USL1 Instability Update

A while back I wrote a post showing how unstable USL1 has been in the last few years.

This offseason things got even worse, with the USSF having to step in and cobble together a second division consisting of USL1 teams and those who are breaking away to form the reincarnated NASL.

Technically Rochester might still be in the USL -- both the USL and NASL web sites list them as a team. At the very least they will officially be done with the USL next season. The same can be said of the reborn Tampa Bay Rowdies and the new NSC team in Minnesota, which I neglected to put into the "in" column.

Here's an updated chart reflecting the chaos.

2010
In	Out
none	Charleston Battery (dropped to USL2)
	Cleveland City Stars (folded)
	Minnesota Thunder (folded)
	Carolina Railhawks (moved to NASL)
	Miami FC (moved to NASL)
	Montreal Impact (moved to NASL)
	Vancouver Whitecaps (moved to NASL)
	Rochester Raging Rhinos (moved to NASL)
2009
In	Out
Cleveland City Stars	Seattle Sounders (moved to MLS)
Austin Aztex	Atlanta Silverbacks (on hiatus)
2008
In	Out
none	California Victory (folded)
2007
In	Out
California Victory	Virginia Beach Mariners (folded)
Carolina Railhawks	Toronto Lynx (folded)
2006
In	Out
Miami FC	Richmond Kickers (dropped to USL2)
2005
In	Out
none	Syracuse Salty Dogs (folded)
	Milwaukee Wave (folded)
	Edmonton Aviators (folded)
	Calgary Mustangs (folded)
2004
In	Out
Puerto Rico Islanders	none
Edmonton Aviators

Choosing an MLS Team to Support

Need to figure out which MLS team to support? Check out this awesome flowchart created by "cowtown" of BigSoccer fame.

My favorite question on the flowchart: "Do you secretly kind of like the idea of following a team named after a horrible disaster that destroys lives and communities?" Hilarious.

Herculez Unchained

Stop me if you've heard this one before. An American player heads overseas to a league considered superior to MLS. He settles in immediately, scoring goals and turning heads in the process.

The only thing is, I'm not talking about Landon Donovan.

Herculez Gomez formerly of the Kansas City Wizards, Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy transferred to Puebla in Mexico this offseason and the change has done him a world of good. Gomez went goalless in 26 appearances with the Wizards last year, and scored just three in 25 games the year before. So far this year Gomez has already scored five goals in just eight appearances for La Franja.


Here he is opening the scoring for Puebla just last week.

MLS Attendance: Best Seasons

Historically this category has been owned by the Galaxy. More than half of the 20 best seasons belong to the team from Los Angeles. If you look closely, there's some proof that TFKA Metro hasn't always been inept at getting people to come see soccer. With their new home in Harrison opening next year, it will be interesting to see if they might be able to get their attendance back into this lofty company.

   year team         home avg
1  2009 Seattle      30,897
2  1996 Los Angeles  28,916
3  2008 Los Angeles  26,009
4  2007 Los Angeles  24,252
5  2005 Los Angeles  24,204
6  1996 New York     23,898
7  2004 Los Angeles  23,809
8  2003 Los Angeles  21,983
9  1998 Los Angeles  21,784
10 2001 DC           21,518
11 1997 New England  21,423
12 2007 DC           20,967
13 2006 Los Angeles  20,814
14 2001 New York     20,806
15 2002 Colorado     20,690
16 1997 Los Angeles  20,626
17 2009 Los Angeles  20,416
18 2000 Los Angeles  20,400
19 2009 Toronto      20,344
20 2007 Toronto      20,130

Looking at the numbers in regards to how far above the league average each team was, Seattle's inaugural season is absolutely shocking. Not only did they set the record for average attendance, but they almost doubled up the league average. This absolutely shatters the previous mark. Also interesting in my mind is that Toronto has averaged over 20,000 fans each year, but still can't make the top 20 list.

