do you really think that the coach of a team has no idea about decisions that are going on with respect to his team being in a new stadium?? since when have these negotiations become akin to a nuclear arms secret meeting. I'm sure that Hudson has been kept in the loop, and i'd also say i'm sure that he knows MORE than he is saying. as for OWENDYLAN, i made it very clear that i could be wrong about other DC United officials making statements. yes, i do know that the idea of having an SSS has been floating around, and i also know that the baseball idea has been floating around. nothing has come of either to this point, so I choose to take the positive spin on this. At least we know that AEG and MLS wants to cooperate with DC. MLS hasn't even committed to baseball here whether or not a stadium is in place. Therefore, as i said, i will take the mildly encouraging news on the SSS as just that.
agreed. AEG and DCSEC will never be able to put anything together in less that 12 years. DCSEC is too incompetent to set their mind to it and AEG will get so furious at DCSEC's unwillingness to cooperate that they will give up at move on to another city and wait 10 years before trying again. Meanwhile, RFK crumbles to peices as we wait for DCSEC to pull their heads out of their asses.
that would be very consistent with the way DCU is organized. there is a pretty big division between the technical staff and the business operations. don't forget also it is AEG, not United, that is lead in the negotiations for the stadium.
Unreal. Hudson, who is at least 50% likely not to be here next year, is excited about the prospect of a soccer-specific facility, and you guys view this as progress? Please pass the bowl, I need some of whatever it is you're smoking. Ray is not in the loop. He doesn't belong in the loop. That's not what he's here for. As for getting Adu, I don't think he's all that and a box of chocolates, and I don't see how his presence turns into an automatic bump at the gate. Put a winning team on the pitch with him playing up to the hype, and then you may possibly see a bump. But until that time, even Freddy's best friends are going to take a wait and see attitude.
i think that i need to hand that bowl over to you if you think that there will not be an immediate spike in attendance with Freddy Adu's arrival. the guy is from this area, played youth teams in this area and is being talked about. as i've said before, i have MANY non-soccer watching friends who have expressed interest in coming to games just because of the hype. Just like Lebron James gives Cleveland an immediate boost in attendance, Freddy will have the same effect on United. Sure, if the team is in the tank a year later and Freddy doesn't pan out, the attendance will reflect that, but you can say that in ANY situation where you have a hyped player come into town.
Yeah, I was in a smalltown PA bar this past winter and heard a couple of good-ole'-boys talking about Freddy. I thought I was dreaming. Unbelievable. The fact that he is super young, a local DC guy, and the heir to the throne of US soccer, he WILL spike attendance in MLS. How long of an effect he has will be a function of how good he gets.
That is exactly my point greenbill. I'm not saying that Freddy will be Pele. I'm simply saying that he will spike attendance immediately because of his name. after that, IF he is good, it will continue. I don't see why that is so hard for people to believe. by the way, I was just up in York, PA this weekend. my best friend and his wife live there.
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Define spike. Are we talking 1,000 people a game 5,000 a game put some numbers down as to what your definition is of a spike. Also will it be for home games or also away games?
Attendance might rise 1,000 to 3,000 for te first few games. After Freddy doesn't make the starting lineup because he isn't ready...oh wait will AEG then play mind games with our coach to make him play Freddy because of his big contract? What if we do land Adu and the kid just isnt ready but we are force to play him because all the money Nike and MLS have poured into his contract...that would be a bad situation. Everyone thought Luis Hernandez was gonna be the attendance savior, then it was Lothar Matteus, then it was Landon Donovan..oh wait San Jose is in first place with Landon Donovan and have a hard time getting 10,000 to a game. At this point in American soccer stars don't stick out, it the value of going to a game for a relatively cheap price when there is nothing better to do, except for the few thousand hardcore fans for each team. It is yet to be seen what will happen when Freddy comes to town if he does, but I think some of you are really big dreamers!
And that shows that you have completely missed the point. Lebron James may never be great, but Cleveland is going to sell out all of their home games this year because of his arrival. Cleveland will also sell out all of their away games. Why? because deserved or not, the hype is going to bring people out to the stadiums to see him play. now if the guy isn't performing after a year in the league, then things will slow. but he is going to bring in packed houses. listen to my argument. i'm not talking about Adu's talent level ....... I'm talking about his name being able to bring fans out to the park. we'll get close to 25 grand a game if people know that he's gonna be in the starting lineup. and there will be just as big of a bump on the road, because people on the road will only have 1 or 2 chances to see him all year.
