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Columbus Crew SC (2008, 2020, 2023 MLS Champions)

OHSportsFan9;1918219; said:
That reminds me-

I loved when the Timbers and the Fire squared off on a primetime ESPN match a couple weeks ago...perfect game to be sponsored by Smokey the Bear.

:lol: I don't think there's a crowd as impressive as the Portland Timber's crowd... Wish the Crew had a few more in attendance! Hopefully that will continue to improve the more the Crew win, and the warmer it gets! :biggrin:
 
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:lol: I don't think there's a crowd as impressive as the Portland Timber's crowd... Wish the Crew had a few more in attendance! Hopefully that will continue to improve the more the Crew win, and the warmer it gets! :biggrin:
I'll be making my way over for a game or 2 with some friends this summer. Haven't decided which ones.

Gotta check out my buddy Rich Balchan (name drop!).
 
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OHSportsFan9;1918219; said:
That reminds me-

I loved when the Timbers and the Fire squared off on a primetime ESPN match a couple weeks ago...perfect game to be sponsored by Smokey the Bear.
I was always a fan of the old Wiz vs. Burn match-up in the olden days. :biggrin:



When the Crew played at The Horseshoe, we had the 2nd smallest field in the league behind San Jose. San Jose's field (Spartan Stadium?) was a bowling alley. There was no going to the outside... the tactic was to go basically straight down the middle of the field quickly, with fast counterattacks on turnovers. Used to be a lot of scoring. The Horseshoe having such a small pitch was perfect when we had Stern John. Dude used to tear it up because he didn't need much room to operate, he was quick, and he had a nose for the goal like no one else I've ever seen.
 
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TooTallMenardo;1918220; said:
:lol: I don't think there's a crowd as impressive as the Portland Timber's crowd... Wish the Crew had a few more in attendance! Hopefully that will continue to improve the more the Crew win, and the warmer it gets! :biggrin:

Hopefully some other fanbases around the league take notice of this and start stepping up.

And honsetly, league and its teams need to ditch the whole family atmosphere thing. Soccer in the US has been all about winning over kids in spite of their parents in the hopes that those kids hold their interest in the sport as the grow into adulthood. In the meantime, they've neglected to foster an atmosphere that people actually want to be a part of as adults, or they've tried to confine it to a certain part of the park (like Columbus has done with the North End/Nordecke). Portland seems to have turned that on its head - they have an atmosphere that people actually want to participate in beyond having a nice place to take the kids. Their whole stadium is pretty much like Nordecke. As with every other popular sport in this country, if you can turn the parents into die-hards, the kids will probably follow - and you'll have a better product in the meantime.

* Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about Crew Stadium. I haven't attended as many matches as I used to after I graduated and moved out of C-bus eight years ago.
 
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I was always a fan of the old Wiz vs. Burn match-up in the olden days. :biggrin:



When the Crew played at The Horseshoe, we had the 2nd smallest field in the league behind San Jose. San Jose's field (Spartan Stadium?) was a bowling alley. There was no going to the outside... the tactic was to go basically straight down the middle of the field quickly, with fast counterattacks on turnovers. Used to be a lot of scoring. The Horseshoe having such a small pitch was perfect when we had Stern John. Dude used to tear it up because he didn't need much room to operate, he was quick, and he had a nose for the goal like no one else I've ever seen.
Stern John :bow:
 
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jlb1705;1918230; said:
Hopefully some other fanbases around the league take notice of this and start stepping up.

And honsetly, league and its teams need to ditch the whole family atmosphere thing. Soccer in the US has been all about winning over kids in spite of their parents in the hopes that those kids hold their interest in the sport as the grow into adulthood. In the meantime, they've neglected to foster an atmosphere that people actually want to be a part of as adults, or they've tried to confine it to a certain part of the park (like Columbus has done with the North End/Nordecke). Portland seems to have turned that on its head - they have an atmosphere that people actually want to participate in beyond having a nice place to take the kids. Their whole stadium is pretty much like Nordecke. As with every other popular sport in this country, if you can turn the parents into die-hards, the kids will probably follow - and you'll have a better product in the meantime.

* Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about Crew Stadium. I haven't attended as many matches as I used to after I graduated and moved out of C-bus eight years ago.

You pretty much nailed it. I agree 100%. We'll never be taken seriously until our crowds can replicate what's going on in the EPL.
 
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I understand what you guys are saying, but I think that's a bit of an unrealistic expectation...those premier league teams and rivalries have been around since the 1800s in many cases.

I can definately see soccer booming in the United States, but I think its going to take continued success of the national team to grow the domestic game at home.
 
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When the big teams come across the pond from Spain, England, etc, they put 70k butts in the seats to watch friendlies. Friendlies!

If MLS continues to upgrade its talent on the field, people will notice. Americans what to see the best of the best play. When some of the best players in the world start coming over while they are still in their prime, you'll see the sport explode over here. I guarantee you. If Messi started playing for Chicago tomorrow, you don't think they'd sell out every single game he played in?

The business world has taken notice of MLS. People are investing in it, especially with the marketing of their products, because they see the potential of what MLS could become. Hell, MLS has an official tequilla sponsor of the league. True story. The league learned from failed domestic soccer leagues of the past and has had a slow, calculated growth in this country. It's only a matter of time until the league becomes a serious everyday fixture in American sports culture, though that time is still fairly far away.
 
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I've only ever been to one Crew game, and that was last week, so I don't have a large sample to pull from. Having said that, I agree that the family atmosphere doesn't need to be the only thing that's being pushed, but, IMO, the amount of empty seats indicates that there's room for pushing something more than just family atmosphere, without eliminating it. Filling one side of the stands with youth soccer teams, and the other with grown-ups that want to enjoy a great atmosphere could probably be done. The Crew need to get some professional marketers to Columbus, and see how they can grow this bitch.
jlb1705;1918230; said:
Hopefully some other fanbases around the league take notice of this and start stepping up.

And honsetly, league and its teams need to ditch the whole family atmosphere thing. Soccer in the US has been all about winning over kids in spite of their parents in the hopes that those kids hold their interest in the sport as the grow into adulthood. In the meantime, they've neglected to foster an atmosphere that people actually want to be a part of as adults, or they've tried to confine it to a certain part of the park (like Columbus has done with the North End/Nordecke). Portland seems to have turned that on its head - they have an atmosphere that people actually want to participate in beyond having a nice place to take the kids. Their whole stadium is pretty much like Nordecke. As with every other popular sport in this country, if you can turn the parents into die-hards, the kids will probably follow - and you'll have a better product in the meantime.

* Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about Crew Stadium. I haven't attended as many matches as I used to after I graduated and moved out of C-bus eight years ago.
 
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They used to have some of the best marketing in MLS when they first started out. Won quite a few awards. Since they moved into the new stadium, their marketing did a 180. I'm not sure who's doing it for them now, but agree with IronBuckI... fire those rummies and bring in the big boys to get that train back on track.
 
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The image of the MLS is changing ever so slightly. The new look "Soccer Night in America" is the first step to getting more exposure. MLS needs to ink a huge deal with either Fox Soccer or ESPN so they show MORE GAMES! I agree with Iron as well, got to find a way to fill up those seats.
 
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TooTallMenardo;1918392; said:
The image of the MLS is changing ever so slightly. The new look "Soccer Night in America" is the first step to getting more exposure. MLS needs to ink a huge deal with either Fox Soccer or ESPN so they show MORE GAMES! I agree with Iron as well, got to find a way to fill up those seats.

I think it would be a big deal if SNA were simply moved over to the Fox broadcast network. It's not like there's much competition in prime time on Friday nights anyway. I think that would a good next step.
 
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Gameday bump.

10:30pm tonight at San Jose. Shown live on ONN. Going to one of my favorite watering holes for that one. San Jose had a tough tie at Vancouver on Wednesday, so they ought not to have their usual pep in their step. San Jose has also been reeling lately, so this would be a great game to get a quality road W.


If you don't watch the Crew game tonight and are a causal observer of soccer, you'll love the atmosphere of Seattle vs. Portland at 11:00pm on ESPN2.
 
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