Why no pro/semi-pro soccer in Albq? (Albuquerque, Chaparral: college, salary)
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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 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 I've seen the error of my ways. 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.
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...
This sounds about right to me, with a 5% increase being the absolute wildly optimistic top end one might hope for. 1-2% would probably be closer. Had the U.S. lost both of their early matches, no one would have been watching against Algeria and there would not have been a game against Ghana. That would have been a nightmare for ESPN.
While the ratings for the World Cup were good this year (largely due to the decent showing by the U.S. team), I think you have to look at the event in a similar light to the Olympics. Every 4 years, people get excited to watch their country compete against the rest of the world in sports that they wouldn't normally watch or participate in themselves. Its an event, and Americans like events. They like them even more if "our guys" are winning.
But once the Olympics are over, you don't see throngs of people lining up to take up curling or gymnastics. For better or worse, I don't think we're going to see soccer as anything more than a niche sport in the U.S. (or ABQ) for the foreseeable future, unless we see a cataclysmic implosion by one of the other more popular leagues.
Curling and Gymnastics arent exactly accesible by all fans to watch though either. I only watch the womens figure skating int he Olympics! Either way I am a Rapids man so if NM has a team or not is not its not going to affect me in this corner of the State being so far away from everywhere.
@ berncohomes lol. Since the 90's ManU has been the home of many a glory hunter, Chelsea and Man City are getting alot of them too. They are easy to spot here in the US though because people say they support "Manchester" and get confused when I ask which one, Man City or Man U or FC United hehe
there is a small fan base for soccer here in ABQ, but then again, compared to the 4 major sports in this country (hockey,baseball,basketball and football), there is a small fanbase throughout the whole country. Its just not that popular like it is in the rest of the world. Ive never even heard anyone mention anything about soccer, no intrest at all, and Im a sports fanatic who likes to talk sports with people, but I do know there are some people who like it.
Austin has a soccer team and a Hispanic population close to that of ABQ's, they only average around 2,500-3,000 a game, maybe a minor league team would work in ABQ, but I dont see them attracting more than 2,000 a game, ABQ dosent even support its NBADL basketball team or the Scorpions.
and the World Cup just attracted bandwagon fans, they wanted to watch the USA and join in on the winning, but after it was all over, how many are even payin any attention to the game, the World Cup wont attract any more people to come out and watch college soccer or minor league soccer, and if they do, it will be maybe a very small percentage.
People talk about how Soccer will never be popular in the US because MLS doesn't attract fans. Most soccer fans I know here are EPL or Mexican league fans, though. If the MLS attracts more talent, people will start watching MLS.
The problem with the talent is quite simple, they do not want to play here.
Nothing against the US, fans or stadiums it's all about exposure. The biggest club competition is the European Champions League and every player strives to play in that competition.
There is enough money to keep talent here (at some clubs).
A good youth system is imperative though, like the South American clubs have. Colorado Rapids have countless pitches for youth systems up at Dicks Sporting Goods Park but the only problem with that is it takes years to bear the fruits!
MLS is improving, but I think it's main problem is how the league is set up. It's run like every other major sport in this country, and that just doesn't equate with soccer. They need to combine the conferences and run a straight table with divisions, like every other successful league in the world. Also, there is a cap on how many big money signings each team can have. For the time being, the best players in the US should play overseas until our league can develop into a much more competitive one. Let's not forget how bad our national team was merely 20 years ago, and that MLS is only 16 years old.
I'd like to think some of the increase in fans for soccer started prior to the World Cup and that, in turn, led to the humungous (for the US) ratings for the World Cup this time around. I don't remember a major network ever carrying the title game before this year (and a game not involving the US...). But, I was in a bar here in ABQ (not Two Fools, either, the obvious place for WC viewing, but it was already at capacity when my wife and I showed up for the match) that had every table filled. I think the success of the US surely helped, but I'm just more cognizant of people being aware of the sport than 4 or 8 years ago. Bill Simmons even writes semi-regularly about the sport, which didn't happen four years ago. So, I hope against hope that soccer is finally taking off here (I know that's said every decade or so).
But, more to the point about soccer here in ABQ: When I last posted with the question about a pro team here, there was no way I was thinking we could support an MLS team. But, I'd like to see a USL franchise or a PDL team here. Seems like the town is sports crazy enough to support that. I'd certainly take in a few games a season.
So, again, I'll ask the question: does anyone know of any movement to get a soccer team here?
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