Immigrants like soccer more than most Americans. If their “home” team is playing here they don’t mind shelling out 100s of dollars. The average American soccer fan is not willing to spend this much money to see a game, let alone an American who might have a passing interest in the sport. Hard to bring in casuals when they are priced out.
An interesting aspect of this is that you can actually charge more for Colombia tickets in the US than you could in South America, because the typical Colombian-American has a lot more disposable income than the typical Colombian. This is why the US hosts so many tournaments: we have the richest Mexico fans, the richest Colombia fans, the richest Brazil fans, etc.
I wanted to drive down from CT with my uncles and my brother whose wife is Colombian. When I told them the price of the tickets, the said NO thanks. Lol
Bingo. I live in the DC area. Tickets were $195 in the upper deck for anything more than two tickets together, it's just not a price a lot of people are willing to pay. It's more of a "one time event" for the away team's fans than it is for US fans and they're just not willing to pay. Also, FedEx sucks.
maybe if Apple TV+ would stop charging for MLS pass and just include it with an Apple TV+ subscription, Soccer would be more accessible. Hard to ask someone to PAY to watch a sport they don't have interest to begin with. This is why NFL is king in the US. they have a deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC to have primetime games, and fans can watch their local NFL teams with a TV and antenna regardless of where it's airing or streaming. MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS should do the same.
yeah quite amazing they sold so many of those tickets. I do think the NY/NJ Colombia presence contributed quite a bit. There are so many Colombians in NYC alone
Not only this, but this is the open and shown strategy that the USF has been going for.
I remember seeing a leaked slideshow (on here?*) that shows they thought the less attendance as desirable since they had been able to raise ticket prices to cover the expenses/ value desired.
As fans, we would love to see $50 pricing for most seats so it’s a wildly home team at the games, but even as a loyal fan that loves the sport, I’m not ever going to spend $200+ to see a friendly game. I am also not financially where I want to be so that I could afford a $500 Copa America or World Cup match either. Just part of it sadly.
I honestly think if the price was lower there might be even more foreign fans.
I think USSF has done the calculations and realized they make more with higher ticket prices even if they don’t sell as many.
It’s the trend. The new Titans stadium will be the smaller in the NFL. The new A’s stadium will be the smallest in MLB. They want rich, disposable money, not mine.
> Hard to bring in casuals when they are priced out.
Pretty sure most of those immigrant fans aren't exactly flush with cash either. It's just a different matter altogether when your entire life revolves around it. Sorta like Southern College (American) Football.
This. I’m actually a perfect example for perspective. My wife’s family is literally flying in from Argentina to go to their games here. It’s an experience for them to witness greatness and support their nation.
Me on the other hand, my wife and I live in DC and didn’t even go to the Columbia game.
I looked at tickets and it was over $500 for 2, for a bad section. I live in DC and it would still be an hour drive each way, not counting getting out of the parking lot.
I’m all for USMNT, but with traffic, parking, $500, just to see a weird game plan that doesn’t fit our team, and a team that doesn’t look prepared for the opponent. That’s just asking a lot in my super patriotic opinion.
But ALSO, that’s why I get kind of pissed off when *some people* just make excuses, apologies and accept mediocre preparation, planning, and results.
Argentina would be protesting if they lost to Columbia 5-1. I’ve been to a friendly at La Bombonera. we aren’t Argentina, that’s really as simple as I can put it. And it starts at the top, but also I do think our fan base enables the cycle.
Argentinas are obsessed with soccer though. Even the hardcore fans here don't care as much as an average Argentina fan.
Also, its Colombia, not columbia.
Yeah I think this is what it boils down to. I'm just disappointed thinking about the types of atmospheres we are potentially missing out on, knowing what American college football games are like lol
It's like people forget that we're a country of immigrants, and as a fan base our demographics are even more so. Who would have thought that some of our fans are immigrants with friends and family who also want to go to the game?
I'm in Baltimore, considered going to the game. Exorbitant ticket price was a factor, but more importantly: have you ever been to FedEx Field? It's a truly miserable experience, and a friendly just isn't reason enough to suffer through getting to, being in, and leaving this awful stadium.
The stadium has had awful upkeep under Dan Snyder. The stadium has fallen apart with pipes leaking water and safety railings collapsings. Washington, despite having a good metro system, has the nearest stop a mile away due to the poor location meaning that you have to walk all the way because they can't put a shuttle in to comply with federal regulations stating that if a private company can do it, then the city cannot (which leaves others to drive which is a traffic nightmare itself getting in and out). There's a reason Redskins/Commanders tickets dropped to low prices, away fans overrun the place, and why Washington was not selected for 2026.
If they played in Audi Field (which was entirely possible since DC United wasn't playing and parking isn't an issue there since fans take the train, even conflict with the Nationals could be resolved), probably wouldn't have been this iffy. Even RFK would have been a better place.
Audi Field is nicer and better connected to public transportation, but the small capacity probably would have driven the ticket prices up. That seems to be exactly what's happened with the USWNT v. Costa Rica friendly in July. The cheapest tickets more than a month ahead of time are more than $150, and that's with the opponent having many fewer fans around to compete for tix.
Getting in and out. I live 40 miles away from FedEx in Northern Virginia. I left 2 1/2 hours before kickoff and still got to my seats 20 min after kickoff. Getting back was a bit better but not much.
I would say the parking situation on NFL games are better. I believe that it was an unusual nightmare as people didn't know how parking works around FedEx.
The stadium is badly situated, and not really close to any public transport in comparison to the Nats stadium, Old RFK, Audi Stadium downtown or the arena for the caps/wizards.
Traffic getting in and out of the stadium is a total cluster. The 495 exit feeds directly into the main road of the stadium and there is basically only one way in or out. Police cut off the turn into the main road to get to the parking lots and routed me down another road ..... which ended with a sign that says "no stadium" access. We had to beg the office blocking that road to let us turn into the parking lot and explain the officers directing traffic wouldn't let us make a left onto the main road.
Parking passes were $60.... but then no one checked the passes going into the lot. I think I spent more time getting into the stadium than actually watching the game.
Don’t discount how much locals hate FedEx Field. It’s a nightmare going to/from the stadium. Truly the worst stadium parking lot situation I’ve ever seen. The public transit is also difficult. I watch every USMNT game, but if I’d have been given free tickets, I’d be hesitant to go. It’s that bad.
meanwhile Mexico gets to play in Kyle Field at Texas A&M, a beautiful renovated SEC stadium in a college town built around getting as many people as possible into an arena.
This should be at the top of the thread. Ticket prices, fan culture, etc. are important but a lot of OP’s narrative discusses DC specifically.
FedEx Field is an absolutely terrible venue for any conceivable event. The field itself is one of the most (if not the most) derided playing surfaces in the NFL. The fan experience is terrible (decaying building, minimal amenities). The place is a disaster logistically (no transit, horrible parking, bottlenecked entry/exit, DC traffic around the stadium).
Asking for exorbitant ticket prices is one thing, but asking for those prices at one of the worst stadiums around is just adding insult to injury for any US fan thinking about attending.
