I think early regular-season Crew home games ... when the schedule flips ... are going to be an increasingly tough sell vs. OSU football game days. Several casuals I know... and me ... view all of CFB Saturdays as sancrosanct. There are only 15 or so of them every year that has most teams playing. Crew will still get their 8-10K who will actually go to SMGF in the Fall. But that is s hard-core captured audience. Through their shenanigans, pricing and scheduling... they are pushing the audience they need to (maybe) be an Apple TV subscriber. Or just ignore the team until they are in a playoff run.
A "Run to the Playoffs" mini-season ticket package would be a phenomenal add. Start the week after the Super Bowl ... after Winter Break ... to end of season. With priority for playoffs. That is a way to try and retain those pissed off about moving out of Summer.
That last paragraph might make for a nice little conspiracy. People will still want to follow their teams and what easier way to do that than to buy an annual pass for AppleTV? I wouldn't be surprised if the deal gets extended. Maybe there's more games on regular TV channels, but there's something nice to be said about the simplicity of having every league match in one place.
The thinking that there are only 8-10k people in the Columbus Metro who don't block off college football Saturdays is straight out of 1993.
Most OSU football games are at noon, it won't matter since most Crew games are at 7:40PM. There might be a few crossovers, but enough of a split that I don't see it being too big a concern. We also won't be playing much of December and all of January so I don't see too much changing to be honest when the new calendar comes into play.
It's not just the overlap in scheduling. You need people who (1) don't block off Saturdays for watching college football, (2) don't have other plans or obligations, (3) actually enjoy watching soccer, and (4) have a good amount of discretionary income. It costs around $400 now for family of four to attend a Crew game. Taking the family to a movie or a Clippers game costs a quarter of that. Crew matches are a big financial commitment for most people. There are more than 8-10k potential attendees but I'd wager the number of people who hit all four criteria is much closer to 10k than 100k. The Crew have to put an entertaining product on the field and overhaul their customer service. They've been charging premium prices for a non-premium production which is why attendance has crept down.
I tend to think you are underestimating the number of attendees that match your discretionary income criteria. We only need to travel up Nationwide Blvd. for a similar ticket price. A short 10-15 minute walk finds a Blue Jackets team that regularly draws 15k+ per night with double the number of home games per season. I know a larger number of folks can't afford Crew games, but there are significant numbers that can.
The number of tickets these people buy might be more than 10k, but the actual humans with the $ to spend on tickets is probably closer to 7k or lower.
It used to be similar. Used to be. I have season ticket plans for both. Row f in 227 for the jackets and 203 row 3 for crew. Similar seats and were priced similarly when the stadium opened at about $30-35 each. Now $50-ish for Crew. Still $35 for Jackets. Add that to the schedule change and Crew tickets are becoming more and more discretionary over a must have for us.
The Jackets also regularly do family bundles. I recall they had a package very recently with four tickets, hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks for about $150. Add in parking and it's still under $200. They won't be great seats but they don't need to be at that price.
If not LC might as well rehire Nancy. Tall had interesting comments but we aren’t hearing any rumors yet … are we ?
The Crew's 3 wins in first 14 league games this year? That kind of start gets magnified when the schedule flips. There is no "well at least we can be in nice weather at SMGF". It's going to SMGF in the dark on a Wednesday, on a school night. Or competing with CFB and CBJ on Saturday night (NFL, too, in December). To watch a bunch of JAGs. With a currently overmatched GM who will likely claim the Crew will outsmart the rest of the soccer world and bring on "hidden gem" upgrades in the January transfer window. To Columbus. Over the winter. The need for a stud DP (or two) to be signed this Summer and get traction with casuals is imperative.
I know you might not want to hear this, but Nancy had some quirks (mainly the roster) that were very difficult to work around. His ego was also starting to spill over into his dealings with both Tall and Marc Nicholls. I’m not necessarily against rehiring Nancy, but not until after Bez does the roster. I’d also want a little verbal reassurance that he would agree to be a little more flexible in the future regarding signing new players.
"Flexible" is one thing. Taking what you're given is something else. I've said repeatedly that the problems arose not because we lost Bez' brain and talents, but because Nancy then became the actual head of the organization. When Bez was in charge, there was no question who Cleveland listened to. Nancy's opinion was valued of course but in the end Bez had their ear. There was never any way in hell that Issa, whatever his abilities, could ever have that kind of sway in the C suite. Not in a million years. Nancy become the last word, and it was not a good strategy. His ego is too big to be given 100% of the power. Hes a terrific coach but he needs adult supervision.
I'll put it more simply, not that that poster will listen to either of us: Nancy as culpable as Tall for the barren wasteland that is this year's roster.
No disagreement from me on that , Bez can’t be pushed around like Tall. Bez won’t allow the Crew to have an inferior roster even if he has to fire his friend. LC may or may not be a great coach but I’m certain that Nancy is and I’d take him back. But if not I’m all for giving the job to LC. Again he won at Montreal until they sold everyone and fired him year 2 after 5 games. Furthermore what realistic option is better than LC that fits the criteria the Crew want in a coach?
Nope is more on tall just like it was more on Nancy than the players. Thats how order of operations works. Your front office /ownership is the foundation and your coaches are the pillars. You want a successful organization you have to operate like one and we self destructed from the top losing great ppl at all 3 levels and replaced them with less talented versions Gm/Coach/players we must reverse course and hiring Bez is a great first step
Rudy Camacho being an everyday starter in 2026 is because of Wilfried Nancy. Full stop. He would not allow the Crew to sign a replacement in multiple transfer windows, and he helped Rudy secure an extension before Issa found out Nancy was leaving
The extension was announced on December 19th. In reality, an extension never should have been considered. He held himself out for the entire regular season, even after being medically cleared, and then looked terrible in the playoffs. But he's a Nancy guy so Issa was instructed to negotiate with him instead of telling Rudy to kick rocks and signing a new player.