I TOLD YOU SO!

[mongers]

Bumped to remind certain people why they should listen to me.

BB, time to face facts, no one here is going to click on that link to the sex tape you and your missus made.

[Monoriu]

I clicked on it.  The video has been taken down.  The title should be going back to [somewhere]. 

[Barrister]

Sigh.

This day, five years ago, the NHL made it's triumphant return to Winnipeg.  Something I had been predicting for years, and that many widely mocked me for.

This is my "I Told You So" thread from five years ago.

[alfred russel]

Fuck you BB. Sherman burned the city, but it could rebuild. What can we do to come back from this? Atlanta will never be the same. 

[Barrister]

Fuck you BB. Sherman burned the city, but it could rebuild. What can we do to come back from this? Atlanta will never be the same. 

In time, Atlanta will get another team.

And then that team will, in turn, eventually move to Canada.

It's the Circle of Life.

[Barrister]

I can't believe I almost forgot to bump this thread this year. 

[alfred russel]

In time, Atlanta will get another team.

And then that team will, in turn, eventually move to Canada.

It's the Circle of Life.

BB, you were right on the first part. We got another team. A soccer team. And we like it.

Atlanta United is leading MLS in attendance at over 47k a game. Playing in a college stadium originally built in 1913 (and last renovated about 10 years ago) because their real stadium isn't ready yet.

By contrast, the braves are averaging about 30k a game, middle of the pack in MLB, and have a brand new stadium that just opened and cost over $600m to build.

People sometimes give Atlanta sports fans crap about not supporting their teams, but maybe we just never got what we really wanted: a mediocre team in a shitty soccer league. 

[Barrister]

Cool.  So when does that team move to Canada?

But seriously, Atlanta seems like a town that should be able to support MLS.  Are the fans mostly the urban hipster types, or have they tapped into a latino or black fanbase?

[viper37]

People sometimes give Atlanta sports fans crap about not supporting their teams, but maybe we just never got what we really wanted: a mediocre team in a shitty soccer league. 

do you know the average ticket price for both sports?  And the price of various on site commodities (food&drinks)?

I'm guessing that a shitty team in a shitty soccer league would charge much less for both than a MLB or NHL team and that might explain why so many people like affordable entertainment.

[CountDeMoney]

MLS is popular with the junior high and high school demos that play and supported by the suburban soccermom set, naturally.

[alfred russel]

Are the fans mostly the urban hipster types, or have they tapped into a latino or black fanbase?

Overwhelmingly urban hipsters.

To be fair, a lot of people grew up playing soccer and are excited to see the game at the pro level (see CdM's post). But I now live in the city, in a place where the bars and restaurants are in danger of being overrun by hipsters, and I see more stuff for Atlanta United than the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks. It has really turned me off to the team, which I would be inclined to passively support.

I'm not sure how many of these fans are going to stick though.

[Barrister]

Are the fans mostly the urban hipster types, or have they tapped into a latino or black fanbase?

Overwhelmingly urban hipsters.

To be fair, a lot of people grew up playing soccer and are excited to see the game at the pro level (see CdM's post). But I now live in the city, in a place where the bars and restaurants are in danger of being overrun by hipsters, and I see more stuff for Atlanta United than the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks. It has really turned me off to the team, which I would be inclined to passively support.

I'm not sure how many of these fans are going to stick though.

That's the problem with being the new hip thing.  When a newer, hipper thing comes along all your fans are going to vanish.

But some brief reading it sounds like they're doing things right.  They're owned by Blank and the Falcons, so there's money behind them.

[alfred russel]

But some brief reading it sounds like they're doing things right.  They're owned by Blank and the Falcons, so there's money behind them.

I'm not really sure how MLS ownership works. The teams are owned by the league, the owners are shareowners of the league, and the players have their contracts with the league. I don't know how that reconciles with individual team ownership.

[Barrister]

So....

Not only are the Jets STILL in the NHL seven years after relocation, but they just had their most successful season ever making it to the conference finals. 

[Barrister]

I already told you congrats in other thread ya fucking dumbass uke.

It's not the congrats I want - it's the admission that you should have listened to your Barrister - he knew what he was talking about. 

I choose to wait to the day in about ten years when the Manitoba Polar Bears break your heart and move and become the Charleston Chiefs.

Just three years to go on this one Katmai.  Not looking very good for you so far...