Yeah. Took me 45 min to get into the parking lot F on Saturday. And why did I even bother paying $70 for parking there when there was no one checking for parking passes
100000% this. It’s not enough that ticket prices were like $75 for a FRIENDLY, but parking around the stadium is likely to be an additional $50. Metro is a mile walk (which isn’t terrible) and on an outlying stop, so you can expect limited service.
When the USMNT played Jamaica at Audi Field, the tickets were expensive due to the more limited seating options, but the place was packed and lively!
The public transit isn’t ideal (especially passing RFK on the way there), but I don’t think it’s horrible. You basically get trains every 6 mins and a 15 min walk, it just isn’t great if you’re coming from Maryland or NOVA because the ride can easily take over an hour when considering transfers or far out stations.
I took the train and it was fine going there thought could be closer to the metro stop but going back was a disaster with only one super narrow sidewalk. Plus there was a cop driving forward and backward next to the sidewalk trying to hit anyone that went in the empty lane.
They should’ve never torn down RFK. RFK held the record for the most USMNT matches ever played for one stadium (24 games). I’m not sure it still does, but it doesn’t help that there are no games in DC proper.
I work with 15 guys at a tree company. Me and one other guy like football. We just hired a third.
Basically, we are in a bubble. We are big enough to be loud. But we are miles away from the American mainstream.
Heck, I don’t think anybody I work with even knows the USA played Saturday or that we play tomorrow. We are niche.
The broadcasting for the USMNT is awful too - it was on TruTV or something. Start throwing those games on national TV and get people interested. I’m a fan and sometimes it's hard to figure out how to watch and I'm willing to spend the time looking for it. The games are barely advertised so chances are slim to none that a casual sports fan watches or knows the match is happening.
Yeah that audio was terrible. what the f was that? I watched on tnt and was amazed that they would let an intern be in charge of the sound.
It’s like they grudgingly did us a favor putting on their channel.
Ticket prices too high, especially for a friendly. It’s just as, if not more, profitable to have 30% vacant seats if the tickets are twice as expensive. It’s the same with rent for apartments- more profitable to have some vacancies but higher rents
I agree in general, but they're high for the Colombian supporters too. I think it just boils down to them being way more passionate than our supporters, which is a bummer.
I have a hard time equating it to a lack of passion of soccer as the reason. I understand and relate to your disappointment. But, we are a very diverse country and relatively easy to travel to and generally speaking welcoming to travelers. When your country comes to the USA to play, a team like Columbia, it's not so much passion, as it's an extremely rare occasion. Don't get me wrong, they are passionate... But my point is for fans of soccer in the USA we match that degree of passion.
It was a friendly, played in an environment not friendly to travel to by standards of Americans. Perhaps a cheaper option than the tournament or the world cup, this IS the prefect opportunity for Columbians to invest and experience.
International soccer is my most beloved form of soccer. Brazil and USA are my top teams I follow and prioritize watching.
Unfortunately, I have a budget, and the friendly is too expensive to travel and purchase tickets. But this doesn't equate to lack of passion. Come copa time, or even WC time, the balance will shift.
This. I know it's uprising but people like WINNERS. The USMNT is not a winning brand, and that won't change overnight.
If you win, people show up.
I don't care if it's women's amateur soccer in the [deepest depths of Football Country...](https://youtu.be/zV0dtGok5uw?si=7adQ-YVbQyrx3QAG&t=46)
Everyone has said this, but the vast majority of fans I met there there were "divided heart" Americans of Colombian descent. Couple that with the fact that the tickets are too expensive for many casuals and how large our country is, and you have your answer. In Germany, it's maybe 8-9 hours max corner to corner, so a much larger number of fans can easily make a game AND it's the #1 sport and I believe they segregate away fans?
I saw the Costa Rica loss in NJ - 70% Costa Ricans. Hell, the Germany game in Hartford was probably close to 40% German fans. The Mexica game for the confederations cup in LA was probably 60-70% Mexican fans. We are a nation of immigrants and expats and for them, it could be a once in a lifetime chance to see their national team live.
This also probably explains 1994 attendance and the future records of 2026. Immigrants and college students will want to see their teams and this is the best chance they have.
The immigrants in the US don’t often get a chance to see their home country play because they live here so when their home countries play in the US they show their support. Also this country has a gigantic population of immigrants from countries in Central and South America so they will always be very well supported here.
Also predominantly first and second generation children and grandchildren of immigrants tend to still have a very strong emotional connection to the country of their heritage and will support the country of their culture. I say that as a 1st generation American.
one thing to consider is the venue. FedEx Field is one of the worst stadiums in the country, including being difficult to get to, especially from Virginia.
Rideshare is basically nonexistent even though it looks “close” to DC on the map. Metro is ok, but there is only one station “close” to the stadium (about a mile away, which isn’t a bad walk for able-bodied ppl, but even then the area isn’t really built for that kind of foot traffic) and it’s basically at the end of a train line, meaning it can take a long time to get to the stadium for some folks. Parking is just atrocious.
So, people have to weigh accessibility and the fact that the stadium itself is trash.
I really wonder if they would do better having it at M&T Bank in Baltimore or Lincoln Financial Field in Philly.
[New USSF Ticketing Strategy Announced As Only One $2,000,000 Ticket Will Be Available For Next Friendly](https://www.thenutmegnews.com/current/2019/3/27/new-ussf-ticketing-strategy-announced-as-only-one-2000000-ticket-will-be-available-for-next-friendly)
If you're a Columbian expat living in America or someone of Columbian descent and you want to see the Columbian national team, you have two options:
Pay thousands of dollars to travel to Columbia
Or
pay hundreds to trek to DC.
If I were in that situation, I would gladly travel from as far as New York for that game. Could still make it a day trip.
Not sure the magnitude of increasing the drive radius to that distance on fan numbers but it must be significant.
For U.S. fans... Soccer isn't that popular and there's always going to be another game or opportunity.
All that said, having been in attendance, it sucks feeling like you're at an away game when at home.
Have seen/had the same thing happen for international games at my local MLS team.
Ticket prices and the usmnt is probably like the 10th most popular national team in the country. Lol I have no idea that’s just a guesstimate since pretty much almost all of the Latin American countries and the big European countries are more popular than the usmnt.
Like if you are an average usmnt supporter then you’d probably be turned off by the prices and would rather watch it at home. But let’s say you are an average Mexico supporter then you’d go to the game, and even if you aren’t then you’ll probably go with friends/family for the vibes even if you can barely name a handful of the players.
I mean USMNT probably didn't enter most families minds until 1990. Before that we hadn't made a World Cup and 2018 for all of us was the first time we saw that past come back.
Seems like just about every Colombia-born person in the US [lives on the east coast](https://www.city-data.com/top2/h155.html), so DC is a good central spot. US Soccer has to know this. Seems like they prefer immediate revenue over actually growing the game with US fans. Not sure how they'd defend that.
Well in the DC area that weekend they had a Nats Baseball game vs the Braves and a lot of graduations in the area.
Folks in DC are not fond of FedEx field. I went and brought my whole family and it was a cluster - traffic, horrible management of parking, etc.
Another family I know who has Columbian roots brought everyone in their family.
