well....its a pretty minor pro league - such is soccer in america at this point.

 

with all the youth leagues its all looking uphill in the future tho.

 

its baseball that should worry the most, they totally gave up on urban america and lost a lot potential youth that will go over to soccer.

^ That's interesting. Has soccer made a lot of headway with urban youth?

 

I associate it with suburbs because it's the only place with the fields. In Lakewood, for example, the only park with soccer nets that I'm aware of is Madison. Meanwhile, Rocky River High has four public nets. North Ridgeville has a giant ass park with youth and adult goals. It's nuts.

 

On the flip side, all you need to play is a location and a ball.

What is the average attendance for Crew and Blue Jacket games?  When did the Blue Jackets enter the league?

 

According to WIKI, Columbus Crew attendance:

 

2004: 16,872/15,224

2005: 12,916/Missed Playoffs

2006: 13,294/Missed Playoffs

2007: 12,969, as of sept. 17th. (The Crew is poised to miss the playoffs again, but they experienced approximately 20K attendance versus the Beckham-less Galaxy on September 30, and normal attendance the following game, probably making their attendance consistent with the previous several years. They were pulling in the 18Ks back in the 90s, though).

All-Time Avg: 16,344

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Crew#Average_attendance

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets entered the league in 2000. According to The Sports Network, Jackets attendance is down 14% over last year, but the season is only 3 games old, and so far, the team is 2-1. How could you NOT have BJ fever?

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nhl/teams/148/attendance.aspx?team=148

 

What about marketing more to the Hispanic crowd?  They live and breath soccer, do they not?

 

Soccer is very big with the Latino community; the hottest thing going at a Crew game (besides The Cruisers), are the Latino drummers who show up and bang their drums for 90 minutes straight. It completely pumps up the energy level. They are the definition of hardcore, and we should be celebrating them. There are some key Latino players on the team, most notably Guillermo Schelotto, Ricardo Virtuoso (really), Marcos Gonzales and Stefani Migliorzano, and you can see it in the crowds. If I have my way, we'll feature the drummers in the marketing in some way.

 

Also, I am bothered by something mentioned before about the revolving door of team rosters.  I am not a sports fan really, so I wouldn't know the answer to this, but is it normal to have that?  I mean, no wonder why the Jackets and even the Crew don't have good seasons if this is true.  They have nothing invested in the town or the team if their players just keep coming and going as they do. 

 

Speaking to the Crew and MLS, it's a simple fact that anybody good is going to be spirited away to Europe or elsewhere. MLS is a pro league, but in many ways, it's the rest of the world's  farm league.

Also, I am bothered by something mentioned before about the revolving door of team rosters.  I am not a sports fan really, so I wouldn't know the answer to this, but is it normal to have that?  I mean, no wonder why the Jackets and even the Crew don't have good seasons if this is true.  They have nothing invested in the town or the team if their players just keep coming and going as they do. 

 

Speaking to the Crew and MLS, it's a simple fact that anybody good is going to be spirited away to Europe or elsewhere. MLS is a pro league, but in many ways, it's the rest of the world's  farm league.

 

Thanks King Fish.  Since this is the case, the MLS needs to entice players by asking them to make Soccer Big.  It's one thing to go off and play for a notorious team and be one of many great players that play for the team.  It's another to be considered a legend for making the team great.  I could be wrong here, but is not Woody Hayes a legend in Columbus because it was he who made the team the power house that it is today?  The Crew needs to find great players and tell them they can become legend for single handedly making soccer a power house sport in the United States.  It's not easy, but I think it is possible and more noble.

Wouldn't you rather go overseas and make millions instead of 100k/ year? Communism is noble too, but it doesn't work. I don't think a few athletes can singlehandedly make the sport big in the US no matter how good they are. Also, if they go overseas, they are more likely to be a legend because there are more people that recognize their talent.

If I were an awesome soccer player, my entire goal would be to get over to Europe. That's where it's at - the money, the attention, the fans, etc.

If I were an awesome soccer player, my entire goal would be to get over to Europe. That's where it's at - the money, the attention, the fans, etc.

 

Bend It Like Jamiec!

Dang! David Beckham's 3 year contract is £128 million. Not even including endorsements! Europe it is, lol