MLS Culture Growing Amidst Revs Run To MLS Cup
Friday, December 05, 2014
Every four years soccer comes to the forefront of American sports culture for the World Cup. If the U.S. Men’s National team performs well, the soccer fever generally lasts a month or two after the World Cup before ultimately being phased out by other sports.
Things have been different in 2014 — especially in New England. The World Cup fever combined with a successful New England Revolution campaign might finally have soccer on the rise in New England.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDuring the Revs recent run of futility, from 2008-2011, Revolution games were an after thought to many in New England. 10,000 fans was considered a good crowd at Gillette Stadium. Those days are long gone.
The Revs drew and average of 16,681 fans for each home game, according to the MLS Attendance blog. That number includes the Revs bad start and midseason losing streak. That includes weeknight games and Sunday games. That also includes the Revs recent run. A run that has seen 30,000-plus fans pack Gillette Stadium in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Since drawing 19,665 fans to Gillette Stadium on September 13 against the Montreal Impact, fans of the Revolution have packed Foxboro to the tune of about 27,197 fans per match. Each game has drawn more than 20,000 soccer fans, including over 30,000 fans filling the stadium twice in that run.
This trend fits in with the recent success of Major League Soccer across the country. As a league MLS drew more than 19,000 fans to an average game. MLS also attracted a gigantic television deal with ESPN, growing the exposure of the league further.
MLS has finished the 2014 regular season with an average attendance of 19,149 #MLS
— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) October 27, 2014
{image_4}This Sunday’s MLS Cup Final should only help that growth. With the Los Angeles, Boston and Providence markets being drawn in, three of the top-55 markets in the United States and two of the top-10 television markets will be directly drawn in for the game.
The stars of each teams will also help draw fans. With marquee names such as Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Lee Nguyen, even casual soccer fans have a group of players they can latch on to.
All of these factors have even rekindled the talk of a soccer specific stadium in New England — something fans, players, coaches and even ownership have been waiting years for. According to recent reports, Robert Kraft has approached at least one unnamed company about naming rights to a new stadium. This first step is a potential huge step to attracting a new, urban fan base — if the Stadium is moved into the city rather than a suburban location such as Foxboro. This new client base will be able to utilize public transportation to get to games and the playing surface would not have to be artificial or shared — all major pluses for the team, the league and the fan base.
What is the only factor that could excite Revolution fans more than all of these recent developments? The team’s first ever MLS Cup. The Revolution will get their chance Sunday to bring the cup home to Boston and keep the love for soccer growing in New England.
