I still put it behind the other leagues I mentioned.. I do agree about the caps though.. I hope that changes in the future. I just figured/hoped that they were doing that to make sure the league could be financially stable, before it does more. You know what Wenger says about building a house
I watched the Sounders/Real Salt Lake game last night on ESPN, and it was pathetic how Sounders fans were imitating the Timbers Army. The TA is up and screaming the entire game, it seemed like the Seattle group only sung and chanted when the cameras were on them. Buncha posers. Anyway, I do remember the knock-down, drag-out NASL Timbers/Sounders games. The Whitecaps were only slightly less hated. I see good times coming for soccer fans in Portland.
I don't think you're correct. Qwest has sold out every game, and increased capacity so that they're averaging 36,000 a game this season. The entire south end of the stadium is on their feet, singing and chanting and waving flags non-stop through the game. The corners are loud when appropriate. I've never seen "Timbers Army", but they are said to average 8500 a game in their "record high" season. So basically, if the entire record-high average attendance was the "Timbers Army", you wouldn't match the number of what I would call the "hardcore" fans at Qwest. And I highly doubt that each of the 8500 are "hardcore". You can enjoy one without illogically hating the other, right?
Seattle averaged about 3,500 in their last year in the USL. the Timbers have averaged about 9000 a game since 2007 and 10,500 this season. Seattle's "hardcore section" looked like this for years(2007):[video=youtube;N5e_N_BCPlM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5e_N_BCPlM[/video] Timbers fans the same year(2007):[video=youtube;0ztDcrGn3S0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztDcrGn3S0&feature=related[/video] Timbers "hardcore" fans regularly outnumbered Sounders "hardcore" IN SEATTLE for several years when both teams were in the USL together.
Sorry Brian.. I <3 ya... and I like to think that I do a pretty good job of not illogically hating the others (Lakers come to mind) But comparing their 2nd season in MLS numbers, to USL at some point doesnt make sense. Like Baracuda pointed out.. their stadium was a near ghost town until they became MLS. Its all good and well that they get their huge crowds. But their support doesnt date back very far, and its with good reason, that alot of their fans are called plastic fans, or customers.
Awesome. I like how the discussion about a hated rival (the Timbers) turns in to massive in-fighting. Hahaha!!!
I worked about 4 or 5 Sounders games this year and I will admit their "Army" only got pumped when our cameras were on them! The Timber Army are freaks......they stand and cheer all game!
I was just thinking, it will kinda suck to not be able to have a home game the PGE Park until about 6 weeks into the season. That will mess with the attendance #'s!
With better weather later in the season, it will help attendance actually. It's gonna sell out every game the first season or two anyway so it doesn't matter. Where did you hear 6 weeks?
Speaking of Fuck Seattle... has anyone read Scoreboard, Baby? I heard the author today pushing his work on local Bay Area sportstalk and it seemed a worthwhile peek behind the facade of big time college sports. Specifically the book details the rot to the core ugliness behind UW's 2001 Rose Bowl team. Here's a link to the excerp page from the book's website. The player's transgressions make the "Jailblazers" look like apple cheeked alter boys. The book also details how the University, community, legal system, and press all turned a knowing blind eye to continue cheering on their purple and piss criminals. STOMP
I'm sure most rabid Husky fans are already aware of it as the writers were breaking parts of the story in the local Seattle papers for years. The team has just sucked for so long since, the stories sort of flew under the national radar Rape, armed robbery, and lots of other horrible things pushed aside by the University, police, judges, and fanbase so that they can be proud of their boys on Saturday... unfortunately I suspect that this sort of widespread denial/complicity is common, we just don't hear about it. I'm definitely going to read this book STOMP
Honestly? It wasn't until recently that I learned about the transgressions of that team. My Dad, a graduate of UW didn't even know about it. Had he, there's no way he would have supported that 2001 team. Nor would I.
