Slightly Less Super
Was Tigres’ penalty-kick win over Chicago in last night’s SuperLiga championship game the end of the line for the summer money-grab tournament?
Thanks to a (cough cough) paid crowd of 20,000 at TOYOTA Park (biggest for a final in the short history of the tournament), overall attendance for the 2009 version of the event matching MLS and MFL teams got a bit of a boost, but the numbers are still way down from 2007:
| Year | G | Total | Average |
| 2007 | 15 | 247,251 | 16,483 |
| 2008 | 15 | 195,390 | 13,026 |
| 2009 | 15 | 135,882 | 9,059 |
| TOTAL | 45 | 578,523 | 12,856 |
Having the home field for every game, MLS teams went 12-8-9 against their Mexican counterparts in the three years (losing two of three finals in penalties).
With attendance and TV ratings on the wane (thanks in part to the absence of sexy Mexican clubs like America and CD Guadalajara) and the World Cup next June and July, is there a place to put this tournament next year? Or will it switch to a winter format, giving MFL teams the home field? We’ll see.
Tags: MLS, soccer, sports attendance, SuperLiga
August 6th, 2009 at 10:49 am
The only time and place that SuperLiga makes sense is in MLS stadia (financial) and during the run-up to LMF Apertura season (logistical).
There would be no interest in seeing this tournament live in Mexico and 10K at the HDC or Toyota Park would seriously outgross most Mexie league matches let alone a friendly with a gabacho team. Plus, the SL is a pre-season warm-up for the Mexican clubs. The only time during winter that they’d want something similar is in January, when of course MLS is nowhere near starting.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I agree with Eric. They should stop trying to “qualify” teams and instead just try and get attractive match ups IMO.