Futbol in college football stadiums

[QuitCallingMeWanny]

I didnt mean to offend you or anyone besidrs besides Joe. He's trolling a lot so I figured I'd point out that is vast USL knowledge makes it seem like he has too much time on his hands.

As for you or anybody else, there is nothing wrong with attending minor league sporting events or even watching them on TV occasionally. In your case, I think you have stated you have gone to games as part of a family outing. That is a perfectly fine thing to do. I have taken my family to 2 Riverhounds games since moving to Highmark. But, if it goes beyond that and you are going to many games (without family) and watching online streams of the Baltimore Blast, that screams you dont have anything better to do than watch semi-pro soccer by yourself....but I dont think you fall into that category.

As for me, I am no soccer expert. I pay attention to it, watch some games when I can but not a whole lot. Truthfully, every year it seems I watch less probably because I have less time as the kids get bigger and there activities take up much of my time.

As for the Riverhounds, they did manage to lose to that amateur pub team, 2-0. You cant make this stuff up.

a guy that writes out the smallest of details concerning tv channels and goes tthrough the process every single week of what a tv football lineup might look like if the ACC had it's own channel is telling someone else they have too much time on their hands.....

That my friends is freaking priceless.......................

 

[Pitt79]

a guy that writes out the smallest of details concerning tv channels and goes tthrough the process every single week of what a tv football lineup might look like if the ACC had it's own channel is telling someone else they have too much time on their hands.....

That my friends is freaking priceless.......................

True Dat.

In his mind, he thinks what he does is reasonable because college football is "major" sport.

 

[Pitt79]

I am not acting like that. the fact that you knew those details (and how you knew those details) may be more insulting.

Is it OK, that you know all the details about college football TV Networks, deals, structure and all the gazillion rumors about conference expansion/realignment OK? Why? And you spend endless hours speculating about fantastical scenarios that will never happen! What does that say about you? Hmmm? Why do you think there's nothing crazy about what you do and that a person should be insulted for doing EXACTLY WHAT YOU DO, and even way less than what you do, for a minor league sport? Does the fact that college football is a MAJOR sport make it not something to make fun of that you obsess over it and know all the details, and even fantasize about it?

Although, I will say that some of your "ideas" although pretty preposterous, would be cool if they ever happened

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Hey, in SMF's defense, as much as some of his topics amuse me, it is a message board, for discussion and debate and a lot of subjects people post are boring and really nothing to discuss.

 

[Pitt79]

I agree with SMF a lot, and enjoy some of his crazy scenarios and conversations. I just think sometimes he's self righteous or judgmental, like in this thread. It just bothered me that he acted like there is something wrong with following a non-major sport closely, and seemed to be putting people down for doing so.

 

[michnittlion]

Bumping this thread, because the city of Cincinnati had an interesting data point on Saturday night (both of these games started at 7 PM ET):

(1) Reds hosting the Brewers. The teams both stink, but it was also Zach Cozart Bobblehead night. Reported attendance 31,328.

(2) FC Cincinnati from the USL hosted Crystal Palace from the Premier League. Reported attendance 35,061 (largest crowd to ever see a soccer match in Ohio: that includes Columbus Crew games and various US National games played in Columbus).

Soccer has been a hit here in Cincinnati, a city that's definitely "baseball first" and has no previous soccer tradition.

 

[pittdan77]

I had to look Zach Cozart up. Probably explains everything.

 

[OnSHATterday]

Real Madrid and PSG will knock the record out soon, but it's still extremely impressive.

The Riverhounds have been so poorly mismanaged in their lifetime that they can't get out of their own way. FC Cincinnati, on the other hand, has had their eye on the MLS since inception. They hired John Harkes to manage the club and chose Nippert for a home stadium - not too many teams planning on an extended stay in the 3rd division make those choices.

The hounds "plan" to build Highmark Stadium into a MLS venue is laughable - cantilever over Carson Street...yeah, ok. I don't even think there's enough parking there now for their 3,500-seater.

The USWNT drew 44k to Heinz Field for that Costa Rica match. Way back when, Chelsea-Roma drew 26k at Heinz. This city would definitely support MLS soccer if the organization ever gets serious and there is an actual product to consume. Unfortunately they've dug a huge hole that may be impossible to get out of.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

35K to see a USL team play a bad EPL team (though they did make the FA Cup Final) is impressive, especially up against the Reds game.

I have a theory. It goes like this:

The early US soccer teams (formed in the 90s) dont do particularly well at the gate (NY Red Bulls, DC United, NE Revolution, Pgh Riverhouhds) because soccer was too new at that point and they didnt have a big enough soccer fanbase. Kids that grew up with soccer saw these teams as minor league. These fans now in their 30s and 40s dont care to go.

Now, the newer teams (Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Cincy, San Antonio, Indy, Sacramento) have been smashing successes. My theory is that there was enough built-up demand over the last 20 years, these people were happy to get ANY soccer.

So, one would think the Riverhounds would be at an advantage since they've been at it since the late 90s but they have almost no fanbase at all. In the contrary, had they been an expansion team this year, the new "cool factor," combined with pent up demand would probably give them a bigger fanbase. "After 25 years, we finally got a team." That kind of thing.

 

[OnSHATterday]

The Reds are putrid

Portland was originally an USL team founded 2 years after the Riverhounds, so there's that.

NY and the hounds had their highest average attendance in the first year. The Revolution in their second. So, they actually did their best out of the gate. Those people are now in their 30s and 40s and they will go..with families, aka more people. So I'm selling this argument. The hounds drew well in the early years at Bethel with some US Open Cup and playoff runs.

NY is averaging 19k this year, NE 18K - they're doing just fine. DC United will revive attendance with the new stadium. No one wants to go to RFK, not even a Kennedy.

People want a winner - plain and simple. The Revolution averaged 26k in the playoffs 2 years ago.

The problem with the hounds specifically is they started at Bethel - buried in the South Hills, then to Moon HS. Then they moved to Washington, PA - might as well have been in New Orleans at that point, then to Char Valley. People probably couldn't have found them if they wanted to for awhile. Not to mention you literally couldn't find them for a year when they ceased to exist on the field. Now they're in one place and the academy is going well but the club is more putrid than the Reds.

The point is, if you want to be taken serious as a team, you need to act like one. FC Cincinnati decided to take up residence at the second largest building in town. The Hounds piddled around at high schools for a decade. It's tough to be taken seriously when you're playing at the same place my nephew does, and it's actually you that are renting from them.

 

[Burgh15]

The hounds "plan" to build Highmark Stadium into a MLS venue is laughable - cantilever over Carson Street...yeah, ok. I don't even think there's enough parking there now for their 3,500-seater.

The USWNT drew 44k to Heinz Field for that Costa Rica match. Way back when, Chelsea-Roma drew 26k at Heinz. This city would definitely support MLS soccer if the organization ever gets serious and there is an actual product to consume. Unfortunately they've dug a huge hole that may be impossible to get out of.

Highmark is a great setting for a game, but I'm with you on expansion. Very difficult to accomplish when the smallest MLS stadium is listed as 18,000.

The USWNT was a fun (although very hot) event. They were smart and sold tickets on the opposite side of the camera to make the stadium look fuller for the viewing audience. A VAST majority of that crowd were between the ages of 8-22 and a ton of girls soccer players. The Riverhounds could get a pretty solid following if they marketed to the youth soccer programs and high school programs. Maybe they do but just not effectively.