USA vs. Scotland soccer

[Tacachale]

What a great time. As some who was expecting a solid 18 thousand fans, this was a very exiting turn of events.

[CityLife]

I took my family to the game and we had a blast.  We sat right behind the goal on the north side (where all the action was in 2nd half).  I liked the international flavor of the crowd.  Much more interestinging to me than the typical NFL crowd.  Is there any chance that we could get an MLS team?  I grew up going to NASL games in Ft Lauderdale - great memories!

I think the showing last night makes us much more likely to get in the regular rotation for National Team games than to get an MLS franchise. If we do get in the rotation for USMNT's games (likely) and continue to show out, MLS will take notice. But it would also probably take MLS deciding to expand their footprint into the Southeast. Which would mean Atlanta, Charlotte, and South Florida teams as well.

There's no way to put an exact number on it, but I would estimate about 15-25% of the non-Scots were from outside the Jax Metro Area. I know people that came from Tampa, Tally, and Gville, and met some people from Atlanta. If we can get 30k+ for a lesser matchup than Scotland (i.e less out of town support), we may be able to sustain an MLS franchise.

[danno]

Great game, great crowd. Scattered but few hooligan events.

Over 44k for any US hosted soccer game, let alone a friendly is really pretty good.

I liked the demographics at the game, lots of kids, lots of parents.

The only snafu was the scoreboard operator to start the second half.

The funny part was that the sodas were sold in Gator Bowl cups from 2 years ago!!

With Donovan used to playing in front of 18k fans and then rolls in for 44k, I can see why he might get "up" for the game.

Overall, a victory for USA, but a big win for Jacksonville.

Great game, great crowd. Scattered but few hooligan events.

Over 44k for any US hosted soccer game, let alone a friendly is really pretty good.

I liked the demographics at the game, lots of kids, lots of parents.

The only snafu was the scoreboard operator to start the second half.

The funny part was that the sodas were sold in Gator Bowl cups from 2 years ago!!

With Donovan used to playing in front of 18k fans and then rolls in for 44k, I can see why he might get "up" for the game.

Overall, a victory for USA, but a big win for Jacksonville.

Few Hooligan events??

[danno]

We had a couple of people ejected from our section for setting off smoke bombs  (happens every match), how they can prove it I dont know. Security also came and confiscated our inflateable sheep.

[danno]

I took my family to the game and we had a blast.  We sat right behind the goal on the north side (where all the action was in 2nd half).  I liked the international flavor of the crowd.  Much more interestinging to me than the typical NFL crowd.  Is there any chance that we could get an MLS team?  I grew up going to NASL games in Ft Lauderdale - great memories!

I think the showing last night makes us much more likely to get in the regular rotation for National Team games than to get an MLS franchise. If we do get in the rotation for USMNT's games (likely) and continue to show out, MLS will take notice. But it would also probably take MLS deciding to expand their footprint into the Southeast. Which would mean Atlanta, Charlotte, and South Florida teams as well.

There's no way to put an exact number on it, but I would estimate about 15-25% of the non-Scots were from outside the Jax Metro Area. I know people that came from Tampa, Tally, and Gville, and met some people from Atlanta. If we can get 30k+ for a lesser matchup than Scotland (i.e less out of town support), we may be able to sustain an MLS franchise.

I had friends from Boston, Dallas, Salt Lake, Nashville and LA there.  MLS is out of the question for a long while.  We would need a smaller facility to make it work as well.  Orlando City FC does really well for an A League team.  They would get a team well ahead of us.

[ben says]

I think it's pretty interesting how many people think 'we should get a team' now. Something tells me we wouldn't have hit 10k if, instead of Scotland, it was Antigua we were playing. I share the excitement, but common guys, it was one game. I think the realistic goal would be to work for games here every year. Let's get the population excited, see how many people go three, four, five years out, THEN see if we 'deserve' a team.

[Coolyfett]

Quote from: edjax on Yesterday at 10:01:46 PM

    Attendance of 44,438. Great job Jacksonville!!  Perhaps Mr. Khan should think of a MSL franchise for Jax.

my buddies and I were thinking the same thing on the way to the stadium. this should open a lot of eyes in the MLS.

Some guy was handing out fliers outside of the stadium pushing for the MLS in Orlando.  I was like, "dude, look around at what's happening right here".....

What a great game.

Orlando huh?? Very interesting.

[tufsu1]

Is there any chance that we could get an MLS team?  I grew up going to NASL games in Ft Lauderdale - great memories!

I think Ft. Lauderdale actually had an MLS team early...they played at Lockhart Stadium, a real dump....maybe because of that, attendance wasn't good.

I think the heat and humidity in Florida makes soccer in the summer a bit tough.

[edjax]

I think it's pretty interesting how many people think 'we should get a team' now. Something tells me we wouldn't have hit 10k if, instead of Scotland, it was Antigua we were playing. I share the excitement, but common guys, it was one game. I think the realistic goal would be to work for games here every year. Let's get the population excited, see how many people go three, four, five years out, THEN see if we 'deserve' a team.

Eh. Some have pie in the sky dreams of a soccer team in Jax.  Others have pie in the sky dreams of streetcars in Jax  Bottom-line we are all probably just dreaming.

[CityLife]

I think it's pretty interesting how many people think 'we should get a team' now. Something tells me we wouldn't have hit 10k if, instead of Scotland, it was Antigua we were playing. I share the excitement, but common guys, it was one game. I think the realistic goal would be to work for games here every year. Let's get the population excited, see how many people go three, four, five years out, THEN see if we 'deserve' a team.

Eh. Some have pie in the sky dreams of a soccer team in Jax.  Others have pie in the sky dreams of streetcars in Jax  Bottom-line we are all probably just dreaming.

Streetcars in Jax are not pie in the sky at all. You can't even begin to compare the two.

[blizz01]

Some had pie in the sky dreams of an NFL franchise in JAX....

[dougskiles]

Eh. Some have pie in the sky dreams of a soccer team in Jax.  Others have pie in the sky dreams of streetcars in Jax  Bottom-line we are all probably just dreaming.

Guilty as charged.  But I have no intentions of stopping the pursuit of any of them!

[edjax]

Some had pie in the sky dreams of an NFL franchise in JAX....

Agree.  Which was kinda my point. If we stop dreaming we have pretty much given up on some of these things.  So yea. The two are very comparable.

[duvaldude08]

Some had pie in the sky dreams of an NFL franchise in JAX....

Right! If we can get that faith and deternination back we had back then, we will accomplish anything we want. Weve became so discouraged over the years and thats not good. Im glad to know WE broke the attendance record.

[Tacachale]

This showing was as good evidence as any of the pent-up demand for soccer in Jax and our enthusiasm as a great sports town. It's a definite call for more regular scheduling of MNT games here. I expect that it'll also result in more serious looks from the pros. MLS is several steps away, but with this showing there's no doubt the lower level professional leagues would find success here, and support there will be a strong indicator of how the local culture would support an MLS team.

The return of the Tea Men? Yes please! (The name is negotiable).