This thread was inspired by a pretty decent thread we had going after last years season, where we discussed the state of fandom in MLS. Feel free to chime in with any observations. How are fans treated by the league? Can things be done to grow the existing fanbase? Where are some trouble areas, etc.? Paul
I'd say the MLS fan base will be going starting puberty now. As witnessed by the handful of security clashes we've seen, and by the general revisition of fan/player/organization relations since the NBA brawl, I have a feeling the MLS will have to start addressing the same issues that Europe has faced for a while - what do you do with the hard-core supporters? How do the loud, raucous, supporters groups mix with the AYSO crowd? I'm all for youth involvement, and I think the amount of youth involvment some teams have will be paying huge dividends in 5-10 years. But does that means that some of the adult fans have to treat the game like it's a golf match? We'll have to see. I can see this being a big issue with Chivas USA. I can't make blanket statements, but I'd guess that Chivas USA fans that are also CD Guadalajara fans will have a much different take on how to behave during games than parent who never were soccer fans, but bring their uniformed kids to see pro soccer. I think the fandom is increasing too. With stadiums being built, this league is no longer a joke. But how will we handle the new attention, the new fans (who will have their own idea on how to do things), etc. I personally can't wait to see the attendance numbers shoot through the roof next year. C'mon - Chivas+Frisco ALONE will bring us up 10%. That and increased visibility due to Addidas will make 2005 a banner year.
We've grown over past year and we'll get better in next. MLB can eat me, we can watch DC play in bowling alley and still rock it. Great relationship with FO and team, respect earned by both sides. When we travel to other stadiums difference is very obvious (also policies are very inconsistent). If DCU gets more control in our new SSS (comming in 2034) it can only get better. Great sibling rivalry between supporter groups with understanding that main agenda is United and that each of 3 groups offers something different to different personalities. Situation on a whole in US seems stagnant as other groups, it seems to me, refuse to learn good things from overseas (exception is Section 8 who, at least ideawise, are up to date with modern ultras trends and Portland's Timbers Army who can laugh at most groups in MLS). Like us, plenty area for improvement. It's hard to judge tho since most groups don't take a lot of pics (or maybe they're hiding them somewhere ).
Attendence is up again this year! I read somewhere that LA averaged the highest season total since the first year of the leage. Even if the league average is only up 500 over the coarse of 10 years that is 5000 fans. With new SSS coming the numbers will only elevate faster. I can only assume the the Gals turned a profit again this year since they did last year with a lower attendence. Investors will see this and want to put money into the leage, and we will go from there. I consider myself to be very lucky to see the very beginning of what I think is going to be a great league in 30 years. Hopefully less!!
Hopefully, Chivas will book some big numbers attendence-wise. Real Salt Lake should do at least Ok, considering it is their first season and interest will be high. And Dallas should get a boost. If everyone else stays the same, then we should be on track for a decent increase in attendence. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I will leave the state of fandom for MetroStars fans to the imagination....it's not going good out here at all.
That's been our experience in Chicago as well. Not everybody gets it yet, at the front office level. MLS Cup 2003 was probably the most interesting example, even if it wasn't "last season," per se. This piques my curiosity. It's been my observation that supporters groups start out as more of a single entity, experience significant growth and very significant differences of opinion with the influx of new people, then split, and sometimes violently. Coming out of that violent phase into something more loosely unified seems like a really tough proposition, and I'd love to hear why you think United has been successful when, in my view, a lot of others haven't. Later, COZ
I've been a West Coast DC United fans for years. Finally moved out to DC and joined Barra Brava and Screaming Eagles right away. At the begining of the season here on BS you would see a lot of bickering between the two groups. The beauty of DCU fans is that we do realize that for all our cultural differences we are here for the team. Nothing else matters. It's hard to put a finger on it, but I'd venture to say the level of activity in BS between the two groups, and definitely realizing that we have more in common then not was crucial to the groups coming together for the run to winning our 4th Cup! As fans we have really put the focus less on growing our individual groups, and building a total fan base that is rabid about our team. The different tailgates and group events being open to no specific group but to all. As for the general state of fandom in MLS. I can see a steady growth in most clubs (sorry Metros but you know the sad truth as does NE). I think the NBA fiasco has little to do with MLS, sure they are going to reexamine security measures and whatnot, but unless you get CSC at RFK, any changes should be seamless and not have much of an impact on supporters groups. Chivas is definitely going to bring a new style of fan to MLS, and I think some of us are trying to get a jumpstart on them. Note how RFK became a sea of black for the playoffs, banners hung all around the stadium, etc. And while I don't want to give away all our tricks for next season, you are going to see a lot of new things in good ole' RFK!
That is going to royally suck with the having to share RFK with the Nats. Question on that though. I remember that they were talking about removing the sproingy seats from RFK to accomodate for an outfield...didn't RFK house both the Senators and Redskins for a while? If so, then what is preventing them from switching back and forth from a football/soccer to baseball configuration? Just a thought. I'm sure its been brought up before.
I personally can't wait to see the attendance numbers shoot through the roof next year. C'mon - Chivas+Frisco ALONE will bring us up 10%. That and increased visibility due to Addidas will make 2005 a banner year.[/QUOTE] absolutely true. 2005 will be a great year for American Soccer, and I like expansion since it hasn't happened since '98.
Yeah, see the thing about the sproingy seats is that they're movable seats, they're what you reconfigure to go from baseball to soccer. Being sproingy was an unintended feature of the mechanism that moves them (or something). Since baseball hadn't played in years in RFK (aside from the odd exhibition game) they had sort of neglected the mechanism that makes them move, weren't sure it would run along the track, etc (for those familiar with RFK's layout, the Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava area make up the third base line when in baseball mode). The other concern was that the system would be decrepit to the point where they couldn't move the area back and forth easily enough to switch it up between games. Anyhow, the DCU front office sent out an email basically saying that they ran some tests or something and the widget that makes it go seems to work just fine, so we'll have our bouncing seats for next year. The downside is that many of the the seats behind the North goal will have to be removed in order to keep the stadium easily changeable.
I concur. RE: average attendance, I'm expecting us to hit the 16,000 level next year. Dallas will be up, and Chivas should get 20,000 per game. I also expect Real Salt Lake to draw well, due to the lack of competition in Utah and what I believe is the cheapest tickets in the league.