Go Spirit!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I should have known better than to start this thread in the soccer forum. You people are miserable.

Just the grumpy ones. Ignore them. I appreciate your thread, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't do a good job getting fans other than parents/kids involved in local girls soccer.

Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Yes, the Spirit directs a lot of marketing toward youth soccer teams as it should. But they have done a lot to get fans from different demographic groups excited about a team that is built to go on a long run of success.

Just 5 years ago, the Spirit played almost all their games at the Soccerplex. Now they are selling out a professional stadium on a regular basis. Pretty phenomenal. Michelle Kang is a true visionary who has done and will continue to do wonders for women's sports.

I congratulate the girls and their accomplishment, but I think you'd be hard pressed to say they are selling out on a regular basis. They did break their record on attendance this year, but if I'm not mistaken have averaged 60-70% capacity for the 2024 season. They did sell out their playoff game, which was good.

[Anonymous]

Washington, D.C. (09/18/2024) – The Washington Spirit eclipsed the 150,000-mark in this year’s total regular season home attendance during Sunday’s match against the Houston Dash, the club announced today. Through just 11 regular season home matches in 2024, the Spirit has reached this milestone for the first time in club history and becomes just the fourth club in league history and first non-West Coast club to do so.

In the club’s second season calling Audi Field home, the Spirit continues its landmark year of success both on and off the pitch. The Spirit has set a host of new attendance records alongside its best regular season on-field performance in club history:

19,897: highest single match attendance in club history (June 15 vs San Diego)
11,734: highest home opener attendance in club history (March 23 vs Bay FC)
52,744: highest three-match attendance in club history (June 15, June 29, August 25)
15,062: highest international friendly attendance in NWSL history (August 18 vs Arsenal)
Ten of top 15 single match attendances in club history have occurred in 2024.

[Anonymous]

Spirit and DC United both play at Audi Field. DC United’s average attendance is higher but not by that much. 17k vs 13k. That’s a remarkable achievement for a womens pro sport that is relatively new. With a faster growth rate, it’s not hard to imagine the Spirit will be drawing the same attendance as DC United in a couple years. That’s a huge deal and should be celebrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't do a good job getting fans other than parents/kids involved in local girls soccer.

This is the most ridiculous complaint.

It's not a complaint, its a fact. I don't know any adults without kids who go to these games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't do a good job getting fans other than parents/kids involved in local girls soccer.

Local girl soccer players watching professional women in the sport they play are exactly the fan base they should want.

Which “real” fans are they not getting that you think would be better for the sport of womens soccer?

Little girls can go to maybe 1 or 2 games a season. They need a broader base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't do a good job getting fans other than parents/kids involved in local girls soccer.

This is the most ridiculous complaint.

It's not a complaint, its a fact. I don't know any adults without kids who go to these games.

Is that your complaint? I totally disagree. They have been marketing all over the city and while there are those fans I can tell you there are plenty of fans without kids is girls soccer. Go hang out at solace before or after a game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't do a good job getting fans other than parents/kids involved in local girls soccer.

Local girl soccer players watching professional women in the sport they play are exactly the fan base they should want.

Which “real” fans are they not getting that you think would be better for the sport of womens soccer?

Little girls can go to maybe 1 or 2 games a season. They need a broader base.

They averaged almost 15k attendance per game. They’ll probably hit 200k for the season. Sure it’d be nice to get 19k every game but their fan base is cleatly broader than little girls and their moms.

[Anonymous]

We are new spirit fans of this year but it has been an amazing season and we love going to games. This past weekend was electric and we are pumped for next weekend! Go Spirit!!

[Anonymous]

We had so much fun at the quarterfinals on Sunday. It was a blast. So looking forward to Saturday’s game!

[Anonymous]

That was a riveting game... very well attended, I like how almost everyone wore black... that stadium looked pretty cool with all the fans!

It was helpful to have the game in the middle of the day instead of 7:30pm at night. It's hard to bring the kids to the game then... it's too late for the younger kids to attend. I think DC United's attendance would increase if they could convince Apple TV to move some of the games to earlier time slots. Not too many folks going to Wednesday night 7:30pm games. Just move the games to 6:30 and they would probably bring in 2-3k more fans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was a riveting game... very well attended, I like how almost everyone wore black... that stadium looked pretty cool with all the fans!

It was helpful to have the game in the middle of the day instead of 7:30pm at night. It's hard to bring the kids to the game then... it's too late for the younger kids to attend. I think DC United's attendance would increase if they could convince Apple TV to move some of the games to earlier time slots. Not too many folks going to Wednesday night 7:30pm games. Just move the games to 6:30 and they would probably bring in 2-3k more fans.

But at the cost of potentially tens of thousands of viewers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had so much fun at the quarterfinals on Sunday. It was a blast. So looking forward to Saturday’s game!

Me too. OP, I appreciate your post.

I attended with my adult daughter (so it's not just little kids) and sat around many different generations of adults with and without kids. My family (all adults) attend Spirit matches regularly and enjoy the experience, but the atmosphere on Sunday was the best ever. Even when Bay took the lead, the energy and enthusiasm did not let up. I was happy that our seats were up high so we could take it all in. I hope they do a blackout again on Saturday. Let's go!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't do a good job getting fans other than parents/kids involved in local girls soccer.

This is the most ridiculous complaint.

It's not a complaint, its a fact. I don't know any adults without kids who go to these games.

"I don't know any" is a ridiculous statement. It is the same as "I don't know anyone who voted for Trump/Harris." Just because you don't know anyone doesn't mean it is not happening.

There are certainly adults,without girls playing youth soccer, who go to these games. I've been to Power games and seen a decent enough amount of adults without kids at these games too.

Wtf is it with this board that everyone has to be "right" or "in the know?" Are there that many people in this region who are awful, miserable people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a riveting game... very well attended, I like how almost everyone wore black... that stadium looked pretty cool with all the fans!

It was helpful to have the game in the middle of the day instead of 7:30pm at night. It's hard to bring the kids to the game then... it's too late for the younger kids to attend. I think DC United's attendance would increase if they could convince Apple TV to move some of the games to earlier time slots. Not too many folks going to Wednesday night 7:30pm games. Just move the games to 6:30 and they would probably bring in 2-3k more fans.

But at the cost of potentially tens of thousands of viewers?

Um, no. You'd likely lose 2-3k viewers.