Friday, July 15 DC-SJ 17,230 Saturday, July 16 CHI-CLB 43,750 MET-COL 11,100 NE-DAL 20,570 KC-RSL 12,200 LA-CHV 27,000
From Peter Wilt on attendance: “But there is no guarantee the game is going to make money. There is also the tendency that these big games drain attendance from the games around them. This year, Chicago fans have had the opportunity to watch England vs. USA, Mexico vs. Poland, Real Madrid vs. Chivas, Club America vs. the Polish club coming in, and A.C. Milan vs. the Fire. If you are a youth soccer club and you are planning your one outing of the year, there is a good chance you will pick a high-profile event like that rather than a traditional regular-season MLS game. It can cannibalize your regular attendance.” http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/sportsstory.asp?id=73967 I think there's a couple of points you can make based on that: (1) DHs don't inflate average attendance to the extent that they just shift fans away from attending normal MLS matches they would have attended anyway. (2) Given that, despite numerous discussions here about how median is a better indicator of where the league stands, sometimes it won't make sense to cut out these big attendances on the assumption that they're outliers. My guess is that teams like Real Madrid and Chelsea-- European powerhouses that appeal to youth soccer teams and the casual, non-ethnic fan-- probably canibalize attendance to a much greater extent than Mexican teams, which by and large seem to bring in a different audience from regular MLS matches.
Friday, July 15 DC-SJ 15,203 Saturday, July 16 CHI-CLB 51,320 MET-COL 12,245 NE-DAL 22,245 KC-RSL 12,975 LA-CHV 27,000
I know alot of people who do this. They only have the time or money to make one game a month so they just plan to go to the doubleheaders. It definately has an effect on the other games.
Friday, July 15 DC-SJ 15,700 Saturday, July 16 CHI-CLB 51,000 MET-COL 11,100 NE-DAL 22,500 KC-RSL 20,100 LA-CHV 27,000 It is a tricky week with the double/triple headers and then with the KC Break the Record/Price Chopper promotion (got 30,308 in 2003 and 24,740 last year) Probably will slip again this year since everyone says KC doesn't advertise their games anymore. I am still guessing pretty high for KC and a good week for MLS all around.
Updated picks Dc 15,100 Chi 48,650 Njm 13,100 Ne 20,500 Kc 20,401 La 27,000 <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
WARNING: THIS POST IS DRIVEL, BUT IS BEINGING POSTED DUE TO MY LACK OF DESIRE TO FINISH "HONEY D0" LIST. You knooooooooow; they should have played the Real Madrid vs Chivas game in Salt Lake. Salt Lake and Chivas LA could have played first like a JV game, followed by the big boys. It would also give the folks in Salt Lake a chance to say, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So THAT'S what it's suppose to look like." You could also have.........OHMYGOD!WIFE'SHOMEGOTTAGO,BYE!
DC-SJ 15,000 CHI-CLB 50,000 MET-COL 11,800 NE-DAL 23,000 KC-RSL 10,000 LA-CHV 27,000 <!-- / message --> Great artificially inflated week!!!!
Also the Washington beltway was beyond ********ed last night. I was afraid we might not break 10,000, but the crowd surprised me.