It seemed pretty sparce at Seahawks stadium. Maybe it just seemed like that, but whenever the did close ups of the field, there were tons of empty seats behind the players.
17,819, but the majority of the camera side of the field was full. When this game was USA-Japan they sold the side opposite the cameras as the Japanese side and the side with the cameras and benches as the USA side. I'm a bit dissapointed we didn't top 20K, but with the Japan is coming, no we're not, OK we will actually come, no we're not coming, now Venezuela is coming carousel, it really hurt attendance. That and being a non-WCQ year, and of course, the fact that we're at war.
A very lifeless crowd, in my opinion. They need to consider playing games in smaller stadiums where whatever atmosphere fans create won't be sucked away by 50,000 empty seats.
i was there. it seemed like more than 17,000 to me but what do i know. i enjoyed the crowd and sam's army was great as always.
no i think that is a great stadium for bigger games like Japan if that would have gone on as scheduled. i think the USSF should just use smaller stadiums more often for the smaller games. We need the image of full stadiums and the atmosphere also. More games at Crew stadium and the Home Depot Center can only help the national team, fans, tv audience, and give one more added incentive for mls teams to build these stadiums if they know they will be hosting lots of us men's games. We should continue playing in places like Seattle and Houston, but only for teams like Mexico, Japan, etc.
I was at the game. The atmosphere in the stadium was pretty non-existent, which is too bad because the stadium had a great, great vibe (with only 25,000) when the Sounders opened it last year. The quality of the opponent, the low stakes, and utterly sedate first half all contributed to the tameness. The stadium really is a great place for soccer, though. Excellent sight lines, wide pitch, potential for great atmosphere, etc. Hopefully we get a qualifier (though after yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't).
I was at the game in the US Supporters section next to the sammers. The small crowd was dissappointing but with the ucertainty of the game, not at all unexpected. Most people we talked with around Seattle the day before the game thought that it had been completely cancelled. With the ridiculous circus of the WWF in town, and the uncertain status of the game, I think it got overshadowed. Too bad, because we had a great time at Kells on Friday and Pyramid before the game and at the game itself plus after at Fado.
Did anyone get a chance to measure the pitch width? It was reported (months ago) that pitch width would be 68 yards, which isn't all that impressive.
I thought I would add this from Sunday's New York Times article concerning the match: "The atmosphere and intensity around the match was also clearly hurt by the absence of the first scheduled opponent, Japan, which pulled out because of security concerns. Several thousand tickets were returned, and most of the walk-up for the game was diminished in this city with a large Asian population."
Considering that this was to be " testing the waters" for an MLS franchise, Seattle soccer fans failed to make a case for themselves. No matter who the opponent was, the weather or any other excuse, this was their chance. For an MLS game only half of this people would show up on regular basis. Like someone else posted , it may very well be a long time before another US game played here. To bad .
I totally agree, especially when you contrast the crowd with the fact the Man U Money Grab sold out in an instant. There are roughly 50K Eurosnobs in the Seattle area that should be ashamed of themselves for supporting Man U over the US. No offense to actual English or Scots who live in the area and have a real connection to Celtic or Man U, as opposed to glory seeking US "fans" who are just front runners. In my humble opinion, of course.
How about the fact that many people thought the game had been cancelled because of Japan not coming? We got no credit for 35K+ last year, or the 21,500 that showed up for the women's team in November, or the 30K+ that showed up for USA-Russia in '94 (Yeah, that was 9 years ago, but it's the only other time top-level U.S. team has played in Seattle), but all of a sudden one 17K game is enough to dump Seattle from the list of "good soccer cities." Beasley states that the crowd for the Honduras game was one of the best he's ever heard, but Seattle doesn't support U.S. Soccer. OK, whatever.
