Third most attended sport....its not the NBA.

• derek bomar

  

  hoops23;957915 wrote:Is there any truth to the rumor that the Crew may be looking to relocate?

  Out of Cbus or just to another spot? A) would suck and B) would be awesome
• Automatik

  

  derek bomar;958026 wrote:Out of Cbus or just to another spot? A) would suck and B) would be awesome

  Out of Cbus from what I've heard. Why would they want to move spots? They have a great stadium.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  I've heard multple rumors about the crew moving out of cbus. Making crew stadium strictly for state playoffs/tournies/concerts
• ohiobucks1

  

  Some old Crew Execs believe they are moving within the next 5 years.
  
  I hope instead of leaving they build a new stadium in the arena district!!!
• Speedofsand

  

  Its not because the sport getting more appealing, its all the illegal immigrant hooligans going. The United States is full of Un-Americans these days.
• Automatik

  

  ohiobucks1;958153 wrote:Some old Crew Execs believe they are moving within the next 5 years.
  
  I hope instead of leaving they build a new stadium in the arena district!!!

  And where would they put that?
• superman

  I would have to assume that NASCAR is the true number 1.
  
  Also, I would like to see the percentage of attendance to capacity and average ticket price of the NBA, NHL, and MLS. That would give a much clearer picture of the relative popularity of the 3.
• GOONx19

  

  NASCAR has nothing to do with a discussion about sports.
• GOONx19

  

  Average ticket prices, 2010
  
  NFL: $78.85
  MLB: $34.04
  MLS: $22.47
  NBA: $48.08
  NHL: $51.20
• queencitybuckeye

  ohiobucks1;958153 wrote:Some old Crew Execs believe they are moving within the next 5 years.
  
  I hope instead of leaving they build a new stadium in the arena district!!!

  Is their declining attendance due to a shortcoming with the current stadium?
• OSH

  

  I saw this several days ago. This is definitely awesome.
  
  There will be all kinds of people saying things -- most have been noted on here already. It's usually a) they play in football stadiums; b) ticket prices; c) internationals; d) other. Why can't it just be: soccer is growing in popularity and consumer appeal? Yeah, tickets are cheaper...but that hasn't helped the Columbus Crew get people in the stadium. FC Dallas was in the MLS Cup Finals last year and couldn't even get 11,000 fans at the beginning of the season. Heck, the Miami Heat couldn't even sell out their games with three of the biggest names in the NBA -- they were even lower in attendance numbers than the Cavs last season!
  
  The fact is, more kids play youth soccer in the United States than any other sport. The participation numbers in youth soccer help with the appeal as the kids age. Soccer games are becoming very popular sporting events. The USMNT has helped. The USWNT has helped. The continued MLS-support that ESPN, ABC, FSC, and now NBC has helped. It's great to see. It's a sport that the whole world knows and can relate to. It's the "world's language."
  
  The support could get better. The Crew could move out of Columbus -- I actually said this this summer and people claimed it wouldn't be true (did it on here). If some stadiums were in a better location, there would be better support: Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire, FC Dallas, and DC United just to name a few. The Vancouver Whitecaps did have an awful location, but they have a new stadium and it's much better. There are also much needed marketing needs -- Columbus Crew may be the most guilty of this. But, no doubt about it, expansion teams and new stadiums have helped with the fan experience and atmosphere making MLS games even more exciting, here's looking at: Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders (a couple years ago), Sporting KC (new stadium), Toronto FC (a couple years ago), and now next year the Montreal Impact.
  
  I am excited. I will continue my support of the MLS. It needs it. That's the only way it'll continue to grow!
• Skyhook79

  

  Most people couldn't name 5 MLS soccer players or 5 teams in the MLS. It will never be a mainstream Pro sport in America. The only time people in america really care about soccer is during the World Cup.
• ohiobucks1

  

  queencitybuckeye;958360 wrote:Is their declining attendance due to a shortcoming with the current stadium?

  As much as I love(d) lamar he built CCS because he was a revolutionary and he believed in soccer, not because he cared about short term profit...Clark, on the other hand...
• Mulva

  

  Skyhook79;958531 wrote:It will never be a mainstream Pro sport in America.

  Never ever?
• Skyhook79

  

  OSH;958376 wrote:
  The fact is, more kids play youth soccer in the United States than any other sport.

  
  Link?
• hoops23

  

  Skyhook79;958559 wrote:Link?

  Link?
• Mulva

  

  
  
  Link!
• hoops23

  

  LOL
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Skyhook79;958531 wrote:Most people couldn't name 5 MLS soccer players or 5 teams in the MLS. It will never be a mainstream Pro sport in America. The only time people in america really care about soccer is during the World Cup.

  if we pray about it, we could reach mainstream
• I Wear Pants

  Skyhook79;958559 wrote:Link?

  http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s1212.pdf
• wes_mantooth

  

  I just can't get into soccer...or hockey for that matter. I have nothing against either, but I don't know the rules and both seem boring to watch on tv. I have seen hockey live and had a great time...but I still didn't understand what the hell was going on...lol
• Skyhook79

  

  DeyDurkie5;958716 wrote:if we pray about it, we could reach mainstream

  It would be a good place to start but it is even better to see you now thinking and talking about prayer.
• dwccrew

  

  j_crazy;957946 wrote:What's the price per ticket? NBA games are pricey.

  Well someone has to pay for those poor NBA players mansions and bugattis. I can't believe the owners are so greedy that they aren't willing to give the players a majority of the revenue. 50/50 is so unfair!!!
  
  
  /sarcasm
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Skyhook79;958803 wrote:It would be a good place to start but it is even better to see you now thinking and talking about prayer.

  the power of prayer is a great thing.
  
  
  what a load of shit LOL
• OSH

  

  Skyhook79;958559 wrote:Link?

  Here you go. It is a bit dated, 2006 article. But it says there are 17.5 million kids playing youth soccer through USYSA. Compare that to Pop Warner having 260,000. Then baseball has 2.2 million.
  
  Here's another. It's done by the National Sporting Goods Association. I don't know if it is ranked according to participation at least once -- not necessarily being a part of a league. Soccer still has more than most sports, it's down according to the NSGA 2010 study. But, I'd like to see how they rank "participants."
  

  • Basketball – 10.1% increase to 26.9 million participants
  • Baseball – 8.9% increase to 12.5 million participants
  • Soccer – 0.3% decrease to 13.5 million participants
  • Football – 4.8% increase to 9.3 million participants
  • Ice Hockey – 7.9% increase to 3.3 million participants
  • Volleyball – 1.0% decrease to 10.6 million participants
  • Softball – 8.4% decrease to 10.8 million participants

  [/LIST]

  Skyhook79;958531 wrote:Most people couldn't name 5 MLS soccer players or 5 teams in the MLS. It will never be a mainstream Pro sport in America. The only time people in america really care about soccer is during the World Cup.

  Link?
  

  wes_mantooth;958786 wrote:I just can't get into soccer...or hockey for that matter. I have nothing against either, but I don't know the rules and both seem boring to watch on tv. I have seen hockey live and had a great time...but I still didn't understand what the hell was going on...lol

  I understand this. I can't get into hockey. I quit caring about baseball and basketball. It's really only soccer and football for me these days.