   year team         diff in %
1  2009 Seattle      92.66
2  1996 Los Angeles  66.12
3  2005 Los Angeles  60.20
4  2008 Los Angeles  58.01
5  2004 Los Angeles  53.02
6  1998 Los Angeles  52.21
7  2000 Los Angeles  48.30
8  2003 Los Angeles  47.56
9  1997 New England  46.54
10 2007 Los Angeles  44.62
11 2001 DC           43.83
12 1997 Los Angeles  41.09
13 2001 New York     39.07
14 1996 New York     37.29
15 2000 DC           35.07
16 2006 Los Angeles  34.25
17 1998 New England  34.07
18 2002 Colorado     30.77
19 2000 New York     28.10
20 2006 Chivas USA   27.96

MLS Attendance: Worst Seasons

As a followup to the post on the teams seen by the smallest percentage of fans I thought it would be interesting to see the worst seasons in terms of average home attendance.

year team         home avg
2000 Miami        7,460
2003 Dallas       7,906
1998 Kansas City  8,073
1999 Kansas City  8,183
1999 Miami        8,689
1997 Kansas City  9,058
2004 Dallas       9,088
2000 Kansas City  9,112
2000 Tampa Bay    9,452
2001 San Jose     9,635
1997 Dallas       9,678
2005 Kansas City  9,691
2009 Kansas City  10,053
1996 Colorado     10,213
1998 Miami        10,284
1996 Colorado     10,213
1998 Tampa Bay    10,312
2003 San Jose     10,466
2001 Tampa Bay    10,479
2008 Kansas City  10,686

From these numbers, it looks pretty grim for soccer in Kansas City. Owners of seven of the 20 worst seasons for attendance in league history they are also the only team to make the list in the last five years... which they did three times. This is interesting since six of the seasons belong to teams which don't exist any more.

However just looking at the raw average attendance doesn't control for the overall attendance ebbs and flows of the league. This list shows the worst home attendances relative to the league average.

year team         diff in %
2003 Dallas       -46.93
2000 Miami        -45.77
1998 Kansas City  -43.59
1999 Kansas City  -42.71
2004 Dallas       -41.59
1996 Colorado     -41.32
1999 Miami        -39.16
1997 Kansas City  -38.04
2009 Kansas City  -37.31
2005 Kansas City  -35.85
2001 San Jose     -35.60
2008 Kansas City  -35.08
1997 Dallas       -33.80
2000 Kansas City  -33.76
1996 Tampa Bay    -32.91
2000 Tampa Bay    -31.29
2007 Kansas City  -30.91
2001 Tampa Bay    -29.96
2003 San Jose     -29.75
2002 San Jose     -29.53

Measuring this way, Dallas' abysmal 2003 season takes over the top spot, underperforming the league average by a whopping 46%. Sadly the Wizards actually add an eighth season to the wall of shame. To be fair, their last two seasons have been played near the capacity of their minuscule temporary stadium, but it'll be interesting to see what happens when they move into their new home. If you're a Wizards fan (or owner,) you have to hope things change drastically.

You Mean It's NOT Porn Night on The Movie Channel

Last night I was flipping through the program guide on Dish Network, and these two movies were playing back to back on The Movie Channel.

Good Dick :: Hot Rod

Someone in the programming department has a sense of humor...

Incoming MLS Players With Great Names

Each year Major League Soccer signs some of the top underclassmen in college soccer to contracts before the SuperDraft. This year's crop has some serious talent, but even better, they have some of the best names to ever grace the league. Three of them have earned special awards from me:

Player most likely to moonlight in adult films: Corben Bone - midfielder from Wake Forest. The movie titles write themselves... Romancing the Bone... Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Bone... Bone Alone...

Player most resembling a Dairy Queen treat: Dilly Duka - midfielder from Rutgers. His dad Mister Misty must be very proud of him.

Player who may actually be a tropical bird: Teal Bunbury - forward from Akron. I hear his name and keep thinking he should be mentioned alongside the Norwegian Blue in this sketch: