Printable View
In MLS action yesterday, the LA Galaxy defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0. Scoring the lone goal was L.A.'s Robbie Keane, the losing coach was Keane's former roommate on the Wolves, Carl Robinson.
I always get a kick out of irony and co-incidences, especially when they occur simultaneously!:D - view external link
Looks a decent match Tundra and some decent players...ant that you think may be useful here? What sort of crowds are they getting? I watched the Minessota Kicks play the New York Cosmos who had a very strong team,that was in June 1978 when Mike Bailey went as player and coach to Freddie Goodwin who was the manager,ex Brum.I think it was an over 40000 crowd - view external link
Good question concerning attendance, a number of factors come into play at this time of year: the weather could go either way; the size of the stadium (some go for smaller stadiums with a greater sense of intimacy; competition from other sports, etc. As per the stadiums' size, our local club, the Vancouver Whitecaps. play in a double-deck stadium of over 50,000 seats, but close off the top half to create a greater sense of intimacy and impact (they invariably draw 20,000+). Competing sports are a huge factor with the baseball season just opening up, the Masters golf tournament on television, the NBA and NHL seasons closing down as the clubs fight for play-off spots, etc.
These are the attendance numbers in various home grounds last weekend:
LA Galaxy, 20,847 (not bad when you consider there is another MLS club in the city and the place has two hockey, two basketball and two baseball teams to compete against for the entertainment dollar);
Portland, 20,814;
Dallas, 17,070;
Washington,
Not bad crowds although a very small % of the population of those cities however from what I hear a much larger % of kids are taking up the sport but it will never overtake American football and baseball as these are the US national sports.
Wonder if cricket may ever get a look in.It probably seems as foreign to them as baseball does to me. I've tried to understand it but can't get into it at all.
I felt it was a disappointing Masters,crowds seemed less,vocal support muted and no edge of the seat ending on the last day.
I noticed that about the Masters as well, I was actually looking forward to seeing the waiting throng, greystone!
Re: soccer's popularity, I believe it is only a matter of time before it gains an even stronger foothold in North America. In Canada, more kids are playing soccer than ice hockey and that is primarily because of the cost of equipment and rental time for an indoor arena. In schools over here it is common to have a boys' team and a girls' team at each grade level, but only a boy's team for ice hockey.
Support is getting better and better for footy here in the States, and MLS is looking to expand to 24 teams within the next 4-5 years. I believe 22 of teams are generally set (expansion team in New York, Miami, Orlando all have deals in place). Atlanta is believed to be next in line and I expect a deal to be worked out w/in the next couple years. After that, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and Sacramento are strong candidates. I'd like one in Michigan, but it might be a tough attraction as Detroit continues to struggle.
Footy will never look like it does in Europe, as there is just so much more competition for the entertainment dollar in sports. Most of the big market cities have 3-4 other professional teams. And New York and LA have two in almost every sport. I don't expect attendance to ever be consistently great either as our public transportation is far far behind that of Europe. Hard to find convenient and cheap routes between cities, whereas finding a train or bus between cities in E
Too true, Michigan. Where I live we are 4 hours by car from our closest MLS rival (not counting border line-ups), Seattle. Just to get to the closest Canadian city of a million population, Calgary, we Vancouverites have to make a 660 mile trip each way through mountain passes, often closed in winter due to avalanche dangers or hazardous road conditions.Quote:
Originally Posted by MichiganWolf
Even in mid-April drivers between here and Calgary experience the possibility of sudden snowfalls.
http://i62.tinypic.com/t528wh.jpg