I asked Elliot after the match if he really thought the LA/SJ game compared well with South America - on the field as well as in the stands. He said yes, that he traveled to Argentina a lot and had seen several matches there. When he'd been to see the Quakes years ago, there was a big gap in terms of quality of play and the atmosphere.
"It's improved so much," mused Elliot. "Latino fans in the Bay Area, a lot of them never took to MLS and the Quakes because they knew the soccer wasn't as good. I hope they give it another chance now, because its come a long way."
On the other hand, another sportswriter, this one from LA, is skeptical of Beckham's impact and the progress of MLS because in his opinion, the buzz has died down to nothing.
1 comment:
I hope he's right and the buzz really has died down. That means all these people who would never follow soccer are out of the picture. Now we are left with the real soccer fans. Beckham's job, IMO, is to convert soccer fans who don't follow MLS.
People who like Beckham as a celebrity more than a soccer player are a tough crowd to convert. MLS should focus on converting the millions of existing soccer fans first, then we can get to non-soccer fans.
Post a Comment