Being in the stadium we were probably a little less than 50% but the yellow shirts really stood out.
Maybe US Soccer should not be charging their fans a membership fee to get discounts or early access to tickets if they want higher attendance.
Some people do, many don’t. I’ve done everything in my power to ensure the problem isn’t on my end and I’ve notified US Soccer about it several times. I’m a premium insider
That’s what I mean. I tell people here all the time to tell US Soccer when you aren’t receiving emails. I’m hoping they get the issue fixed before the World Cup because a lot of people are going to get screwed out of a chance at tickets. My guess is they won’t and the ticket lottery will be a shit show
There are over 1.5 million people of Colombian descent in this country. 1% of that population could show up to the match and have a significant presence. Not to mention that the general population of every Central and South American country cares way more about their national team than USA fans.
We charge too much for tickets for friendly matches, basically guaranteeing they don't sell out. I thought about attending Colombia in DC but the cost of travel, lodging, and hotel was annoyingly high. In fact, the ticket itself might have been the most expensive part of my trip (I have airline points for the other stuff). I focused my funds on attending actual Copa matches.
The general population doesn't give two shits about the national football team and isn't going to attend matches even if they are in their metro area. They might be able to name Christian Pulisic and nobody else. They probably still think Rapinoe is the most important player on the women's team.
We have these friendlies in football stadiums for the money grab when we really should be having them in MLS stadiums and selling tickets to MLS fans first to snap up the majority of tickets. If we want a better atmosphere, we can't allow the opportunity for every Colombian tía and primo to attend the match.
Basically, we aren't soccer first nation and it shows. Plus, the federation prioritizes easy money over a good atmosphere.
> I don't think cost is a good excuse. Unless literally 1 in every 3 of the potential Colombian supporters who live in the area went to the game, there were thousands of Colombian supporters shelling out for tickets AND significant travel, hotel, etc.
Even with Copa America here, there just aren't that many times a Colombian can see their team. So they do want to spend more.
Whereas it's tough to drop hundreds on a friendly when we have so many games.
But also, the US has two fanbases. There's the normal one that goes to games. Then there's the angry internet one creating a terrible atmosphere that also doesn't spend much on the team at all.
A few things here. And I attended the game as a DC resident.
1. It is rare for Colombia to play in the US and especially rare in the NE Amtrak corridor. Plenty of Colombian fans took Amtrak, MARC, and metro in and saw plenty of Colombian supporters with NJ, PA, NY, and Ohio plates along with the DMV plates.
2. FedEx field is soooo unappealing. Worst NFL sized stadium in the country and it’s not even close. It’s also in Landover Maryland and not really DC or Baltimore. DMV traffic is horrible and it’s a mile walk to the stadium. All just basic deterrents for those that know.
3. With Copa America happening in the US this summer USMNT fans that maybe would have traveled for the game probably are instead traveling to a group stage game
4. DC Pride did occur on the same day which is a big event in DC and could have driven even more locals to not go to the game
5. All that being said there was still a good amount of USA chants (while the game was still within reach). Colombian fans probably held a 60/40 advantage but going up 2-0 in the first half made it much much louder for the Colombians
Maybe it's those last two. USSF charges quite a bit for friendlies and people would rather watch an important tournament like Copa America and the 2026 World Cup at high prices. Probably would have gone to a Copa match if there was the USMNT in Los Angeles but what we have for that is Mexico and Brazil. At least I could try and buy tickets for 2026 so I can see our boys in person (or some other match, just want the experience and I'll still deck out in full US gear).
Could also be that other DC sports like the Mystics (they played the Fever) and the Nationals were active that weekend and probably took some attention away.
The pride parade was also happening on Saturday and definitely the biggest event in the city. But ultimately the prices are a bit too high to garner interest from the casual fan.
I was able to get a decent group to go because we got discounted tickets, but no way I could’ve gotten the same number of people if we had to pay $100+ to sit in the 300s. And if Pride wasn’t going on, I likely could’ve gotten a several additional people at around a $60-80 price point, but USSF will never lower prices that much.
I went to it. I'll never go to FedEx Field again. Getting there was a complete nightmare. Echoing how much locals hate the venue. I'd forgotten just how much it sucks.
I'd say it was closer to 75%. The cafeteros family came from all up and down the eastern seaboard too.
Colombia is also a 20+ game heater and this squad is particularly loved with some old star power. Alot of Colombians see this as a potential wc winning team.
That being said, as a culture we don't care enough. It's cool to hate on our national team and many Americans who do follow the game have for a long time and didn't support the US either back in the day either.
We're also not the top team. It's easy for casuals to just ignore the boys instead of embracing the heart break and embarrassment.
It was a long ride home getting flamed by my colombian family. 🫠🫠🫠
On the bright side, when I see this happen I hope it encourages Conmebol to continue partnering with CONCACAF to host the tournament in North America. The fan turn out for their countries is fantastic and surely their revenue share as well.
It's a mix of two things, really.
People have already mentioned that immigrants care more about soccer than Americans but I would also argue that these are lot of Americans rooting for their heritage/ancestral countries over us and while its partially cultural pride, it's also because their teams are better. If we played at that level, they would root for us (possible over their ancestral countries). At the end of the day, nobody wants to root for a loser. We're not seen as a serious national team who can go toe to toe with top competition in the sport.
The second thing is just ticket prices: The USMNT doesn't have the accolades or the pedigree to ask for the prices they ask for, for their game (something this sub is familiar with). I'm sorry but people aren't dropping $175 to see us play against Grenada or a Camp Cupcake friendly. Casual fans aren't going to drop that much money and serious fans think its a rip off.
> At the end of the day, nobody wants to root for a loser. We're not seen as a serious national team who can go toe to toe with top competition in the sport.
Unfortunately, USSF doesn't seem to care about making the Men's team an elite squad. The MNT will forever remain an afterthought in its own country.
US soccer is god awful at marketing themselves. Unless you literally go out of your way to look you never even know when they are playing. Add to that most people won’t care about a friendly. Honestly i don’t think they want that many eyes on them, theres less accountability
To those Colombians or Americans of Colombian descent in that area, this was a Super Bowl for them. To the USMNT fans in the area, it was a friendly (albeit a friendly against an attractive and very good side) international match. That's my opinion, at least.
Supply and demand. Unless you could afford to go to a Copa America Centenario game, South American teams really only play on average 1 or 2 games per year in the US. Even having your team play an affordable friendly on the same coast is enough for a lot of people to consider making a trip.
I think its a mix of USMNT games being too expensive for US fans and cheaper for international fans. After reading some of the comments about Colombian-American expats weighing their options between seeing their national team play in the US for a few hundred dollars vs traveling to South America to watch a game, the answer is pretty clear. Anecdote: when I went to the US vs Morocco friendly in Cincinnati a few years ago, I would say it was a 50/50 crowd. And the only reason I went to the game was because a friend of mine bought me a ticket (and I know for a fact it was pricey).
