Trial 1: Ochocinco in MLS

Photo credit: Getty Images

Chad Ochocinco is trialing with MLS side Sporting Kansas City. Yes, the same Chad "Johnson" from the Cincinnati Bengals. And yes, Sporting Kansas City is the team formerly known as the Kansas City "Wiz" and then the Kansas City "Wizards." Formerly knowns should be the motto for this turn of events. But wait, could this really be true? A bona fide NFL star trialing with a modest MLS team? Yes, see for yourself.

Why did this happen? 1.) NFL lockout, 2.) Ochocinco was an avid soccer player in his youth, 3.) friends with C. Ronaldo, among others, 4.) publicity for the league and the team.

Positives: Okay, benefit of the doubt for the outspoken footballer. He was indeed a fan of the game and a youth player during his teenage years up until the higher paychecks from American football came calling. His friendship with high-profile players like Cristiano Ronaldo are certainly positive. He also conversed with Beckham and Thierry Henry before trialing with SKC. Lastly, MLS is in the public eye for an entirely different reason. More attention equals more appreciation? Perhaps.

Negatives: As a counter for the last point, isn't the type of attention given to MLS for this a bit sad and unsatisfying? Maybe a running joke that this megastar is with a relatively unknown (to mainstream America) soccer team? Although, given his production (actual touchdowns, not fantasy yards) last year of TDs (4 total), it sounds like a mediocre/substitute striker's output for a subpar team.

The NFL lockout is the ultimate driving force for Ochocinco's genuine desire to get back to his soccer roots. That can be taken negatively or positively depending on your point of view. One last thought, though: remember that megastar that switched sports for a bit after temporary retirement? His name was Michael Jordan. It didn't work out.

MLS 2010 Attendance stats week 30

These MLS attendance stats graphics may be a bit disjointed as I compile all the seasonal information. Also, keep in mind that some weeks have more games than others. This tends to impact trends somewhat but the numbers remain solid (5% error at most). A final MLS regular season attendance post will also be included in three week's time.

For now, besides the usual updated graphics on the right column, I'm providing two high-res images of the relative attendance vs average attendance. At some point in the first season I started with this project, I had a person point to me that I should provide details on how the two numbers are related. Most notable is the actual size of the San Jose and KC stadiums. This will change starting next year with the opening of KC's 18,500 stadium. San Jose will also be getting a stadium soon, but this has yet to begin construction. Large attendances don't always equal full stadium (LA, Houston, New York), and this analysis confirms it. As always, it depends on the size of the stadium.

MLS 2009 Attendance stats week 20

Beckham's arrival begins to show its face in attendance statistics, albeit at a more muted scale this time around. For example, his game this week was at Kansas City and it wasn't held at Arrowhead. Instead, the match was held at an expanded Community America Ballpark (about 1500 more seats than normal). Notice that using the 09-08 difference plot we see that RSL has recovered to about the same attendance average as last year. Colorado is also recovering. Further, these two teams have not had the Becks circus come to town.

No Becks in MLS this weekend. Instead it's a sold out Rose Bowl for Galaxy vs Barcelona. A quality match for sure. How come we can't get these huge numbers to turn out for MLS matches? The World Football Challenge with Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea and Club America drew no less than 50,000 each for the games played. If we could get a good 10-15% of these true football fans then MLS would surely get a boost.

Another area that MLS should be working on developing is the Concacaf Champions League. DCU managed no more than a tie against lowly Firpo from El Salvador. An early exit... again? More on that on a later post.

Finally, to round this week's MLS discussion is the current MLS schedule. Whilst I question the setup (spring to fall instead of fall to spring as is done in Europe and most regions of the world), we also have to keep in mind venues like Colorado, Chicago and Toronto. These are usually in deep freeze from December to February. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, recently discussed MLS's schedule and why it wasn't attracting better players. Interesting points except for the obvious points mentioned above (Chicago, Toronto). He advocates a fall to spring season. Then again, there are plenty of leagues in Scandinavia, Russia, among others, that have a sizable break during the winter. This is something worth considering. You can catch Blatter's discussion below.