Thanks for your comment and attendance stats. Unfortunately the numbers you quote are from the 70s and early 80s. Those fans are now 30 years older and in 90%+ cases are NOT the same fans attending Sounders FC games. The people attending 2009 Sounders FC games were NOT attending Sounders USL games. You neglected to mention that the NASL Sounders attendance dramatically dropped to 12,539 in 1982 and 8,181 in 1983 and folded in 1984. In 2008, regular season Sounders USL1 average attendance was 2,785. Regarding large crowds for international friendlies being a sign of support, virtually every major US market turns out 50k+ crowds for international friendlies, but do not turn out similar numbers for MLS games.

While Seattle certainly is a great soccer market primed for the taking, i still believe that given these facts it is apparent that the 2009 Sounders FC supporters are 90%+ NEW fans…unless you can show me survey results or photos of sections full of 60 and 70 year old fans who for some reason were boycotting Sounders games since 1981.

Sigh. Again with the “SSFC fans were insta-fans” thing. It’s just not true.

In 1974, the Seattle Sounders drew 13,000+ per game, second in the NASL. The Seattle metro region population was 2 million people.

In 75, the Sounders drew 16,000+, again second in the league.

76: 23,800; first in the league.
77: 24,000; third in the league
78: 22,500; third in the league
79: 18,000; fifth in the league
80: 24,200; fourth in the league
81: 18,200; fifth in the league

Over those years, Seattle was consistently a tremendous soccer community. The reality is that people here have always been fans and supporters; our relative lack of support for the USL Sounders is actually the exception, not the rule.

Yes, Seattle’s overall support this year seems to have come out of nowhere… if you don’t know the history and weren’t paying attention. In reality, Seattle is a city that loves soccer as much or more than any other city in the USA.

The current Sounders have done a tremendous job tapping into the support and fanbase that was there to be taken… but the point is that it was already there. We regularly put 50 to 60 thousand fans into our stadium for international club friendlies.

What the soccer community is seeing now is NOT instant. It’s got a serious history and had serious work put into it, and we just wish folks would pay a little more attention to that history.

In 1997 and 2001. the Give Fans a Chance was introduced in Congress. Unfortunately, it went nowhere. It would resulted in great “membership opportunities.”

http://www.newrules.org/governance/rules/communityowned-sports/give-fans-chance-act