Why no pro/semi-pro soccer in Albq? (homes, scorpions)
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I know at least a dozen (+) ardent soccer fans. About 10 of them are Mexican and follow Mexican league and 2-3 anglos who follow English and MLS. This is in the heart of Albuquerque which probably has the most soccer fans, per capita, in the state.
I also work in a place where soccer fans (as well as all the other sports) congregate, so outside of the people I know personally, I can see that there is definitely a following for both MLS and English/European league soccer in this town. It just doesn't come anywhere near Am. Football, Basketball.
Albuquerque has a big adult amateur soccer scene if that's your thing. I ride past a park that hosts a lot of soccer games. I mean, we even have at least three adult rugby teams not counting UNM.
I don't have a chile ristra or any 'Southwestern' decorations on or in my house and no one in my circle of friends does either. I wouldn't suggest that that means those things aren't popular in Albuquerque, though.
I would say that Soccer is definitely bigger than Hockey, especially in terms of adult participation, here in Albuquerque despite the fact that we had a pro-Hockey team in Rio Rancho for a while
Golf on the other hand... A lot of New Mexicans (Albuquerqueans, anyway) play golf.
I don't have a chile ristra or any 'Southwestern' decorations on or in my house and no one in my circle of friends does either. I wouldn't suggest that that means those things aren't popular in Albuquerque, though.
I would say that Soccer is definitely bigger than Hockey, especially in terms of adult participation, here in Albuquerque despite the fact that we had a pro-Hockey team in Rio Rancho for a while
Golf on the other hand... A lot of New Mexicans (Albuquerqueans, anyway) play golf.
I dont think chile ristras are all that popular in ABQ, I guess I dont see them around all that often, other than Old Town gift stores.
Everyone I do know is an NFL fan though, that should be some indication that there is a huge NFL following here, the same could be said for the Dallas Cowboys.
and Im one of those people that would rather watch hockey over soccer, Soccer is very boring to me,I would rather watch paint dry.
My husband is a football fan, however he rarely watches any team other than the Patriots. Same with baseball, we only watch the Red Sox. We're diehard fans to our home states.
Where I moved from, the big sports were basketball, baseball, football and hockey. I grew up in an area where football was not big. (Downeast Maine is all basketball) Therefore I was not exposed to it, so never cared for it. Soccer was for the grammer school kids to play for fun.
Golf to me is just boring. Basketball I understand, I played it all through middle school and high school. The same with softball.
Given my choice, I'd rather watch a good stock car race over anything else. I just wish NM had some good asphalt tracks with alot of cars racing. It was our hobby back east and we miss it.
I would definitely support a professional soccer team here. Given the city's support of other top-tier minor league teams I imagine we could support a soccer team.
I think the ratings that ESPN has garnered for the World Cup show that soccer is on the rise in the US as a spectator sport (I heard the US-Ghana match was the most watched soccer match ever on US television). I know lots of folks, here in ABQ as well as among my friends across the country, who follow the EPL or other international soccer leagues. And, the Sounders actually outdraw the Mariners in Seattle. Some may find it boring, but as AlisonL points out, lots of people find golf boring. Lots of people also find baseball boring. I find American football pretty boring. There's all kinds of tastes and I truly believe there enough people with a taste for football played with feet here in ABQ to support a professional soccer team.
Does anyone know if there's a movement to try to bring professional soccer to ABQ?
From the World Cup, out of all the new "fans" that watched it you may be lucky to get 5% to got to regular MLS games a year from now, thats still good growth though but you cant count all the people that watched it as actual fans, rather band wagon jumpers - kinda like Chelsea and Man Utd fans! :P
I have always, and will always be a Shelbourne FC fan (from Ireland, born and raised there) but second is Colorado Rapids because they are my "local" club. I used to be a Liverpool fan but dont have the same connection I used to due to being across the globe and I am not much of barstool football fan. I go to the Rapids games quite regularly even though it is a long haul.
NM could not support a MLS team, they dont have the money knor the attraction that a sports investor would be looking at. With such a tiny population it is too big a risk to dive head in for a MLS team. A USL team might be a good option though and I would go see them a few times a season too.
I think MLS and USL need to be merged with a promotion and relegation system and get rid of the reginal groups in MLS because its so boring its not even funny sometimes.
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