Poll: Can we say Chivas USA is already a Success?

Discussion in 'MLS: General' started by lond2345, Apr 9, 2005.

  1. lond2345

    lond2345 Member

    Aug 19, 2002
    USA
    Can we say the Chivas USA project is already a success? Even though it has only been two games and they haven't won yet, they are having the desired effect that they were supposed to bring to mls. They were supposed to bring in the latino crowd, the latino soccer atmosphere, and attractive style of soccer. The atmosphere at the home depot for the first game and for this game today at SJ was top notch, like you rarely see in most regular season mls games. This game vs SJ seemed like a playoff game! Vergara has come through with his promise that Chivas will have a philosophy of offensive attractive style soccer for the fans and we see that in 2 entertaining nationally televised games in a row. The team is not bad it can only improve and has a bright future.

    Is it too early to say that the Chivas USA project is a success? I don't know about you, but I think it's already a success and I only Wish Garber and Club America would step on it and get a deal done to get Club America USA next season! Double the effect!
     
  2. Calexico77

    Calexico77 Member

    Sep 19, 2003
    Mid-City LA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If it relieves us of having to deal with either Kansas City, San Jose, or New England's miserable attendance records and absentee ownership, then I'm all for it.
     
  3. scaryice

    scaryice Member

    Jan 25, 2001
    We got a winner!!
     
  4. Own Goal Hat-Trick

    Jul 28, 1999
    ColoRADo
    sure it helped the attendance in SJ today. but what about the next game in SJ? doubtful...
     
  5. MtMike

    MtMike Member+

    Nov 18, 1999
    the 417
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Luis Hernandez boosted attendance for half a season too...
     
  6. Tejas

    Tejas Member+

    Jun 3, 2000
    Tejas
    If nothing else, it should make the LA vs. LA game quite interesting.
     
  7. stevewhit0

    stevewhit0 New Member

    Jun 26, 2001
    Champaign, IL
    Did i watch the same Chivas/DCU game as you?
     
  8. Charles

    Charles Member

    Oct 4, 2000
    Idaho
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Got back from the local soccer tourny and turned the game on, and...wow. Found myself thinking, "I'm looking at the future of MLS, and it looks pretty damn good." Attacking soccer, an atmosphere that was incredible (looked that way on tv at least, and since perception is reality, that's what it was), and six goals scored. Wow. Chivas, you can come play at my stadium anytime!
     
  9. Goodsport

    Goodsport Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 18, 1999
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Considering that SJ's season average last year was just over 13k, this season's attendance there will get better as the season continues (as it had the last few seasons). Not bad for a team with years of absentee ownership and no advertising/marketing to speak of.


    -G
     
  10. fdp

    fdp Red Card

    Oct 24, 2001
    :)[​IMG]
     
  11. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    It's yet to be determined whether the attendance "bump" will be temporary or lasting. Will Chivas (Mex) fans come out to the games after the novelty of the deal has worn off? I think so, actually.

    What really impressed me while watching the Goats-SJ game was the interaction between the two fan groups. How many games have you seen with away support like that? I've seen some good travelling DC fans at games in the Northeast, but that's about it.

    The other good part was it seemed that Chivas and SJ fans were sitting right next to each other without any trouble. You couldn't do that in the rest of the world. That's something unique to American sports from my experience.

    So my answer is we can't tell yet, but the initial returns are looking good. But please, add CA and that's it.
     
  12. fdp

    fdp Red Card

    Oct 24, 2001
    I agree for the following reasons:


    • As the years pass CDCU will have improved its quality of play along with MLS as a whole.
    • As the years pass, CDCU will begin to take root in the community as the discovery of local talent will have taken place.
    • I think that CDCU has the ability to control the "novelty" factor (for lack of a better word) by making sure it never wears off. How can they do this? Today we have Ramon Ramirez. Five years from now we may have Oswaldo Sanchez or some other marquee player(s) that will help draw the fans to the stadiums.
    In the two weeks of play thusfar, I have noticed that the B.S. public opinion of CDCU sure has changed.

    It seems as if it was only yesterday I was having to wade through all the xenophobic threads and posts dedicated to CDCU to get any information on the team. :rolleyes:
     
  13. Eric B

    Eric B Member

    Feb 21, 2000
    the LBC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You misspelled "washed up Mexican has-been" I'm sure a ready-to-retire Oswaldo Sanchez will just pack em in to your rental home! Check the Galaxy's attandances after the debuts of Hernandez and Hermosillo. Not much change, and that 1998 Galaxy squad was one of the most exciting MLS sides ever, until Frankenstein de la Raza was foisted upon us.

    Now more guys like Cuadros is a different story...

    It's not xenophobic to think that Mexican soccer fans are arrogant. While there was plenty of vitriol in the run up to the debut of Goats Lite, much consternation was, and still is, deserved.

    As for the experiment itself, San Jose was one market I figured that the Chivas bump would be most prominent, yet 11,519 is not much more than they would get for an April afternoon game to begin with. Maybe 2K more? Eh! Call me underwhelmed.
     
  14. metx

    metx New Member

    Jun 3, 2004
    Yes, is doing what suposse to do, keep the interes in the league...
     
  15. bbsbt

    bbsbt Member+

    Feb 26, 2003
    I will only add: For the sake of MLS, I do hope Chivas makes it all the way to MLS Cup.

    And I agree with the previous poster that perception on TV is everything.
     
  16. Arisrules

    Arisrules Member

    Feb 19, 2000
    Washington, DC
    But doesn't Chivas still have money to spend? 2 allocations correct? If they spend that on another midfielder and a forward, that team will be very strong. They have the backline (don't know about depth though...long season).

