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Post 26 Oct 2011, 8:23 pm

Cheers! It all depends on which Union team shows up, but that generally doesn't bode well for a team's long term prospects. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Union make it to the final. Winning is a different story.

I wish I had posted my predictions for the playoffs, but I got distracted and never finished the post. Anyway, with Dallas out, I think the Eastern Conference just got easier. I picked NY to win. Tomorrow, I think Colorado will win.

Eastern Conference semis
Philly beats Houston
Colorado beats KC

Western conference semis
LA beats NY
SEA beats RSL

Eastern finals
Philly beats Colorado

Western finals
SEA beats LA

Union win the cup :P
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Post 20 Nov 2011, 9:18 pm

I am watching the MLS Cup game and during half-time show they were talking to the MLS Commissoner. The mentioned something about United's stadium issue but didn't elucidate. Is D.C. losing the use of RFK?
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Post 21 Nov 2011, 9:38 am

Randy, I'd be interested in your assessment of Beckham's overall contribution to MLS. Has he been a success do you think, or is he now widely seen as just an overrated mercenary ?
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Post 21 Nov 2011, 1:34 pm

It does definitely seem like you're attracting a higher calibre of player from overseas these days. Obviously it still tends to be guys in their 30s whose best days are behind them, but nevertheless the likes of Robbie Keane and especially Henry could easily have gotten themselves a contract with a team in one of the top European leagues if they'd wanted to. The suspicion has to be that the Beckham effect was at least partially responsible for this trend.

I just watched the MLSCup final actually. ESPN were running it on a delayed feed over here so I sat down with my tea and gave it a look. Not sure how much I can judge from that game tbh because it was such an obvious mismatch and Houston didn't show very much going forward, but the standard didn't seem too bad. You'll see plenty of teams in the English second tier who play to a much lower standard than LA. There's perhaps a little less pace and intensity to the game than I'm used to, but certainly the quality of play was better than I remember seeing in MLS games from a few years ago, particularly in terms of defending.

I also thought the atmosphere seemed a little better. I remember watching MLS a few years ago and being struck by how little passion there was from the crowd, the lack of organised chanting and how unearthly quiet it was. The final was much better in that regard. Would you say this is a general trend in MLS lately ? I notice that a lot of teams are moving into purpose-built stadiums that they own and which have a capacity more appropriate to the fanbase. That surely has to help create an atmosphere. You watch NY playing in front of 80000 empty seats at Giants Stadium and it's hardly surprising that everything seems so flat. Home Depot Centre seems like a nice stadium to me. I'm guessing it can't hold much more than about 30000 or so but ultimately that makes a lot more sense, and it's always better to watch football in a full stadium.
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Post 23 Nov 2011, 10:29 pm

So the Impact took Justin Mapp. Not really happy about it but not as bad as it could have been. I just wish they had taken Migs.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 9:00 am

I was sad to see Mapp go, but at 180k, it's going to help us--and give Torres more playing time. I was hoping they'd take Adu. I don't like Freddy's work rate, and he seems like another Ruiz. Maybe Freddy will get accustomed to this city and team. Maybe not. But the Union need to pick up another striker. I really wouldn't mind seeing Drogba. There have been rumors since last year. With a young Ivorian talent on our team, I'm hoping Didier comes to the U. Now, it's a question of affordability.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 9:05 am

Sassenach wrote:I also thought the atmosphere seemed a little better. I remember watching MLS a few years ago and being struck by how little passion there was from the crowd, the lack of organised chanting and how unearthly quiet it wasL. The final was much better in that regard. Would you say this is a general trend in MLS lately ? I notice that a lot of teams are moving into purpose-built stadiums that they own and which have a capacity more appropriate to the fanbase. That surely has to help create an atmosphere. You watch NY playing in front of 80000 empty seats at Giants Stadium and it's hardly surprising that everything seems so flat. Home Depot Centre seems like a nice stadium to me. I'm guessing it can't hold much more than about 30000 or so but ultimately that makes a lot more sense, and it's always better to watch football in a full stadium.