I find it hard to believe that there are "50K Eurosnobs in the Seattle area," but not thousands of pro-MLS "fans." The way the Man U tour is constantly being ripped on these boards leads me to believe there are a lot of "MLS-only" fans out there. Why aren't they storming the ticket booths for these games? It's not like the Man U people are preventing the MLS people from buying tickets. Please don't blame so-called Eurosnobs for the fact our National Team gets lousy attendence. By the way, how was this match marketed? I'm sure not as effectively as the Man U tour. (Full disclosure: I'm going to Man U-Juventus at Giants Stadium. I'm also going to tons of MetroStars games. Plenty of us go to both. If the U.S. Team comes to my area to play Antarctica, I'll be there.)
The thing is, in many US cities there are expat Irish, English, Mexican, etc. They don't even give MLS a chance before bashing the quality of play and the players. They would rather get up at 7:00am to watch two bottom table EPL teams make a mockery of the sport than go to a local MLS match. Most people think it is just the latinos (the Mexico matches, exhibitions from MFL teams) but it is an entire culture of people who won't take time to watch our league. I know that the quality of play is a heck of a lot better than the beginning and we showed it by the WC. That just isn't enough for some. When teams like ManUre and America come through for their tours they outdraw the MLS teams. There are some of us who love a good soccer match, and will go see anything to support the sport. But we are far from the norm. I just wish there was a way to change peoples minds, but if they won't open theirs, I don't see how we can. james
I was at last years Hondo match, as well as this year's Venezuela game. I have seen the Sounders and I regularly support our PDL team the Spokane Shadow. We buy the MLS shootout package and watch every game on ESPN and ESPN2. I own MLS gear. Over the last 10 years, I have personally helped at least 20 people who had never played soccer before start playing every sunday and watch some games on TV and in person. I honestly have watched probably almost 90% of all televised MLS available to me. The nearest team is over 1000 miles from me so I apologize for not attending an MLS game yet, but I am making arrangements to go see my favorite team from day one: the Galaxy. I bleed MLS. My wife hates me at times because of MLS. But I also love European and South American soccer. I will watch whatever games I can, including Man Ure and Celtic in Seattle this summer. So for all you wo want to generalize me for going to a soccer game, that I will enjoy immensely no matter the outcome...STFU.
Did you guys hear this, Antartica !!!! here is a true honest American soccer fan, and I am with you 100% riverplate , we need more people like you, a lot more. Sad to note the american fan see this games as a Broadway show, placing monetary value on it, instead of showing support from their heart. Nationalistic ? YES !!!
You are obviously not the person (or representative of the people) I was speaking of. My point is that while there are people like you or I that will support any soccer in the US, there are plenty of others who will support their home leagues/teams without giving the MLS a passing thought. That is the problem. james
Marketing? I do not know this word you use. Perhaps you could explain it to me? There was no marketing that I saw, with the exception of one news story when the game was announced, and one story about the team practicing at Nike headquarters in Portland. Now I live oustide the Metro area, so I don't know about newspapers or bilboards, but as far as TV or Radio, I saw zip.
The numbers speak for themselves. About 18K turn out for the US. 67K turn out for an offseason publicity tour involving teams that 99% of the people in attendance have no real connection to. I understand the logic of turning out no matter what the teams are to support soccer. However, the numbers make it clear that most residents in the area value Man U or Celtic over the US. Personally, I think that is wrong. If you choose to go to both matches, that is one thing. But Americans who choose the Man U circus instead of the USMNT are front running Eurosnob poseurs. In my humble opinion, of course.
Re: Re: What as the attendance at today's game? I live in Seattle. There was NO marketing to speak of. I did hear one call-in radio contest where you could win tickets to the match. That was it. Sports news around here has been focused almost exclusively on the Mariners. I would just like to reiterate that this should not be seen as the proverbial nail in Seattle's soccer coffin. Other cities have done worse in better conditions. For instance: June 7, 2001 vs. Ecuador in Columbus: 12,000 Feb 3, 2001 vs. Columbia in Miami: 14,000 Jan 27, 2001 vs. China in Oakland: 8,000 Nov 17, 2002 vs. Ecuador in DC: 15,000 17,000 this weekend isn't that bad when considered in context. In fact, aside from the weather, circumstances could not have been worse: a no stakes friendly against an unheralded last-minute opponent, while we're at war.