I know in 1997 RFK was sold out, with more than 53,000 in attendance. Over a small sample, the big draws have a large impact on the mean, so if you're comparing complete playoff attendance averages from prior years with an average for only the first games, then it isn't an apple-to-apple comparison. Also, isn't 1998 when Chicago won it all (drawing some big crowds at Soldier Field, which they couldn't use this time around) and the final was a good crowd at the Rose Bowl? Also, this year, the two teams that missed the playoffs (DC and the Metros) were among the higher drawing teams, so part of the year-to-year impact results from weaker market teams in the playoffs, which is the luck of the draw. Finally, the MLS Cup in 2001 was in Columbus, which is the smallest venue to hold the Cup. In NE, DC, and LA, the crowds alwasy topped 35,000. I think if New England makes the final, we'll see the average attendance this year top the past few years. Still, I think it's a correct observation that the hard core is a small base, and that the lack of time to sell tickets on fixed dates to groups cripples MLS. MLS Cups draw well as events, but the early playoff games get no public attention. The playoffs are nearly invisible in the national media and are not broadcast very widely even on a local or regional basis. There is little or no buzz. Frankly, it's not surprising that we're seeing mid-week games drawing 6-9 K. In response to the earlier question, DC has missed the playoffs the last three years. They won the MLS Cup in 1999 in Foxboro and have disappeared ever since.
Having DC and the Metros in the playoffs probably would have helped much more than say Dallas and San Jose.
Next time I'll read more than the numbers. Looking back at playoff attendance figures, DC being out of the playoffs seems to be a point of departure the last three years. DC was averaging 18-19,000 for its playoff games. It also looks like LA and NE are behind its attendance figures from prior years, but it also looks like the attendance builds in LA and Colorado as teams go deeper in the playoffs. Hopefully, when all is said and done, the averages will pick up.
I keep on hearing it the same thing over and over again, two major reasons for the poor attendance. 1) not enough time to promote the games 2) midweek games during school year I would suggest they create 2 groups of 4 teams playing each other in double headers over 3 Saturdays at the home of the # 1 and # 2 seeded teams giving them the deserved home field advantage . MLS CUP to be contested by the group winners a week later. I would also like a 2 week period between the last regular game and start of the playoffs giving time to advertise and sell tickets. I think it would be an easier sell when there are 3 games guaranteed, tickets could be sold in packages at a discount. Just an idea i haven't heard anyone suggest yet. New England and LA would have hosted the group stage playoffs this time, i think they could have pulled off a much better attendance then what we seen so far.
Really? Are you sure this isn't because the game's going to be aired on ABC? http://espn.go.com/soccer/2002/0213/1331970.html
Yeah, the past few year's attendances have been worse, but is it really first to five? Thinks about it: our champions have been attendance chumps the last couple of years and the non-playoff teams are some of the more popular teams. Yeah, Metro and DC probably would've done better and not having either one of them hurts. What everybody's already noticed is, to me, inexplicable: NE. Those fans deserved a good playoff run more than anyone, but what's up?
The solution is very clear. Eliminate the playoffs. Have the Conference winners (or top two teams in a single table) play in the MLS CUP. This way every game is scheduled long in advance. We can extend the season several weeks.
I'm becoming very down about this. Maybe the regular season attendance isn't all that much better from a financial perspective. Perhaps all these youth soccer group deals are for little money.
Eliminate the playoffs and just play the MLS cup. No one attends these playoff games and they are mostly not broadcast nationally. There is no use for them right now. Maybe in the future there will be, but not right now.
If they pulled the game, when was it scheduled. And who is to say that spookyworld didn't get themselves a guaranteed date for their event.
Fool me once, shame on you (2000). Fool me twice, shame on me (2001). Fool me three, times--2002??? Has the format/dates always been the same? Were there always 2 of 3 first round games played on weeknights? I am actually thankful that MLS media coverage gets lost in the "football shuffle" this time of year... glad I haven't seen ESPN highlights complete with smarmy commentary... "insurance goal by Twellman sends the Foxboro crowd of nearly... cough, cough... seven thousand into a frenzy... cough, cough..."
This is THE REASON, first and foremost, why the playoff format NEEDS to be changed. "To what format?" is the great debate, but I think the evidence overwhelmingly shows, that the format needs a radical change.