New Poll Time

I think that the attendance numbers are a result of several factors:<br />
<br />
1. Economy. I did not renew my season tickets this year for the first time since 2001. The reason, ticket prices increased for DC United games and I can't understand why (the stadium is still crap, the service is still crap, the team is still crap, you get my point). My wife and I bought flex plans, so we'll still be attending games, just not as many.<br />
<br />
2. Weather. It's been unseasonably cool this Spring and despite my younger tenancies of being hardcore and standing out in the cold and rain, I'm older and wiser now and won't subject myself to certain conditions anymore. Granted, I've been to each of United's home games so far, so it's not like I'm calling out a specific reason. It's just that I can understand why others may decide to pass.<br />
<br />
3. Sporting Conflicts. Between the NCAA Mens Basketball Championship, NHL Playoff race, MLB opening week, etc. there is a lot of competition for consumers time and money. I know that there's a lot of overlap between DC United and Capitals fans, so it's just one more thing to compete with.<br />
<br />
4. My Team Sucks. DC United rarely shows an increase in attendance after a crappy season. There's been a rare exception here or there, but last season sucked and a lot of game day fans will wait out the first few weeks to see whether it's worth their time and money on a game they may end up leaving from in an unhappy mood.<br />
<br />
5. Marketing. The league has really cut back on marketing this year. This could be a result of the economy, or they decided to focus on emerging markets, but I've seen very little press about each week's games. It'll be very interesting to see if United puts anything out for the US Open Cup match-up with FC Dallas next week.

I think that the attendance numbers are a result of several factors:

1. Economy. I did not renew my season tickets this year for the first time since 2001. The reason, ticket prices increased for DC United games and I can’t understand why (the stadium is still crap, the service is still crap, the team is still crap, you get my point). My wife and I bought flex plans, so we’ll still be attending games, just not as many.

2. Weather. It’s been unseasonably cool this Spring and despite my younger tenancies of being hardcore and standing out in the cold and rain, I’m older and wiser now and won’t subject myself to certain conditions anymore. Granted, I’ve been to each of United’s home games so far, so it’s not like I’m calling out a specific reason. It’s just that I can understand why others may decide to pass.

3. Sporting Conflicts. Between the NCAA Mens Basketball Championship, NHL Playoff race, MLB opening week, etc. there is a lot of competition for consumers time and money. I know that there’s a lot of overlap between DC United and Capitals fans, so it’s just one more thing to compete with.

4. My Team Sucks. DC United rarely shows an increase in attendance after a crappy season. There’s been a rare exception here or there, but last season sucked and a lot of game day fans will wait out the first few weeks to see whether it’s worth their time and money on a game they may end up leaving from in an unhappy mood.

5. Marketing. The league has really cut back on marketing this year. This could be a result of the economy, or they decided to focus on emerging markets, but I’ve seen very little press about each week’s games. It’ll be very interesting to see if United puts anything out for the US Open Cup match-up with FC Dallas next week.

My guesses are the current economy and to some degree the temporary absence of Becks.