I will bet $1000 we won't see 25,000 a game, outside of the post-season and not a double-header, in which Adu starts. IIRC DCU has only had this number once or twice outisde of double headers, and one was a play-off game against NY. You are dreaming at these numbers. You think that Adu is going to increase attendance by almost double all on his own? You need to lay off the crack.
there is no way to quantify it because as i said, if you had read my post, that if people know that he is going to be playing (starting), we will get close to 25,000 a game. If Adu is advertised as I expect him to be, we will certainly have at least 25 grand for his unveiling. unfortunately, i am not in control of marketing, so i can't say what they will do.
First you say just by being on the roster we'll have a spike in attendance, then it's he's got to be in the starting lineup and now he has to be marketed correctly and starting for this to happen. Which is it? His name alone and the possibility of his starting or playing (as a sub) won't bring out the fans in droves?!? Shocking! Give up the ghost on this one or put your money where your mouth is. If you really think Adu is goiing to boost attendance by almost 100% for this team you've either bought the hype hook, line and sinker, or should be hired by the team for the great marketing and advertising plan that will make this happen. There is no evidence what so ever that the presence of one player in this league, will boost attendance that much. That was the rationale in bringing Luis Hernandez to the league and look how successful that proved to be.
Ok. when did i ever say that simply being on the roster and never playing would bring people to the stadium. if you can't understand the implication of actually playing, then there is nothing i can do for you. as for the Luis hernandez comment, that's a non-issue. Is Luis hernandez an American star? is he 14 years old? is he touted as the best player that most coaches have ever seen at his age? did he go back to play in the area where he grew up and started to establish the makings of what would lead to his hype? Luis Hernandez was just another "seen his better days" guy that the league brought in, which failed. he wasn't the first, and he won't be the last. the comparison to freddy is ridiculous. as for me falling for the hype, you just don't get it. I already go to United games. there is no hype for me to fall for. i will be at the stadium regardless. but for those people who aren't huge fans of soccer (like you or I are), they will be motivated by the hype to come. you keep acknowledging that there is a ton of hype about him, but then you won't acknowledge that the hype will put people in the seats. that's absurd. reality says it will be one or the other. anyway, we can piss on each other all day. it won't make a bit of difference. you believe what you believe. and i believe what i believe. we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. if/when Adu comes to town, we'll both see whether all of the "hype" worked enough to get other people to the games i'm already attending. if it doesn't, then we can take this up again.
I actually agree with this for the most part. Assume that the following two things happen: 1. DC uses Freddy in a substitue role in one of its first few games. 2. DC's coach (whoever that is) announces early in the week that Freddy is going to start in a Saturday night home game early in the season (let's say the third home game). If those situations took place, I can easily see attendance for that game of more than 20K. If Freddy actually scored a goal in one of his substitute appearances, then the number could easily top 25K. The only thing that would prevent a big crowd would be failing to open the upper deck at RFK. Here's why: Like the quote above said, Freddy is a huge name draw. I'd argue he is known even more than Donovan to the casual or non-fan now (at the very least, people have heard of the Nike deal). Even if people don't know the name Freddy Adu, several sports fans will be intriqued with the idea of going to see the 16 year old soccer player that Nike shelled out $1 million for. That is a sports interest story that transcends soccer, and would generate enough of a buzz to cause an attendance jump for a game where people know ahead of time that he will see significant playing time. In addition, DC residents (and not just the hardcore soccer fans) are pretty soccer saavy, and I'd expect a good number would want to come check out what the hype is about with Adu. Would this attendance bump continue? Who knows. Freddy would have to perform (as a starter or not) for it to have any sort of lasting effect. Would Freddy bump attendance on the road substantially? Maybe, again, that would be dependent on performance. But, if at his unveiling game, he pulls off some jaw-dropping play or even scores, a lot of fans will come back for more. I do know that the day that MLS announces Freddy is coming to DC United, season ticket sales will go up. I also know that group ticket sales will probably also go way up for his first few games. And I'm basing that guess just on what I have heard from fans and non-fans in the DC area.
This has been the underlying basis for what i've said the whole time. to those of us on BS, we are a different breed. we are all huge soccer fans. but i'm talking about everyone else. there is no question in mind (although i have no poll or statistical proof), that because of the hype that freddy has gotten due to this age and talent level, that the AVERAGE supercasual soccer fan has heard more about Freddy than they have about LD. in my own personal experience, that has been the case. they might not know his name, but they know about "that african kid." you said it perfectly. because of these things, it IS a sports interest story that transcends soccer, and people will want to be able to say down the line, just like with Lebron James, "i was at the game in DC when he ..........."
oh, i did say that. simply puffing though. obviously a guy who never plays at all isn't going to draw fans. noone wants to see a guy sit on the bench. bottom line, we are just going to disagree on his effect. only time will tell. you should be hoping that i'm right.