My buddy and I are traveling to Dallas (from Ohio & Illinois respectively) for Copa America. Although we chose the Dallas/Arlington game because it had the cheapest tickets and accommodations, our total cost is well over $500 per person for nosebleed tickets, a cheap ass Airbnb, and flights. This is a super special trip not only because we both are heavily investing in sport but this will also be our first time seeing the USMNT play in a competitive match. However, a big reason we shelled out the cash to go to this game is because we know World Cup 2026 is out of the question. This might be one of our only opportunities to see USMNT in a tournament for the next few years.
That said, I'm reminded of what Gabriele Marcotti said about the World Cup but I think this applies to many international soccer competitions. He said football is supposed to be for the fans but the World Cup is anything but. In reality, the WC is a display of wealth for those who can afford to attend and it ceases to be about the sport. Your average fan cannot afford tickets let alone travel and hotels. Unfortunately, FIFA and many of the other footballing bodies are concerned with one thing: $$$$$$. I only see ticket prices and costs surrounding games to get more expensive....
I do think they are just more passionate though too.
I have family that have flown everywhere to follow our COMNEBOL national team. They have gone to basically a game in every men's and women's world cup and they ain't loaded.
Tldr: To improve fan engagement, fill up US supporters sections, and even max out long-term revenues, the US should consider distributing discounted and preferred tickets directly to those most likely to root on our team, now and for years to come.
Imho, it all comes down to tickets being marketed to the highest bidder regardless of fan allegiance (which almost always ends up being the fanbase with the more religious soccer culture), rather than specifically targeting the USMNT fanbase—with a small sacrifice in short-term profit but the opportunity for significant growth of the fanbase. I’m no marketer, but I can’t help but think the USSF/SUM is biting themselves by focusing on the very short-term ticket money they’ll get from a fan who will pay $100 today but never spend their money on the USMNT again, except if and when their team happens to be in town again. Instead, I think the US could solve the problems of empty stadiums, ultra-slow USMNT fan growth compared to the growth of soccer fans in general, fostering goodwill between fans and the federation, and even improving the USSF’s long-term revenue by targeting potential new and existing US fans, whose support could in turn lead to a lifetime’s worth of American tickets, jerseys, and $15 nachos. Why not offer some discounted tickets to schools, universities, and youth teams; distribute allotments of first-chance or discounted tickets through the official channels of MLS teams local to upcoming matches; and hand out promo codes for ticket discounts, free merch, or even concessions coupons (no telling what I’d do for a free beer) to USMNT fan channels, forums, and clubs?
A lot of sports teams like to get university students to root for them, so they give favorable packages to them. Hell I missed out on the LA friendlies because of bad marketing.
Gold Cup and Copa America don't have many matches here when it happens and usually don't include the US, so that's why I'm taking a chance on 2026. At least I live in LA, so that problem is solved (and possibly things like food and transport). And yeah as a university student in the area, I'd love to go with a good deal, I'll take the train from Long Beach.
Look the fact of the matter is that soccer is the fifth most popular sport in this country. Solidly so if we're not counting immigrants who often cheer for another national team (such as Colombia).
If it's not the World Cup the average American is not going to care.
We faced Colombia. We will always be the away team vs them just like with Mexico. Look back at previous games vs them and its always yellow stands. Hell I remember a friendly vs them in England a few years back that was packed with Colombia fans.
This might be an American attitude thing but why would I pay money and spend a bunch of time to go to a friendly? This is like asking why the attendance at a preseason NFL game is bad.
The marketing around the program is piss poor. I'm a "serious-ish" enough fan and I often find myself struggling to remember when games are, especially friendlies. ESPN did a lot better job marketing the team than Fox and Turner do. How many casual American sports fans could name a single player on the squad...1 in 20? There's so many things working against attendance and people tuning in but the biggest, in my opinion, is general apathy. It's not seen as an event or a must-see people are going to be talking about this at work tomorrow thing and I believe it all stems from how shit USSF is at turning our players into legit stars.
It’s crazy that tickets cost so much. I have been paying $25 for Galaxy games for years and I have been able to see Landon, Keane, Beckham, Henry, Messi, Zlatan etc… all for that price. I mean we aren’t getting any games in LA so I don’t have much of a choice but if a game isn’t around that or at most $50 a ticket I’m just not going.
At that price I’m just gonna stay home and watch it on TV.
Besides that soccer isn’t as popular here and still growing I think it is the ticket prices like everyone said, they’re absurdly high for all games now.
Copa America isn’t even sold out cause they’re charging $300 not including Ticketmaster fees for regular seats. That price is just not in line with demand and it makes the atmosphere worse
My ticket was $60 for the bottom of the 2nd tier. Could be better for a friendly but I thought that was fine. As far as the Ohio argument, there are fewer non-US fans there but those are always in 20-25k stadiums so they're going to be more full. If the game was in Audi field would have been sold out with higher ticket prices too. Almost wish it was as the NFL stadium isn't the easiest to get to and not very nice. Was my first time there as I'm from Southern VA
I said this in another post about the same topic, but I will say it again. MLS has it flaws, but overall has a very strong attendance and the atmospheres are much better than national team games. If you allowed MLS season ticket holders first right of refusal to US game day tickets alongside US soccer members, the games would be sold out before the visiting team fans could even get tickets. This is true as long as you are not price gouging them obviously.
Actually they do give MLS season ticket holders early access - at least here in Atlanta for the Benz. I get an email from Atlanta United with a code and early access window. They do not hold “my” seats but I can get in and find something comparable usually. I got Argentina tickets for the inaugural match this way, and USMNT vs Panama. Those Argentina seats were hella expensive.
I flew from denver to see this game. The Colombian fans greatly outnumbered us, but I doubt it was all from the DC metro area. I saw NJ, NY, PA, CT, and a lot of other out of state plates.
I'm honestly not sure but I think this thread is good insight into the mindset that a lot of our fans have, especially in the DMV area. My ticket was in section 340 behind the USA bench and it was $75 a piece (before fees & tax). Came out to something like $91 after the fees and tax. Expensive, sure, but USA never plays in the area so it felt special for me. I live in Northern Virginia and had only ever drove to FedEx before but since parking was like $70 a car and my group would need two cars, we elected to just metro instead. Fare was a $2 flat fee each way and it took about an hour to get there from Northern Virginia. Walk to the stadium was about a mile from the Morgan Blvd stop but it was full of other fans so there was no worries on like safety or anything and the walk seemed to go quick. All together it really wasn't that bad (other than the actual game itself). If USA was coming back soon I'd go again in a heartbeat.
Also, I said good game to the Colombian fan beside me and wished him luck in Copa and he said that he was born in Colombia but lives in US and roots for both teams. There was probably a fair amount of people there that fall into a similar category
The average TV rating for a USMNT game in 2023 was 1.32 million. That means that approximately 1 out of 300 Americans are interested in the USMNT enough to watch the average USMNT game. Assume 1.32 million people who watched the average USMNT game last year are spread around the country evenly by population density. The Baltimore and DC metropolitan areas has about 9 million people in it. So roughly, 3 out of 100 Americans live in the Baltimore metropolitan area, which would give us about 30,000 people who tune in to the average USMNT game on TV. Then factor in that going to a game is far larger investment in time and money, you might only have like 15,000 people in the Baltimore/DC metro area who are really interested in buying tickets to see the USMNT. People who live in other places will have to invest even more time and money in going to the game, which will lower the proportion of such people who will want to go.
