I love this moment, where a(n alleged) Cosmos fan shows he needs to brush up on current events. (H/T to Nico, originally happened here.)

I have an article published in this month’s issue of Stadium Journey magazine (though I didn’t write about stadiums, oddly enough). Thanks to a recommendation from my man Josh Hakala (whose excellent TheCup.us you should visit, especially this time of year), they asked me to write about the pros and cons of promotion and relegation (a topic I may have mentioned before) for their all-soccer issue.

I didn’t write it as prole bait, but I figure it’s going to end up drawing out the batshit crazy brigade. As you know (unless you’re one of the batshit crazy brigade), I’m not personally opposed to the concept – I just don’t think it’s realistic in America now, and maybe not ever. But despite presenting what I think is a balanced look at the advantages and drawbacks of such a system, I fear the “hostile media effect” is going to be in play here and the proles are going to be sure my bias is showing through. Which ( a ) would be nothing new and ( b ) comes with the territory, I guess.

But if they read it, it probably means they bought it, so that’s good. The magazine itself is a good read for anyone who likes to visit stadiums and have sports experiences around the country, so I encourage you to visit them and buy the print or electronic versions of the May issue.

Now that every professional (men’s and women’s) team in MLS, the NASL, USL Pro and the NWSL has had at least one home match, we can take a look at the attendance figures for each team in the various leagues through games of May 5. (As always, corrections are welcome.)

NOTES:

• MLS, which drew six million fans for the first time ever in 2012, is on pace to do slightly below that (if every team holds its average for the rest of the season), but at 17,272 and playing to about 83% capacity, its numbers are healthier than ever overall. There are still trouble spots (Chivas USA, obviously, but to a lesser extent, Colorado, Columbus and Chicago), but the bright spots are very, very bright.
• Starting the MLS season earlier than ever may be something they want to re-think (if it’s mathematically possible, given all the constraints). This year’s March average (17,803) was well off last year’s record 20,783 and below 2011 (19,225) and 2010 (17,992). The season began on March 2 this year, a week earlier than last year and almost two weeks earlier than the year before. I don’t know if there’s a strong correlation (I’d have to delve deeper into it) but those are the numbers. (Incidentally, the April numbers were right about in line with the last few years.)
• Things are looking up in the early going in the Division II North American Soccer League, with strong showings in Minnesota (though not quite as strong as they wanted), the newly-rebranded United FC is 25% ahead of the former Stars’ numbers from a year ago, when they opened at the Metrodome and then moved back outdoors. They’re playing all but one of their Spring Championship matches indoors this time around.
• In fact, every NASL team but Edmonton (where new stands are finally being constructed at Clarke Stadium) and San Antonio is up year-over-year and the league itself is up about 5%. (In the Scorpions’ case, they couldn’t match last year’s numbers no matter what, as their lovely new yard has a much smaller capacity than the high school football stadium the team played in last year.)
• Orlando continues to set the pace in USL Pro (though their MLS chances took a hit late last week). The Lions drew club regular-season records of 9,140 on April 19 and then 9,589 eight days later (and had bad weather kibosh what could have been a couple of other great crowds). While mainstays Charleston, Richmond and Wilmington will be fine, there are troubling signs in Los Angeles (as usual) and Tampa Bay, while Phoenix has lost half its audience (and its club president) in its first month of play.
• Incidentally, the league numbers you will see for USL Pro throughout this season will include the “crossover” games against MLS Reserve League teams. There have been three so far, with Salt Lake drawing a high of 8,263 for their game against Phoenix, Portland getting 1,803 for VSI Tampa Bay and Colorado getting 307 for Harrisburg’s visit. Without the MLS Reserves, the USL Pro average is 2,614 at the moment.
• The latest attempt at women’s pro soccer, the NWSL, is 14 games in and Portland, Washington and Kansas City have drawn healthy (in Portland’s case, super-healthy) crowds. Boston’s off its former league-leading pace, but the big disappointment was Seattle, which drew just 2,618 for its inaugural against Sky Blue FC Saturday night. The Sounders Women (a different club altogether) led the W-League in attendance last year thanks in part to a star-studded roster, but the Reign is finding the going a bit tougher so far. Saturday will be Western New York’s first Saturday home game with Abby Wambach in the lineup, so we’ll see what happens there.
• And, in case you’re wondering, the PDL season began over the weekend, with the Victoria Highlanders drawing 1,804 for their home opener, a 3-0 win over Kitsap. But LA Misioneros reported 100 for their match against Fresno and the awkwardly-named OC Blues Strikers FC (the former Pali Blues) drew 40 for its opener against Ventura County. The W-League season starts this weekend.

Once again I am a voter for the National Soccer Hall of Fame’s annual player election, and, as I’ve always made my ballots and rationales public, there’s no reason to stop now.

But instead of the usual quick comments about each nominee and my final list, I felt this year I should address the question, “What IS a Hall of Famer?” It seems as though there are many different standards and definitions of what constitutes a player worthy of induction. I’ll tell you what I think, and reveal my selections, after the jump.

