When the San Jose Earthquakes stormed into Red Bull Arena and pulled off a shocking second-leg victory to knock the Red Bulls out of this year's playoffs, it undoubtedly scared many people within the league. Then, a week later, when FC Dallas barged their way into the MLS Cup final with a dominant 3-0 trouncing of L.A., you could almost hear league officials sh-tting bricks.
Dallas-Colorado is not only an unexpected MLS Cup matchup, it's also -- if you listen to some -- the most devastating thing that could have happened to the league. It was going to be tough enough to market a game played in late November on Toronto's chilly waterfront, even if the likes of David Beckham and Thierry Henry were going to be there. But without them... dear God, the league would be lucky to survive the weekend!
Dire hysteria aside, the reality is, the long-term benefits for whichever club wins on Sunday (and, by extension, the league) will likely outweigh the harm of staging a frosty final bereft of aging European stars.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
If you follow the league at all, you know that Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas is as famous for its pathetic attendance as it is for its now-sadly-removed bouncy castle. Hell, it's so bad down in the Lone Star state that FCD ownership essentially had to beg the local media just to cover the team. Dallas's home attendance was the third-lowest in the league this year in absolute terms, averaging 10,815 (just over 51% capacity).
Only Kansas City and San Jose had lower absolute attendance figures -- and that's because they play in tiny venues (filling said venues to 99% and 94% capacity, respectively).
Colorado ain't much better off, filling Dick's Sporting Goods Park to, on average, 68% capacity this year.
During the media scrums with players earlier today, members of both teams were asked about the lack of love from their home crowd. Both Heath Pearce of Dallas and long-time Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni hit on the same point: everybody loves a winner.
Dallas and Colorado have been around since MLS's inception in '96, but neither side has hoisted the MLS Cup. Hell, the Dallas franchise has never even been to the final. Colorado made it, once, back in 1997.
So it's tough to fault fans in Denver and Dallas for not filling up the stands for their MLS sides, especially when both cities have plenty of other options when it comes to professional sports.
It's a little disingenuous for fans in Toronto to dismiss this final as one being contested between two teams "nobody cares about", since the shine has definitely worn off of Toronto FC after only four seasons (you could argue it happened even earlier than that).
Interestingly, both Pearce and Mastroeni spoke about the sort of environment they wish they could play in front of on home turf... and both mentioned Seattle as the template for the sort of home support they desire. Wait... they didn't say Toronto? Not when they're in Toronto? Not when they're standing inside the stadium that, supposedly, provides such a daunting atmosphere for visiting teams and such an advantage for the Reds?
Huh. Weird.
I'm sure neither meant it as an indictment of Toronto fans. But as I've said before, BMO Field is no-longer the MLS standard bearer for impressive gameday atmosphere. That title belongs in Seattle, at Qwest Field. Sure, their stadium is bigger, and the franchise has a much longer history, so they have inherent advantages in that way. But they still pack the place with neon-green-clad, sing-songing, flag-waving fanatics on a week-in, week-out basis.
In two years in MLS, the Sounders have two playoff appearances, and two U.S. Open Cup titles. While TFC does boast a pair of Canadian Championships, they have yet to sniff the MLS playoffs, or make a serious dent in the CONCACAF Champions League. So the fans get restless. They get antsy. They leave to beat the traffic, or they don't show up at all. They stage protests and threaten not to renew season tickets. How could we turn around this troublesome state of affairs?
Oh yeah, if they won.
It's safe to assume that if Toronto FC assembled a strong, united squad that tore up the league throughout the summer, the environment at BMO Field would be as exciting and raucous as it was in season one. More tickets sold, more merchandise moved, more TV exposure, bigger footprint for the team, and so it goes.
So... why not Dallas or Colorado?
Real Salt Lake saw a healthy bump in attendance (up 4%) this season, after their unexpected MLS Cup win last season. We can only imagine something similar would happen in Denver or Dallas (or possibly both) next season. I know some people take bizarre, sadistic pleasure in laughing at Dallas's woeful attendance, but that speaks to a myopic view of the league, in my opinion.
Like it or not, it's a single-entity league. The success of any team contributes to the success of the league as a whole, which contributes to the success of the game as a whole on this continent.
Thierry Henry and David Beckham don't need more trophies. New York and L.A. don't need another championship-winning franchise.
But when it comes to soccer, Denver and Dallas do. Desperately.
So, sure, viewership in-person and on television may be garbage this Sunday (if you ain't watching, it's your loss, as all signs point to an exciting match-up).
But if Daniel Hernandez hoisting that trophy down at BMO Field means that FC Dallas becomes something other than a league-wide punchline, then in the end, it's probably worth it.