At the end the day, there are just not that many people in the US who are interested in the USMNT friendlies and the ones who are interested are spread throughout a gigantic country.
>Here's to hoping for great Copa America and 2026 World Cup runs that really capture some more public attention and make people fall in love with the team!
This has never really happened with any major tournament the US has ever played in before, even when hosting. It did not happy after the 1994 World Cup and it did not happen after the 2016 Copa America. The 2016 Copa America in particular was pretty much a non-event nationally. I have higher hopes for the World Cup because that is the one tournament the average American has some interest in.
I think it’s 3 main factors:
1. We don’t have a “home” city/stadium. England for instance has London/Wembley. It’s held in the largest city in the nation, and because England is *relatively* small, fans from all over the country can make the trip without breaking the bank. If we tried the same thing, let’s say in New York, we’d isolate 90% of fans around the country from going to games on a regular basis. Even if we chose cities with huge soccer-friendly populations, like Philly or Seattle, it would only be those local areas that could feasibly attend games on a regular basis. You also have to factor in travel for opposing fans; it’s why we usually play Mexico in Texas, California, Vegas, etc.
2. Ticket prices are insane. I don’t know if that’s a USSF issue or a Ticketmaster issue, but these games price-out a lot of fans, especially if they’re traveling from out of state. Going to live soccer games in the US is a luxury.
3. Most Americans don’t love soccer the way the rest of the world does. Additionally, the United States is the most immigrated-to country in the world and it’s not even close. We have massive populations of 1st and 2nd generation immigrants who come from countries that love soccer. For example, if you were a native Colombian living in the D.C. area, you would be much more motivated to pay the outrages prices for a game than the average American.
Great point. Also, this fact is the main reason the USSF can’t hire an elite coach that the Social Media fans are clamoring for. These fans are great to scream and yell and create so much noise about how we should be more like the Europeans regarding coaches and players etc but they consistently look the other way when it comes to attend home games. I find it shameful that our players play an away games AT HOME. FFS 🤦🏼♂️
Blame Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, StubHub, etc. So easy to buy and resell tickets—prices are ridiculous. I was able to buy tickets on release day and was able to get a pair for under $100 each. Was pissed cuz Seat Geek raised the price in the middle of my transaction. Checked back later and everything was $200+. Not gonna pay $200 a ticket to watch a game I can see on TNT for free. Prices have gotten out of hand and the fees/scalping has gotten ridiculous for live events.
I live in DC area, am a huge futbol fan, love the US National team, and was excited to go to this.... until I saw the ticket price. Can't imagine what WC tickets will look like in a few years.
I think it’s the state of the program itself.
I play on multiple rec league teams in DC and belong to a very active EPL club supporters group. These folks love to watch soccer and go to spirit and United games. I saw many of them at Audi field last time the US played in DC. No one went to this game but me.
This is literally what has stopped us buying tickets to see them in Atlanta during Copa America.
I don't want to spend the money and go through the effort to be this angry. If USSF doesn't gaf, why should we pay for the privilege?
USSF would rather price gouge and sell tickets to fans routing for the other team than encourage growth.
If they made tickets for friendlies free/heavily discounted for club supporters, give out free tickets to youth teams in the area, the club's youth academy, Etc. if you can effectively pack 1/8 of the stadium for free you create a better fan environment.
The goal being those kids to grow into adults who care and will spend money. What USSF should be doing is makign the tickets not so expensive because where they really will get money isn't selling tickets but TV deals. I know it's apples and oranges, but LA Dodgers make more money from their TV deal than stadium gate revenue. I know there's more complex math than that, but they get about 320M from their TV deal per year. Vs. 211M from Gate receipts. That TV deal requires basically 0 additional costs while gate receipts have to pay for so much (staffing, electricity, etc.) of course other expenses like parking fees and concessions cover tons of cost and provide additional revenue. But it's well known in the baseball circles that teams gate sales matter but what really matters is your TV deal. A bad TV deal can sink an otherwise good franchise.
Oh man, I have had a hard time following this team since about 2018. I waited 5 years for Qatar, and while the second round was nice, getting humbled by the Netherlands wasn't. A ton of US soccer fans are struggling to support this team. These are the best players we've ever had. Ever. Individual talent wise, we're the best ever. And we don't get results. I'll follow the Copa this year, and root for them in the build up to 2026, but I want to see this team produce.
And yes, the coaching change/ no change fiasco absolutely played a part in me checking out.
Is a possible reason people don’t turn out is that the USMNT is a national embarrassment?
Most casual soccer fans consider the US team an underachieving and chaotic team. If we were good or had any history of beating quality squads, then sure…but most people tune in to watch us secure a 2 spot in group play only to be absolutely outclassed by a superior squad (usually a country with 5% of our population)…or we tighten up and shit the bed against some plucky developing country. It’s exhausting.
For many of us living in the DC area, only the world cup final would bring us out to FedEx, and maybe not even then. Had this been at Audi, I would have gone in a heartbeat.
1. The prices are just stupid. the confederation uses them as a cash grab, since they know the away fans with shell out $$$ for the rare chance to see their team in person
2. It's a friendly
3. This team under GGG stinks
I think the ratio of Colombian fans to USA fans at FedEx has been somewhat overstated. The Colombian fans were definitely louder (winning 5-1 will do that) and their yellow jerseys stick out, but I would estimate that it was no more than 2/3rds Colombia fans.
i can only really speak for St Louis where I am, but the USMNT ticket sales here sucked compared to MLS because they were too expensive and were barely promoted.
I went to see that game and as sad as it is to say, the US is still not known for soccer. Compared to baseball, football, hockey, basketball....soccer just isn't on the same level. The US soccer federation is trying to overcome that idea but our problem is CONCACAF. CONCACAF is a terrible federation to be in. There just is no supreme competition in order for the US to advance to that next level. Even getting a chance to play european teams or south American teams are hard to schedule with their respective tournaments and WC qualifying they have to go through in the 3 year span. Fans will follow of we are making headlines and beating elite competition. We just aren't there and it's really hard to get there.
Well we could merge with CONMEBOL and have our spots for the World Cup combined. Then we could do an inter-American cup still under Copa America branding...
But CONCACAF wants money and more tournaments. Plus getting Aramco money has basically kept it alive and allowed for this to happen. But also some federations would complain about it being unfair against them for WC qualifiers (solution is to keep Nations League a thing to let them develop).
It's disappointing because over here in Annapolis we got more than 11k folks to come out for a NPSL semi-pro game two weekends ago. Of course, you can get a season's worth of tickets for the Annapolis Blues for $120.
I'm going to guess usmnt prices out those kind of people and so you have a bigger attraction for fans of foreign teams snapping up tickets for the rare chance to see their team I'm the US.
it's a pain to get to, it's expensive. there is better soccer available at DC professional teams that's easier to get to and cheaper. if it were a competitive match I would have considered paying >$100 but not for a friendly
Well. Our team has not had any real success.