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Sports is/are this big, goofy, fun contrivance that (from the non-participant’s standpoint) exist(s) solely for our entertainment. It’s not a referendum on us as a people or a culture or a species if the fourth- and fifth-place teams play for the championship of something. We’re not going to get blown to bits by aliens or al-Qaida if a non-first-place team wins the playoffs, or even if there are playoffs at all. Paul Gardner can watch the freaking games and enjoy them for what they are – 22 guys kicking a frigging ball, sometimes entertainingly – or he can ascribe huge cosmic significance to the identities of the participants and the process used to determine them. He’s chosen the latter course. He has that right, just like I have the right to tell him – and the other fanboys who can’t handle it emotionally when their team doesn’t get to call themselves right and true and just champions – to get the hell over it.

Just because people have asked and not because it’s particularly revealing or surprising, here are the 149 teams in MLS, the NASL, USL Pro, the PSL, WPSL Elite and the W-League ranked by average announced attendance. Before you ask, many lower teams don’t always report all of their numbers, so there are many missing figures in the WPSL-E, the PDL and W-League. And, no, I don’t get NPSL figures because they really don’t make an effort to put those numbers out there and I’m not inclined to go searching for attendance figures for a league that let the Phoenix Monsoon in. Please to enjoy:

From the June 27, 1994 issue of The Sporting News comes this story on the new soccer league that would start up less than two years later.

Yeah, loud wrong.

I just noticed this seems to be the only stuff I post here anymore. Sorry about that. I really don’t have much to say that’s over 140 characters most of the time anymore.

Anyway, here are the latest attendance figures for the various leagues, with only a few quick notes because I’m otherwise engaged:

NOTES:

• MLS is on pace right now to draw slightly more than six million fans, but that’s if everybody holds their current averages and Montreal can’t now that they’ve moved back into Saputo Stadium.
• Speaking of which, how do you get 60,000 for a game in Olympic Stadium and yet not sell out the first game back at Saputo? The Impact only drew 17,112 for Saputo’s rebirth after averaging 36,498 (with a previous low of 19,223) for five games at the Big O.
• The Minnesota Stars had a franchise-high crowd of 2,908, the biggest NSC Stadium league attendance since the old Thunder drew 3,773 to a USL First Division match on September 20, 2009 against Charleston last July 22, when Montreal was in town and they drew 3,071 (thanks, ERic).
• Atlanta’s crowd of 6,000 against Carolina Saturday was also a club record, but tickets were free as part of We’ll Make It Up To You Fan Appreciation Night.
• Orlando drew 6,148 Sunday night and continue to lead USL Pro at just under 7k a night. On the other side of the coin, the LA Blues drew 276 and 239 for two matches against Dayton this weekend. The Blues, I fear, are not long for this world.
• I have seven – seven – attendance figures from the 31 matches played in the WPSL Elite League. It is not, apparently, a big concern for them.
• Seattle Sounders Women continue to lead the W-League after another sellout crowd of 4,500 at Starfire yesterday against the LA Strikers. Remarkable that Seattle has just now discovered a team that averaged just over 500 people a game last year and for most of the last several years, and that they’re still turning out after the US Women’s National Team stars are away.
• PDL figures are a lot easier to come by than WPSL ones, but I’m still missing about 15 percent of the games from the amateur league. Portland – on the basis of two 8k+ crowds at JELD-WEN, still leads the league, but its margin over Des Moines shrank after the Timbers U23s drew 505 to Sherwood High School yesterday. (Portland moves its U23 games around the area to venues of differing sizes.) And thanks to the fine folks at the Austin Aztex, who directed me to a figure I didn’t have. Austin – which lost the original Aztex to Orlando after 2010 – is doing well in the PDL.

Here are the latest attendance figures for all the various leagues in the US and Canada, through games of Sunday, June 3. I’m missing a couple of USL Pro attendance figures (both in Dayton), a couple W-League figures, several in WPSL Elite (both leagues have been a bit lax in other areas lately) and many in the PDL. But based on what I have, this is how the league attendance figures look as of today.

