I agree with mgarbowski that the plain vanilla games are rather steady. This year we had more terrible weather games than the first two years, add in the two relocated games and we had a lot going against us, but still came out with a respectable number.
The biggest positive going for us right now, is the make up of our typical crowds. I personally have noticed that our fanbase has become much more educated since 2015, and that's important going forward.
In 2015, I was always surrounded by people who knew little to nothing about soccer (remember the "We Want Poku" chant after we made 3 subs), or were soccer fans but knew little or nothing about MLS, and typically spent the whole game openly mocking what was on the field because they are too good for MLS. Generally, back then fans knew virtually nothing about the league, team, or game itself, other than the DP's and Poku. Those fans are attracted to the hot new thing, and are easily lost at high rates. We've naturally lost much of that portion of our fanbase as expected, while some of those have developed into the next category.
In 2016, I sat in the same seats so did not get much, but this past season I sat in different seats for each of the 7 games I attended. What I noticed this season is that our fanbase has become, generally, much more educated about the game, league, and club. I would always hear people around me mentioning various team and league podcasts that they had listened to. People would often talk about other league matches they had watched, and would discuss players they wish we had, compare our players to other players in the league, and discuss how we match up tactically against other teams. They know the roster much better now, who's in good form, who's battling an injury and may not be able to go 90' etc., of course, like all sports, we still have a make up of the crowd that knows little about what's going on, but I think we've developed a high percentage of knowledgeable supporters throughout the stadium.
This is important, as these types of fans are much more emotionally invested in the club, and are less likely to go away. I think we've reached the point where we have a solid base of supporters in place, the people that will show up to the plain vanilla games. Now it's all about doing well, marketing well, improving the in stadium experience, to bring more fans to the games to join that base of support. Next season I think our average will go up, especially if we have not Hartford debacles, basically automatically because of the extra RB game, and LAG draws well. With an improved marketing strategy, we can accelerate that even further.
The biggest positive going for us right now, is the make up of our typical crowds. I personally have noticed that our fanbase has become much more educated since 2015, and that's important going forward.
In 2015, I was always surrounded by people who knew little to nothing about soccer (remember the "We Want Poku" chant after we made 3 subs), or were soccer fans but knew little or nothing about MLS, and typically spent the whole game openly mocking what was on the field because they are too good for MLS. Generally, back then fans knew virtually nothing about the league, team, or game itself, other than the DP's and Poku. Those fans are attracted to the hot new thing, and are easily lost at high rates. We've naturally lost much of that portion of our fanbase as expected, while some of those have developed into the next category.
In 2016, I sat in the same seats so did not get much, but this past season I sat in different seats for each of the 7 games I attended. What I noticed this season is that our fanbase has become, generally, much more educated about the game, league, and club. I would always hear people around me mentioning various team and league podcasts that they had listened to. People would often talk about other league matches they had watched, and would discuss players they wish we had, compare our players to other players in the league, and discuss how we match up tactically against other teams. They know the roster much better now, who's in good form, who's battling an injury and may not be able to go 90' etc., of course, like all sports, we still have a make up of the crowd that knows little about what's going on, but I think we've developed a high percentage of knowledgeable supporters throughout the stadium.
This is important, as these types of fans are much more emotionally invested in the club, and are less likely to go away. I think we've reached the point where we have a solid base of supporters in place, the people that will show up to the plain vanilla games. Now it's all about doing well, marketing well, improving the in stadium experience, to bring more fans to the games to join that base of support. Next season I think our average will go up, especially if we have not Hartford debacles, basically automatically because of the extra RB game, and LAG draws well. With an improved marketing strategy, we can accelerate that even further.