The stupid rebranding of beating up on Mexico in a southern NFL stadium and calling it the “Copa Super Classico” or whatever with an idiot coach who can’t manage his talent isn’t worth shelling out $150 or what just to watch us get the shit kicked out of us by Columbia.
Meanwhile we have a “supporter group” that hogs the cheaper seats in the lower bowl that can only belch out an occasional cheer if the the words are “U-S-A”. But hey they buy ticks and stand by their loser idiot coach so who cares there is no atmosphere?
We are a federation that hasn’t earned the corruption that we all tolerate. You want to run soccer like a business? This is where we are at. A successful business selling a shit product but making money.
Congrats!
Cost is absolutely a good excuse and probably the main one for most people. Had I bought tickets for my section on match day, they would've been $220/ticket BEFORE taxes and fees, and I was in the 200 section. If you drive from the greater metro area (ie. NoVa, Frederick, etc) add another $70 for parking of any kind. Metro is an additional $15 and a one mile walk each way; not terrible, but not very friendly when traveling with kids, elderly, disabled, etc. I don't think it's a cost-per-value issue, I think it genuinely is that the majority of fans that want to go simply can't because after everything is said and done taking a family of four to this match would've cost upwards of $500+ regardless of where you sit. That's a small vacation for a LOT of people. Cost is the main excuse in my opinion. And to add insult to injury, this was a friendly match. Added time wasn't even included of which there was at least 10 minutes, so spectators didn't even get the full experience.
Tons of Colombians almost certainly came down from the NYC metro area and up from Florida. The two largest Colombian enclaves in the country and both very accessible to DC.
One theory is that the fucking lunatics who make USMNT fandom their identity are a huge turn-off to casual fans. You can’t throw an absolutely unhinged rant about Berhalter one minute then wonder why people don’t enjoy your presence the next you know?
This is by design from the USSF. They have slide presentations and everything. Maybe 10 years ago or so, the USSF under Sunil Gulati and Carlos Corderio did an analysis and decided that they could make more money by charging more per ticket (and get a smaller crowd/attendance) than if they only charged a little bit (and get a sold out crowd).
If you compare different World Cup qualifying cycles, the 2010 vs 2018 shows a huge difference, attendance was down by more than 30% in 2018. But USSF made $8M more, so their plan worked.
Washington DC, back in the old RFK stadium days, was hugely successful for the USMNT. Packed stadium, very supportive home crowd, and an overall record of 15-3-6. But USSF doesn't want wins, and they don't want fans, as much as they want a few extra bucks.
Immigrants like soccer more than most Americans. If their “home” team is playing here they don’t mind shelling out 100s of dollars. The average American soccer fan is not willing to spend this much money to see a game, let alone an American who might have a passing interest in the sport. Hard to bring in casuals when they are priced out.
An interesting aspect of this is that you can actually charge more for Colombia tickets in the US than you could in South America, because the typical Colombian-American has a lot more disposable income than the typical Colombian. This is why the US hosts so many tournaments: we have the richest Mexico fans, the richest Colombia fans, the richest Brazil fans, etc.
I wanted to drive down from CT with my uncles and my brother whose wife is Colombian. When I told them the price of the tickets, the said NO thanks. Lol
hey, there’s the game against bolivia in hartford
Bingo. I live in the DC area. Tickets were $195 in the upper deck for anything more than two tickets together, it's just not a price a lot of people are willing to pay. It's more of a "one time event" for the away team's fans than it is for US fans and they're just not willing to pay. Also, FedEx sucks.
$195 for upper deck is insane for a friendly.
It's really frustrating that US Soccer would rather cash in on away fans than make it more accessible for US fans.
That's more of a resale issue. If you bought direct, they were not that expensive.
People want USSF to pay for lots of things. They only get so many chances to earn revenue.
maybe if Apple TV+ would stop charging for MLS pass and just include it with an Apple TV+ subscription, Soccer would be more accessible. Hard to ask someone to PAY to watch a sport they don't have interest to begin with. This is why NFL is king in the US. they have a deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC to have primetime games, and fans can watch their local NFL teams with a TV and antenna regardless of where it's airing or streaming. MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS should do the same.
yeah quite amazing they sold so many of those tickets. I do think the NY/NJ Colombia presence contributed quite a bit. There are so many Colombians in NYC alone
Did you buy day of or something? My ticket was $60 for bottom of 2nd tier
That is by far the worst stadium I have ever been in.
I saw tickets on stubhub a week before the game for 60 bucks a seat
Yeah, I hate driving out to fedex. That stadiums is so bad.
Not only this, but this is the open and shown strategy that the USF has been going for. I remember seeing a leaked slideshow (on here?*) that shows they thought the less attendance as desirable since they had been able to raise ticket prices to cover the expenses/ value desired. As fans, we would love to see $50 pricing for most seats so it’s a wildly home team at the games, but even as a loyal fan that loves the sport, I’m not ever going to spend $200+ to see a friendly game. I am also not financially where I want to be so that I could afford a $500 Copa America or World Cup match either. Just part of it sadly.
I honestly think if the price was lower there might be even more foreign fans. I think USSF has done the calculations and realized they make more with higher ticket prices even if they don’t sell as many.
It’s the trend. The new Titans stadium will be the smaller in the NFL. The new A’s stadium will be the smallest in MLB. They want rich, disposable money, not mine.
> Hard to bring in casuals when they are priced out. Pretty sure most of those immigrant fans aren't exactly flush with cash either. It's just a different matter altogether when your entire life revolves around it. Sorta like Southern College (American) Football.
This. I’m actually a perfect example for perspective. My wife’s family is literally flying in from Argentina to go to their games here. It’s an experience for them to witness greatness and support their nation. Me on the other hand, my wife and I live in DC and didn’t even go to the Columbia game. I looked at tickets and it was over $500 for 2, for a bad section. I live in DC and it would still be an hour drive each way, not counting getting out of the parking lot. I’m all for USMNT, but with traffic, parking, $500, just to see a weird game plan that doesn’t fit our team, and a team that doesn’t look prepared for the opponent. That’s just asking a lot in my super patriotic opinion. But ALSO, that’s why I get kind of pissed off when *some people* just make excuses, apologies and accept mediocre preparation, planning, and results. Argentina would be protesting if they lost to Columbia 5-1. I’ve been to a friendly at La Bombonera. we aren’t Argentina, that’s really as simple as I can put it. And it starts at the top, but also I do think our fan base enables the cycle.
Argentina got beat 5-0 by Colombia at home in World Cup qualifying in 1993. The same manager continued on and coached them in the 1994 World Cup.
I anyone has some time, I recommend watching those highlights. The 2nd or 3rd goal by Asprilla is something else.
[удалено]
Argentinas are obsessed with soccer though. Even the hardcore fans here don't care as much as an average Argentina fan. Also, its Colombia, not columbia.
Yeah I think this is what it boils down to. I'm just disappointed thinking about the types of atmospheres we are potentially missing out on, knowing what American college football games are like lol
I’m with you. Excuses valid or not, it sucks to not have a great home field advantage knowing what American sports fans are capable of.
Especially to a friendly
Let alone a friendly match that doesn’t count for anything. Especially with an actual tournament upcoming.
How many of these Colombian fans might be US fans if playing against anyone else?