• Portland’s PDL team broke the league record with a school-day crowd of 8,174 for their match Friday morning against Vancouver. I couldn’t tell you what the old record was, and neither can USL, probably, so just go with it for now.
• MLS only had one match this past weekend while largely standing down for an official FIFA Match Day, but the league is on pace to draw more than six million this year, and projects roughly to a final average of 18,713 (which would be a record). Montreal’s average will go down a bit when they move into Saputo Stadium. More than half the league (10 clubs) are averaging more than 18,000 a game, which is quite the feather in their cap.
• They had to bring in temporary seating in Edmonton as the NASL club drew 2,521 against Atlanta yesterday. It was a season high for the Eddies, near their franchise record (set in the opener last year) and the first time they’d been over 2k for a league match since last June 26. Overall, they’re down 25% in average over the same number of home games as a year ago, but hope for increased attendance as they bring in more seating to their new stadium.
• Elsewhere in the NASL, Atlanta and Carolina are way up (46% and 59%, respectively) and the RailHawks hope to get a bounce from their Open Cup run. Puerto Rico is down 48% because of their temporary venue. Ft. Lauderdale is down 25% amid talk that their advertising and marketing budget has been slashed. And Tampa Bay – which finally got the historic “Rowdies” name back – has a nearly identical average after five home games this year as last. So much for nostalgia.
• San Antonio reversed a slide that had seen each of their home games draw fewer people than the last when they drew 8,639 for their game Saturday against Minnesota. After five home matches, the Scorpions are averaging just under 10,000, which has only been done at the D2 level by Rochester, Portland and Montreal.
• While Orlando and Rochester continue to lead USL Pro, the best story is probably in Wilmington, where the Hammerheads are third in the league at 4,119. Harrisburg continues to be bedeviled by bad weather, as their game against Richmond Friday was stopped after 84 minutes because of lightning and drew just 355.
• Looks like we’re only going to get WPSL Elite numbers regularly out of Boston. The other clubs don’t seem to think it’s important to count people (or if they count them, they don’t announce them). But, to no one’s surprise, I think we can safely say WPSL Elite, without the ability to market on a league level and with its clubs having limited budgets to market locally, will not be making anyone forget WPS.
• Seattle Sounders Women drew 4,500 for their official home opener against Colorado last Thursday (after packing Starfire for a series of exhibitions against local colleges). They weren’t a big draw on the road a day later in Victoria (no national team players made the trip) as just 502 fans went to their game against the Highlanders. We’ll see what happens with the Sounders Women as Hope Solo and company leave for the Olympics.
• Besides Portland’s U23 squad, PDL teams doing well at the gate include Carolina Dynamo, Des Moines, Fresno and West Texas, who are all over 1,000 a game. The league itself is at 629 (with several games missing), ahead of the historical average of just over 500.

The third round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup saw eight of the 16 participating Major League Soccer teams sent packing by lower-division sides (a record for number, obviously, but not percentage, as half of the field of eight crashed out in 2004′s fourth round). This has led to the usual sturm und drang on the internet, with some fans claiming the results are proof of everything from parity to the necessity of promotion and relegation to the existence of Bigfoot. What usually happens in these instances is MLS teams that lose get pilloried for not trying or not caring enough to put out a representative team. For many teams – like Chicago, which had four games in 11 days –  it’s a matter of prioritizing and making best use of rosters that aren’t as robust as in other leagues around the world. But I wanted to see how true the shorthand “Those teams that played more regular players were successful, and those that didn’t, weren’t” really was.

I first looked at league playing time by each of the 16 MLS teams’ first elevens (turns out, yes, there’s a correlation between teams that put a lot of their bench players in the lineup and teams that lost, not a surprise), but then I had an idea: why not total up the salaries of each MLS team’s starting lineups to get a different view of the types of players the teams were putting out there?

Thanks to the MLS Players Union, the salary information is readily available, so it was just a matter of plugging it all in. Turns out there’s a correlation between salaries and success. It’s not perfect, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Of the eight teams that had the most 2012 salary money represented in their first elevens, five won and moved on. Of the eight that were spending the least on their starters, only three were winners.

Here’s the chart of what each of the 16 MLS teams in this year’s Open Cup were spending on base salaries on the 11 players they started in their third round matches:

(We don’t know what the lower division teams’ annual salaries are for comparison, but, rest assured, they’re south of Chicago’s.)

This chart makes Portland’s home loss to Cal FC - an amateur team bankrolled largely by US Soccer legend Eric Wynalda – all the more dramatic and baffling. The Timbers not only had the most expensive player of the round (Kris Boyd, who makes $1.25 million), they spent nearly $800,000 more than the second-place team (New York) and more than Dallas, Columbus and Chicago combined spent on their starters. Seven regulars – those who had played more than 50% of the possible minutes for the Timbers in the league – started for Portland, the highest figure in the league (Philadelphia and Seattle started six each and both won, Los Angeles, New England and Chicago started two among them and all lost).

Again, the correlation isn’t perfect, but Colorado was the only one of the five thriftiest teams that got a result and advanced (New England’s penalty kick defeat at Harrisburg officially counts as a draw). And the Timbers were the only one of the top four most expensive lineups that are out of the competition.

Salt Lake made no secret of being in it to win it, but despite the presence of five regulars and two part-timers, they lost at home to defending NASL champ Minnesota. Houston – which prioritized an important friendly, if there is such a thing, at home tonight against Valencia, fell to expansion NASL side San Antonio. Barring those results, and had Boyd not missed an 80th-minute penalty for Portland, the correlation would have been nearly perfect.

The takeaway? As always, money isn’t everything, but it helps. And when you run out a team of reserves against a hungry lower-division side in a one-off Cup situation, it’s buyer beware.

The full list of annual base salaries of each of the 171 players who started for MLS teams in the third round of the Open Cup is after the jump:

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