u seattle fans r so funny!! u guys r like that lucky baby-born, born with a silver spoon, (everything given to u. players,a coach,a stadium, and fans that got nothing else to do in seattle than getting drunk with drew carey at the game!!) crying and hoping somebody listens to your fake crys of attention, that your better than everybody!! respect you elders!!(dcu)(and i dont care about your amateur history) u guys never even been to rfk to play a game ,with all that talk! till the 2nd and 12th , we"ll stick it in, in both holes!!

heh. rock on tony espy! your brilliant insights entertain and illuminate us yokels to the really sophisticated soccer analysis we’ve been missing out on here in Seattle.
But, if you’ll allow, I want to take this space to agree wholeheartedly with Dave. I think that Sounders marketing has been so successful because they haven’t wasted time pandering to people that don’t already love the game. Start with the premise that these games really matter to adults with full command of their faculties.
Treat footy as a family-oriented event to attend when there isn’t a real sport to pay attention to, and people conclude that it can’t really matter, and the front office is just trying to trick them into caring.
Assume that Bill Shankley was right. Treat the game that for spasms of time and space becomes more important than life and death, and you’ll grow your market with people who want to get in on that passion.

I’ve said before, OC at Qwest, all seats $10, STH can have them for $5 as part of an “OC Package.”
The reason STH don’t just get them for free is because you don’t want a bunch of empty seats down close to the field when STH don’t show up on a weeknight. Any STH who don’t want to buy in for cheap put their seats into the pool, so us normal folk can sit at midfield for cheap.
That’s what I’d like to see.

I’m certain there is a balance that would acheive a proper price point and at least 25,000 fans, while still giving ownership a profit (they like that, billionaires get there for a reason).

But the STH discount should likely be considered for the Open Cup next year.

I’m seriously trying.

I don’t think my idea’s a gimmick, by the way. Just a thank you to fans.

And in my third comment, I’ll say that I do think most STH would show up on a weeknight.
Yah.

Holy cow, you people are insufferable. Johnny-come-latelies who think you invented AND perfected the game. Could you do us all a favor, please? Enjoy your team and your atmosphere and your success, but PLEASE don’t act like you found the magic formula and you’ll share it with us if we play nice.

Jason, you have noticed that attendance from the original clubs is much lower than attendance for the expansion clubs haven’t you?

Have you also noticed that the expansion clubs sell SOCCER? That while the original clubs do that now, they did not start that way?

Part of the DC United legacy is the fact that they understood how to win back in the day.
Part of the Sounders FC legacy is that we won trophies in the only league in which they were allowed to participate while being passed over for a decade. That decade of winning trophies on the outside (7 Cups) doesn’t make us Johnny-come-latelies, it makes us more passionate on average for the current opportunity.

An opportunity that DC sports fans seem to take for granted.

When I see United’s efforts at marketing this event it reminds me painfully of the Atlanta Braves. Great on the field, but the audience no longer seems to care.

Dave, As a Braves fan I can appreciate that comment unfortunately and as an United fan think your points are valid BUT you guys have 7 cups. United has 12 in a league that is only 14 years old. How long did it take Seattle to get their 7 cups?
I think your fans have been incredible this year and hope they remain that way. United has had a good fan base from the beginning and as a fan since the beginning I can say that we usually get our 18-22 a year league average that our our ghard core supporters that we market to in pretty much the same method but you are trying to grow the game in your community then I like United’s marketing to DC for this game as it will hopefully draw new fans for chance to see a great game for a Cup final. I hope eventually all the teams stadiums will be full or mostly full regardless of the game or opponent.

Seattle’s 7 cups are from the A-League and USL-1 (didn’t get any in NASL) basically during the same period as Uniteds just at a lower level, the highest for which the city was allowed to compete. Touting this match as a “we win trophies” thing while ignoring that Seattle either has them (if you count its lower league history) or was denied the opportunity (expansion side) seems the height of “we got here first so sit down and shut up”

There are intriguing issues with attendance for MLS by era. MLS needs to do two things, get those people who gave it a chance in the first few years back, and then build by bringing in traditional sports fans.

DC’s efforts for the Open Cup are in line with point two.

If you’re going to brag about how effing passionate Seattle has been for so long about soccer, you should point out that you have about 30.000 toolbag bandwagon jumpers in the stands since only 3K or so gave a shit about the USL team.
Or maybe you should just shut your damn piehole until you win a title.

Brian, apples to oranges discussions…
DC can’t say they win cups and then deny our 7. This is a self-righteous, elitist, and smug stance. The immediate stance of the argument put forth in the previous statements was that the Sounders have cups, and our current MLS success is not due to the cartoony advertising of non-soccer celebrities to promote the team.
Hanauer called out DC, and now they don’t want to prove him right. That is why they are putting all this money into promoting the game.

Everything was given to Seattle?
When MLS was anointed first-division status (no need to include the 1995 A-League champion Seattle , since there’s no promotion) and DC was given a team, the Sounders were already winning trophies.

A few months ago I would have said all Sounders games should be at Qwest and having them anywhere else would be stupid. Then I went to the match against Houston at Starfire. That was the most amazing sporting even I’ve ever been to. The intimacy and emotion in there was 2nd to none.
The Sounders should use some of the cash they’ve made recently to partner with and update Starfire with better restrooms, a new field surface, and move forward with a plan I heard about to expand the seating to the 8000-8500 range, and then maybe work on the parking issues. If that were to happen we would have the two best facilities in MLS.

foreleft, what would you do with the 10s of thousands of people who couldn’t go?

Well acording to the DCU supporters we’re all bandwagon jumpers, so by the time it’s built/ updated that would be all the supporters we would have! plenty big enough for a left coast neverbeen team!