“Soccer is a girl’s game” “There are no goals, it is boring” “It will never succeed” “Why do they roll around on the ground all the time”
All soccer fans have heard these statements. We all know people who feel this way about the “beautiful game”. This is part four of our MLS attendance series. You can see part I here, part II here and part III here. We have collected anecdotes from hundreds of friends, coworkers, fans, familes, store owners and acquaintainces in an effort to determine what will bring more fans to MLS. We have asked these questions at soccer matches of all levels, dinner parties, social gatherings and board meetings. We have been asking these questions since February with an eye towards seeking out trends about MLS fandom and what brings people to Major League Soccer League stadiums.
Should MLS attempt to bring “soccer haters” to the game? Are they worth converting? During our interviews, the sentiments set forth at the top of this page were repeated over and over. Most of the people who fit in this category would rather watch anything other than soccer. They are annoyed that ESPN even bothers to carry the games and cannot believe that the game gets “so much attention.” Most think it is a kids’ game or sport for girls. They decry the lack of content, lack of scoring and lack of commercials.
Yet, among the people we spoke with, there were a couple of passionate MLS supporters that say they started as soccer haters. All remember getting dragged to a soccer event and having a surpisingly good time. All of these converts are more dedicated to their local MLS side than many season ticket holders.
However, these folks are the significant minority. Most of these soccer haters detest the game and have no inclination to give it a chance. Overwhelmingly, these folks describe the NFL as their favorite sport. They typically like sports radio and turn it off if there is a soccer conversation. They told me they believe just about every negative soccer stereotype, and many related that they disliked the guys that played soccer in high school or college. They don’t want to be “won over” or sold the game.
So the question is, should MLS try? Is it worth devoting marketing dollars and efforts to convince these potential fans to come to MLS?
Posted by Ben Berger 
We promised part IV of our series on MLS fans, but with so many business stories around American soccer today, we thought we would postpone part IV and touch on some of those stories. We will return to our fan series next week.
We know that the soccer world’s attention is focused on the aftermath of USA/Mexico, so we will defer from any business posts today. We will return tomorrow with Part IV of our soccer fans series. Until then, take a look at this nice attendance break down courtesy of 
On the eve of the US/Mexico showdown, we thought we would keep our sites on the upcoming MLS weekend and some of the marketing efforts teams are employing to bring fans to the gate. In New York, the Red Bulls are offering a contest for 
To many, they are the “holy grail” for MLS. They are fans of the beautiful game, yet not devoted followers of MLS. They follow the National Team regularly and will make time for a big clash between Man U and Chelsea or Barca and Real Madrid. They might spend some time following soccer stories on the web and do know the names of players on their local MLS side, Yet, they typically only make it to the stadium for “big” doubleheaders. They are not “eurosnobs” but cannot quite get into MLS. Many of them played soccer at a high school or college level, and love the game. They are soccer fans, but not fans of Major League Soccer.
With the Mexico/USA qualifier set for Wednesday on MUN2, we posed a couple of questions about the broadcast and the channel to Kevin Dugan of NBC Universal/Mun2 digital media. Please see his thoughts below:
They are the bane of many an MLS fan, yet they continue to represent a substantial portion of Americn soccer crowds. Teams cater to them, by offering special four packs, pre-game soccer celebrations and mascots. Who are these fans? They are familes. Kids, soccer moms minivans and more.
Ryan asked a good question yesterday about our methodology for collecting information for the ongoing series about MLS attendance. In fairness, our methods have not been scientific. We have simply collected anecdotes from hundreds of friends, coworkers, fans, familes, store owners and acquaintainces. We have asked these questions at soccer matches of all levels, dinner parties, social gatherings and board meetings. We have been asking these questions since February with an eye towards seeking out trends about MLS fandom and what brings people to Major League Soccer League stadiums. Tommorrow, we will take a look at familes and what they want from the MLS experience. We welcome your input and thoughts and follow-up questions for our interviewees.
We’ve seen it all summer; 90k in the Rose Bowl, 80k in Seattle, 80k in Dallas and more. Huge numbers tuned into the American run through the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup drew well nationwide. Yet, MLS numbers remain fairly stagnant both on television and at the gate. How can Major League Soccer tap into this multitude of soccer fans? Should they? Should the League be happy with crowds of 15k in smaller stadiums with limited TV ratings?