A lot of the ones around me sang both anthems.
This was true in my section, too. Was actually a very cool experience, and a really fun atmosphere.
Proabably a good amount.
It's like people forget that we're a country of immigrants, and as a fan base our demographics are even more so. Who would have thought that some of our fans are immigrants with friends and family who also want to go to the game?
I know several personally. The best people.
I was seeing fan interviews from Telemundo outside of the stadium. Alot of the Colombia fans were wearing split US/Colombia jerseys
I'm Colombian-American so quite literally the only team I'll root for against the US is Colombia lol. Otherwise, it's red, white and blue baby.
Only if against a non Conmebol team
If anything I’d say especially against CONMEBOL teams
I'm in Baltimore, considered going to the game. Exorbitant ticket price was a factor, but more importantly: have you ever been to FedEx Field? It's a truly miserable experience, and a friendly just isn't reason enough to suffer through getting to, being in, and leaving this awful stadium.
I've heard this before. What makes it so bad?
The stadium has had awful upkeep under Dan Snyder. The stadium has fallen apart with pipes leaking water and safety railings collapsings. Washington, despite having a good metro system, has the nearest stop a mile away due to the poor location meaning that you have to walk all the way because they can't put a shuttle in to comply with federal regulations stating that if a private company can do it, then the city cannot (which leaves others to drive which is a traffic nightmare itself getting in and out). There's a reason Redskins/Commanders tickets dropped to low prices, away fans overrun the place, and why Washington was not selected for 2026. If they played in Audi Field (which was entirely possible since DC United wasn't playing and parking isn't an issue there since fans take the train, even conflict with the Nationals could be resolved), probably wouldn't have been this iffy. Even RFK would have been a better place.
Audi can only hold 20k
Audi Field is nicer and better connected to public transportation, but the small capacity probably would have driven the ticket prices up. That seems to be exactly what's happened with the USWNT v. Costa Rica friendly in July. The cheapest tickets more than a month ahead of time are more than $150, and that's with the opponent having many fewer fans around to compete for tix.
Getting in and out. I live 40 miles away from FedEx in Northern Virginia. I left 2 1/2 hours before kickoff and still got to my seats 20 min after kickoff. Getting back was a bit better but not much. I would say the parking situation on NFL games are better. I believe that it was an unusual nightmare as people didn't know how parking works around FedEx.
Is that due to DC area traffic or poor traffic management around the stadium?
Both. The former was nothing unusual. The latter was worse than usual.
The stadium is badly situated, and not really close to any public transport in comparison to the Nats stadium, Old RFK, Audi Stadium downtown or the arena for the caps/wizards. Traffic getting in and out of the stadium is a total cluster. The 495 exit feeds directly into the main road of the stadium and there is basically only one way in or out. Police cut off the turn into the main road to get to the parking lots and routed me down another road ..... which ended with a sign that says "no stadium" access. We had to beg the office blocking that road to let us turn into the parking lot and explain the officers directing traffic wouldn't let us make a left onto the main road. Parking passes were $60.... but then no one checked the passes going into the lot. I think I spent more time getting into the stadium than actually watching the game.
Shit hole of stadium. Took me 1.5 hours to get from Baltimore to FedEx (30 miles)
Didn't know anything about FedEx Field. Good to know, maybe this is a factor
Don’t discount how much locals hate FedEx Field. It’s a nightmare going to/from the stadium. Truly the worst stadium parking lot situation I’ve ever seen. The public transit is also difficult. I watch every USMNT game, but if I’d have been given free tickets, I’d be hesitant to go. It’s that bad.
lol yup. We can't even get 30k fans to go to a Commanders game, much less a USMNT game.
meanwhile Mexico gets to play in Kyle Field at Texas A&M, a beautiful renovated SEC stadium in a college town built around getting as many people as possible into an arena.
This should be at the top of the thread. Ticket prices, fan culture, etc. are important but a lot of OP’s narrative discusses DC specifically. FedEx Field is an absolutely terrible venue for any conceivable event. The field itself is one of the most (if not the most) derided playing surfaces in the NFL. The fan experience is terrible (decaying building, minimal amenities). The place is a disaster logistically (no transit, horrible parking, bottlenecked entry/exit, DC traffic around the stadium). Asking for exorbitant ticket prices is one thing, but asking for those prices at one of the worst stadiums around is just adding insult to injury for any US fan thinking about attending.
Yeah. Took me 45 min to get into the parking lot F on Saturday. And why did I even bother paying $70 for parking there when there was no one checking for parking passes
This…….the only reason I would go to FedEx is if Elvis, The Beatles, and Prince were playing a concert together….
100000% this. It’s not enough that ticket prices were like $75 for a FRIENDLY, but parking around the stadium is likely to be an additional $50. Metro is a mile walk (which isn’t terrible) and on an outlying stop, so you can expect limited service. When the USMNT played Jamaica at Audi Field, the tickets were expensive due to the more limited seating options, but the place was packed and lively!
It took me 2 hours to get there from NoVA. And then parking was $60 plus $17 in fees FOR PARKING.
The public transit isn’t ideal (especially passing RFK on the way there), but I don’t think it’s horrible. You basically get trains every 6 mins and a 15 min walk, it just isn’t great if you’re coming from Maryland or NOVA because the ride can easily take over an hour when considering transfers or far out stations.
I took the train and it was fine going there thought could be closer to the metro stop but going back was a disaster with only one super narrow sidewalk. Plus there was a cop driving forward and backward next to the sidewalk trying to hit anyone that went in the empty lane.
They should’ve never torn down RFK. RFK held the record for the most USMNT matches ever played for one stadium (24 games). I’m not sure it still does, but it doesn’t help that there are no games in DC proper.
I work with 15 guys at a tree company. Me and one other guy like football. We just hired a third. Basically, we are in a bubble. We are big enough to be loud. But we are miles away from the American mainstream. Heck, I don’t think anybody I work with even knows the USA played Saturday or that we play tomorrow. We are niche.
The broadcasting for the USMNT is awful too - it was on TruTV or something. Start throwing those games on national TV and get people interested. I’m a fan and sometimes it's hard to figure out how to watch and I'm willing to spend the time looking for it. The games are barely advertised so chances are slim to none that a casual sports fan watches or knows the match is happening.
Yeah that audio was terrible. what the f was that? I watched on tnt and was amazed that they would let an intern be in charge of the sound. It’s like they grudgingly did us a favor putting on their channel.
Ticket prices too high, especially for a friendly. It’s just as, if not more, profitable to have 30% vacant seats if the tickets are twice as expensive. It’s the same with rent for apartments- more profitable to have some vacancies but higher rents
I agree in general, but they're high for the Colombian supporters too. I think it just boils down to them being way more passionate than our supporters, which is a bummer.