MLS has made it almost a requirement to have a "soccer specific" stadium--for that very reason. Rents to these huge stadia don't go down if the seats don't sell, so why not have a smaller stadium at capacity. HDC is a great place to watch. It's a fairly large stadium and it's always full. Having spent some time there, I have to also point out that the fans--at least the ACB--are class acts, as well. Passionate, but not rude. PPL Park is set to expand to 30,000 seats. They did well selling out a few games at the Stink (where the bEagles play), and second year success can only help them.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 9:33 am

Sass,

Just so there is no confusion, the Philadelphia Eagles (Amercian Football) play at Lincoln Financial Field which as been abbreviated a "The Linc". However, this year the Eagles stink so.....

As for your originally question, I haven't been to an actual game having only watched them on tv. But I think the smaller stadiums and an increase in supporters clubs has lead to the increase. I know the Union supporters club, the Sons of Ben, are pretty rabid fans in a city known for its rabid fan base.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 12:15 pm

I guess another problem atmosphere wise is the sheer distance between the cities, meaning that you're unlikely to get many away fans turning up. In England the longest you'd ever have to travel to go to an away match would be short enough to let you drive back home the same day, and most teams will have a number of local fixtures where you can get there in less than 2 hours. As such every match has travelling fans, and because these tend to be the most dedicated they make a lot of noise and encourage the home fans to rise to the challenge. I can't see that being feasible in the US, where every away fixture is going to involve a flight and an overnight stay if you want to go along, although I guess there would be some compensations for the travelling fan such as not being penned up in the shitty seats and subject to abuse all day.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 2:16 pm

This is something of an issue but you would be surprised at how often you see traveling fan's. Particularly here on the East Coast. D.C., Phila, & NY are all within a single day's drive of each other. There is also the ex-pat factor. In other American major league sports it is possible for there to be large contingents of fans for teams in other cities. For example, my Brother who lives in Los Angles says there is a very large Philadelphia Phillies fan base there. It is made up of former Philadelphian's who have moved out there.

I think the bigger issue is one mentioned by Randy in that supporter's clubs are not a common thing in the States. We have our share of rabid fan, i.e. those who buy season tickets and show up at games shirtless with their face and chest painted in the team colors. However, they are not organized into supports clubs and stadiums do not have specific "supporters sections". This means that while a city may have a large fan base for a visiting team, those fans are spread about stadium and mingled with the home town fans. Therefore, it makes it hard to rally visiting team fans.

How does this translate into soccer in the U.S.? I think it means that Supporters clubs outside the home city don't really exist. This is something that I gather from looking at EPL team websites does exist over there.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 3:05 pm

Well it's a little different because away fans are segregated in England. In fact the police insist upon it because of the long history of violence in football that we're still only recently getting away from. If you show up to a stadium to support the away team but sit in with the home fans then you probably won't be taking your life in your hands these days, but you will certainly run the risk of getting kicked out by the stewards. This is both a good and bad thing. On the one hand segregation does mean that away fans are concentrated and so you get more of a confrontational atmosphere which makes things noisier and a bit more intense, but on the other hand it takes away the element of banter between supporters that you get in other sports. On the whole I'd prefer it if away fans could mingle freely with home supporters, it would make for a much more pleasant experience, but I doubt we'll ever see that again over here. There's just too much of a violent subculture for the police to ever allow unsegrated stadia ever again, which is a shame.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 5:14 pm

You do sometimes get 'neutral areas' where both sets of fans are allowed. At Craven Cottage we get a lot of away fans in 'home' areas for big games because of the demand. But it's only if they appear (and are vocal) in the main home areas that they'd be 'invited to vacate the premises'.

But then we are not a club known for aggressive fans.
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Post 07 Dec 2011, 9:06 pm

Sassenach wrote:On the whole I'd prefer it if away fans could mingle freely with home supporters, it would make for a much more pleasant experience,.


This is not always the case, particularly if you are the away team fan. I am not sure how familiar you are with the reputation of fans from various U.S. cities but Philadelphia is rather infamous about it. We threw snowballs at Santa Claus once. Eagles fans are the worst. If you wear a visiting team jersey and/or root for the away team, you probably won't be physically assaulted but verbal abuse will be heaped upon you. Fans of some teams, such as the Cowboys or NY Giants, might end up wearing a beer or soda.

It was so bad at one point when Veterans Stadium was still the venue that a Judge would hold session on site during games.