- This Guy Gets To More Games Than You
While our interest in MLS is gaining—though still some way behind the rabid USMNT love displayed by 90% of UF staff—it should come as no surprise that when you look at attendance figures for soccer games stateside in 2010, El Tri comes out on top.
Yeah, it jars the mind a little bit, but when you consider that the Hispanic population in the US is a. massive and b. a lot more soccer-mad overall than the rest, it makes complete sense.
Via Soccer America, the Top 10 US Soccer Crowds:
1. Mexico v. New Zealand – Pasadena, CA – March 3 – 90,526
2. Mexico v. Ecuador – East Rutherford, NJ – May 7 – 77,507
3. Mexico v. Angola – Houston, TX – May 13 – 70,099
4. Mexico v. Iceland – Charlotte, NC – March 24 – 63,277
5. Mexico v. Senegal – Chicago, IL – May 10 – 60,210
6. USA v. Turkey – Philadelphia, PA – May 29 – 55,407
7. Kansas City Wizards v. Manchester United – Kansas City, MO – July 25 – 52,343
8. Seattle Sounders v. Celtic – Seattle, WA – July 18 – 45,631
9. Philadelphia Union v. Manchester United – Philadelphia, PA – July 21 – 44,123
10. Seattle Sounders v. Boca Juniors – Seattle, WA – May 26 – 40,122
Is this some kind of weird Bob Bradley effect that means just one USMNT game makes its own list? Not only that, but it was the final game in their big, branded send-off series before the World Cup. Failure of marketing, or just failure in picking a stadium capable of handling the demand? (Please Note: I have no clue if the game was a sell-out or not… if anyone knows, let me know in the comments)
And to make the point about El Tri even more emphatic than the tale told by the raw data, you see that it didn’t matter where in the USA they played, nor did the fans care who their opposition was. They turned out in droves to see Torrado, Johnny Two Saints and co slug it out in scrimmages against teams from Europe, South America, and Africa, and not even any of the good ones from those continents. It simply didn’t matter; come rain or shine, weekday or weeknight, the support was there.
Manchester United made the list on their recent summer tour, something that should go some way to ease this journalist’s residual grump over not getting their rings kissed in Toronto.
Maybe this has something to do with the relative scarcity of international soccer exhibition games in the USA, or maybe this is a sign that MLS powers should focus more on reigning in the obvious hispanic fanbase in this country. Well, we certainly feel that more effort should be made to reach out regarding scouting, but this is something else entirely.
If anything, it’s down to the dedication. While soccer has indeed a firm foothold in the USA, I feel like for some casual fans of the sport, it’s still coming down the priority scale when it comes to something to do on a Saturday night. For example, you’ll get El Tri fans flooding East Rutherford on any day of the week to check out their lads in action. For the USMNT supporters… yeah, they might not feel like making the effort. The PATH train sucks. The ticket’s expensive and I could go out drinking in Brooklyn instead. The weather’s kinda grim, etc.
This will, undoubtedly, change over time. Just takes time is all, and until then, we expect El Tri games will dominate such rankings in 2011.
In the meantime, perhaps the Mexico NT should just permanently move to the US and operate as a traveling roadshow like the Harlem Globetrotters. They certainly have the fanbase…
Confirmed: Kansas City is the biggest MLS draw in the US.
Well thats what the data says right?
I show my love of my country by living here…. I know, its a weird concept :) (dont get your panties in a bunch)
I remember sitting at that 5-0 pasting El Tri gave us in the gold cup about a year ago. I can still feel the bitterness burning. We were outnumbered about 10 to 1, if not more. The crowds will get more even though as time goes on, and let’s face it, there’s no more fun match than USA vs Mexico, for just that reason. Hurts to be outnumbered in your own country, but it brings us together at least.
@MOUF
No, it means Manchester United is the biggest draw
The USMNT game was played at the Linc, which seats around 68,000 (says Wikipedia), so not quite a sellout.
Ryan, a lot of times the top deck in the Linc is closed for soccer games. They may still count those as a sellout, though i’m not sure. Philadelphians can be a shady bunch!
Just for fun, check out how many friendlies el tri has played in Mexico in the last three years.
@TFA
When they get attendances this good north of the border, why even bother playing home games at home!
I’d imagine they also can charge a decent amount here in the States as well.
Crap. A decent amount *more*.
Plus, they host a party at someone else’s house and then don’t have to deal with the clean-up!
USA did sell out (or came darn close to) Giants stadium two years ago vs Argentina. Bigger attendance than the #2 game on the list, at the same venue.
Homesick Mexicans probably have a stronger connection to their team than do Americans, who are happy to just watch the game on the tube.
possibly a spurious link with those games featuring Mexico…it could also be that A. Charlotte has a high concentration of transplanted Icelanders, or B. the Tarheel State finds Eidur Gudjohnsen sexy and alluring.
Just remember, every dollar that’s paid to see Mexico in America goes to USSF and MLS, so little do those fans in green with their annoying horns and projectiles, that they are funding American soccer.
@ njndirish: serious? If so, they need to get Ronaldo and the Portugal team over ASAP for a friendly around the Boston area and ring up the Brazilian federation as well. Brazil doesn’t play at home, USSF could make some money off their friendlies, especially playing Iceland in Charlotte
@ James T
yep, and New Zealand is the largest drawing national team in the US on average in 2010 – THATS A FACT
Hey, MOUF, we can read the stats however we wish. They tell it all without any of us needing to try.
@njndirish – That’s why those attendance numbers never bother me. Although I’m not sure it’s dollar for dollar. I think USSF sets a fee.
I’ve read the Brazil hasn’t played a home friendly in years. They are such a worldwide draw that they make more money that way.
yes. yes, it is.