    Look, if they bring those extra 500-600 fanatics every match, it will be worth it. That will rile up the home fans, and make them root for their team even more. That is just reality, and the atmosphere will improve proportionately.

    But I think for the team to work well over the long run, they have to succeed in style.

    I don't know about CA. The problem with these clones is that the novelty could wear off too quickly if it happens over and over. Maybe a third HDC team (joke).


    We'll see. I think if the team plays better soccer their attendance will improve greatly.
     
  17. fdp

    fdp Red Card

    Oct 24, 2001
    I agree. I should have also added that to my list of reasons along side local talent.

    Another positive of CDCU is that I've noticed that they have been getting some serious coverage right alongside MFL and Euro coverage, on all the spanish language stations I normally view.
     
  18. RedMenace

    RedMenace New Member

    Jun 20, 2004
    Palo Alto, CA
    I would not want to have seen what the attendance would have been had Chivas NOT been playing then! Half the stadium was rooting for them. Now maybe a good chunk of those might have come for the game anyway (maybe rooting for San Jose vs. any other opponent), but happen to have deeper loyalties to Chivas, but I'm sure a good bunch were curious MLS first-timers just there to see Ramirez etc.
     
  19. RedMenace

    RedMenace New Member

    Jun 20, 2004
    Palo Alto, CA
    Maybe, but one thing I found interesting was that while it seemed like half the stadium was Chivas fans during the game, most of the people that stayed for the reserves game were Earthquakes fans. So... it's hard to say. They were clearly curious, but I'm not sure if they'll become diehard fans just because of the brand. A lot of them were saying hi to certain Chivas players after the game and getting autographs, but they may see the whole thing as not the real thing and not on the same level as the Mexican league.

    Personally, I think they'll chart more of a middle ground than I would have predicted previously. I think the Galaxy will outsell them at home, but the Chivas home attendance will still be among the best in the league, as will their road attenadnce. They won't set any new records or transform anything (at least right away) other than maybe forcing other teams' fans to be more vocal, but they'll be a solid new part of the league.

    Yeah, I was completely surrounded by them. Felt like being at an away game, almost (it was hard to tell how many might be Quakes fans until they scored a goal, then it seemed equal to the Chivas goal celebrations). It was a little intimidating in a way, but the worst they did was laugh at every Quakes mishap (and sometimes at Chivas mishaps as well). I wish I'd been a little drunker: I'm not the most vocal person usually, and a little less inhibition would have helped considerably. :) There weren't really more of them necessarily, but they seemed to be a lot more vocal and passionate and organized (and that wasn't even in their supporters section, I was a lot closer to the Quakes supporters end). I just think, of the few Quakes attendees, most are pretty casual "fans". Not only is soccer pretty far down the list of sports in the US, but also I don't think US sports fans are nearly as much into the organized chanting etc. found in worldwide soccer (other than some at the college level).


    Agreed, CA in Houston, and NOT by moving an existing team!!! And that will be enough Mexican teams, thank you. But probably no danger of more: after the top 2 teams (CA with 20-25% and Chivas with about 18-20%), the popularity of the teams with the Mexican population drops off, with the third team somewhere closer to 10% I think and all the rest well under 10%. So those two teams alone should attract close to 50% of Mexican/Mexican-American fans as branches of their favorite teams (or as an acceptable representative Mexican team), and each additional team from there on wouldn't add much.
     
  20. Michael CM1

    Michael CM1 New Member

    Jun 5, 2002
    Atlanta, Georgia: US
    A success? They drew 8,500 fewer people than the LA Galaxy. Perhaps an excuse if they played in a big football stadium in the wrong part of town but they play in the cathedral of US soccer stadiums and were supposed to be this HUGE draw in LA. I mean LA was picked over 10 other cities without teams for a reason, right?

    I also don't know how keen I am at helping out Mexico in any way soccer-related. If you watched the WCQ a few weeks ago, you saw they don't need any concessions by us. I say we use Chivas until the league is profitable enough to contract them.
     
  21. Eric B

    Eric B Member

    Feb 21, 2000
    the LBC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They should get Paco Palencia and that Sandoval kid. :)
     
  22. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I have a question about Cuadros (and perhaps this applies to players like Romo as well).

    Is this a one or two year move for him only? The second he gets ready, is Chivas going to recall him to the Mexican squad? Presumably we'll never get to see the Mexican players in their primes play in MLS. We'll either get the young (Cuadros, Romo) or the old (Ramon, Palencia? Sanchez?). Therefore it is extremely important that they develop their American talent. Players like Suarez, Gomez, and Guzan will be the backbone of this team for years to come.

    I think this team will be very successful over time. They certainly already have a loyal fan-base built in. This is about what I was expecting.
     
  23. m vann

    m vann Moderator
    Staff Member

    Colorado Rapids, Celtic FC, & Louisville City
    Sep 10, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I thought Chivas was pretty exciting on the attack but their defence was for a lack of better words, undisciplined. Some of it has to do with lack of playing with each other and when Ezra attacks someone usually didn't slide over or drop back. It never hurt them but SJ wasn't in position to recognize it either. Chivas has a decent core group of players and its a long season. I love the fact they had a strong contingent of fans. We need more fans in other cities like this, too. All in all, Chivas will draw interest and put pople in the stands.
     
  24. fdp

    fdp Red Card

    Oct 24, 2001
    I wish I could answer this one Clint.

    CDCU is in a unique situation and only time will tell what the FO and Vergara decides...
     
  25. Eskandarian11

    Eskandarian11 New Member

    Jan 11, 2005
    Glendale, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    Armenia
    We can just say "They don't suck as much as we first thought".
     

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