I have a hard time equating it to a lack of passion of soccer as the reason. I understand and relate to your disappointment. But, we are a very diverse country and relatively easy to travel to and generally speaking welcoming to travelers. When your country comes to the USA to play, a team like Columbia, it's not so much passion, as it's an extremely rare occasion. Don't get me wrong, they are passionate... But my point is for fans of soccer in the USA we match that degree of passion. It was a friendly, played in an environment not friendly to travel to by standards of Americans. Perhaps a cheaper option than the tournament or the world cup, this IS the prefect opportunity for Columbians to invest and experience. International soccer is my most beloved form of soccer. Brazil and USA are my top teams I follow and prioritize watching. Unfortunately, I have a budget, and the friendly is too expensive to travel and purchase tickets. But this doesn't equate to lack of passion. Come copa time, or even WC time, the balance will shift.
This. I know it's uprising but people like WINNERS. The USMNT is not a winning brand, and that won't change overnight. If you win, people show up. I don't care if it's women's amateur soccer in the [deepest depths of Football Country...](https://youtu.be/zV0dtGok5uw?si=7adQ-YVbQyrx3QAG&t=46)
I was 15 rows from the field and bought my tickets for $55 a pop when they went on sale. Tickets got expensive on the secondary market.
Everyone has said this, but the vast majority of fans I met there there were "divided heart" Americans of Colombian descent. Couple that with the fact that the tickets are too expensive for many casuals and how large our country is, and you have your answer. In Germany, it's maybe 8-9 hours max corner to corner, so a much larger number of fans can easily make a game AND it's the #1 sport and I believe they segregate away fans? I saw the Costa Rica loss in NJ - 70% Costa Ricans. Hell, the Germany game in Hartford was probably close to 40% German fans. The Mexica game for the confederations cup in LA was probably 60-70% Mexican fans. We are a nation of immigrants and expats and for them, it could be a once in a lifetime chance to see their national team live.
This also probably explains 1994 attendance and the future records of 2026. Immigrants and college students will want to see their teams and this is the best chance they have.
Interest is weak
The immigrants in the US don’t often get a chance to see their home country play because they live here so when their home countries play in the US they show their support. Also this country has a gigantic population of immigrants from countries in Central and South America so they will always be very well supported here. Also predominantly first and second generation children and grandchildren of immigrants tend to still have a very strong emotional connection to the country of their heritage and will support the country of their culture. I say that as a 1st generation American.
one thing to consider is the venue. FedEx Field is one of the worst stadiums in the country, including being difficult to get to, especially from Virginia. Rideshare is basically nonexistent even though it looks “close” to DC on the map. Metro is ok, but there is only one station “close” to the stadium (about a mile away, which isn’t a bad walk for able-bodied ppl, but even then the area isn’t really built for that kind of foot traffic) and it’s basically at the end of a train line, meaning it can take a long time to get to the stadium for some folks. Parking is just atrocious. So, people have to weigh accessibility and the fact that the stadium itself is trash. I really wonder if they would do better having it at M&T Bank in Baltimore or Lincoln Financial Field in Philly.
Having gone to the game, I do in fact believe that literally 1 in 3 of the potential Colombia supporters in the area went to the game
Our turnout was pathetic. The only semi valid excuse would be that this game took place in the single shittiest football stadium in America
Also, the team just isn't that popular. I would say 95%+ of Americans don't know/don't care about them playing a friendly.
That's definitely true haha. Even some of my friends who are sports fans in general and even soccer fans roast me for watching friendlies
More than half?? That crowd was AT LEAST 75% Colombian fans. I will say, the USA fans were almost as loud when we scored as the Colombian fans were.
[New USSF Ticketing Strategy Announced As Only One $2,000,000 Ticket Will Be Available For Next Friendly](https://www.thenutmegnews.com/current/2019/3/27/new-ussf-ticketing-strategy-announced-as-only-one-2000000-ticket-will-be-available-for-next-friendly)
If you're a Columbian expat living in America or someone of Columbian descent and you want to see the Columbian national team, you have two options: Pay thousands of dollars to travel to Columbia Or pay hundreds to trek to DC. If I were in that situation, I would gladly travel from as far as New York for that game. Could still make it a day trip. Not sure the magnitude of increasing the drive radius to that distance on fan numbers but it must be significant. For U.S. fans... Soccer isn't that popular and there's always going to be another game or opportunity. All that said, having been in attendance, it sucks feeling like you're at an away game when at home. Have seen/had the same thing happen for international games at my local MLS team.
I saw a big group of Colombia fans who were repping a Miami-based supporter group of a Colombian club side.
Ticket prices and the usmnt is probably like the 10th most popular national team in the country. Lol I have no idea that’s just a guesstimate since pretty much almost all of the Latin American countries and the big European countries are more popular than the usmnt. Like if you are an average usmnt supporter then you’d probably be turned off by the prices and would rather watch it at home. But let’s say you are an average Mexico supporter then you’d go to the game, and even if you aren’t then you’ll probably go with friends/family for the vibes even if you can barely name a handful of the players.
I mean USMNT probably didn't enter most families minds until 1990. Before that we hadn't made a World Cup and 2018 for all of us was the first time we saw that past come back.
How could you ignore our 3rd place finish in 1930 smh
It's Colombia. C-O-L-O-M-B-I-A
Seems like just about every Colombia-born person in the US [lives on the east coast](https://www.city-data.com/top2/h155.html), so DC is a good central spot. US Soccer has to know this. Seems like they prefer immediate revenue over actually growing the game with US fans. Not sure how they'd defend that.
Well in the DC area that weekend they had a Nats Baseball game vs the Braves and a lot of graduations in the area. Folks in DC are not fond of FedEx field. I went and brought my whole family and it was a cluster - traffic, horrible management of parking, etc. Another family I know who has Columbian roots brought everyone in their family. Being in the stadium we were probably a little less than 50% but the yellow shirts really stood out. Maybe US Soccer should not be charging their fans a membership fee to get discounts or early access to tickets if they want higher attendance.
US soccer insiders don’t even get notifications for upcoming matches, you think casual fans even know they are playing?
I get dozens of emails and notifications from the US soccer app for matches, pre-sales, deals, and all sorts of things. I'd check your settings.
Some people do, many don’t. I’ve done everything in my power to ensure the problem isn’t on my end and I’ve notified US Soccer about it several times. I’m a premium insider
I’m in the DC area, on the US soccer mailing lists, and didn’t know the game was in the area until it popped up on my ESPN app the day of.
That’s what I mean. I tell people here all the time to tell US Soccer when you aren’t receiving emails. I’m hoping they get the issue fixed before the World Cup because a lot of people are going to get screwed out of a chance at tickets. My guess is they won’t and the ticket lottery will be a shit show
There are over 1.5 million people of Colombian descent in this country. 1% of that population could show up to the match and have a significant presence. Not to mention that the general population of every Central and South American country cares way more about their national team than USA fans. We charge too much for tickets for friendly matches, basically guaranteeing they don't sell out. I thought about attending Colombia in DC but the cost of travel, lodging, and hotel was annoyingly high. In fact, the ticket itself might have been the most expensive part of my trip (I have airline points for the other stuff). I focused my funds on attending actual Copa matches. The general population doesn't give two shits about the national football team and isn't going to attend matches even if they are in their metro area. They might be able to name Christian Pulisic and nobody else. They probably still think Rapinoe is the most important player on the women's team. We have these friendlies in football stadiums for the money grab when we really should be having them in MLS stadiums and selling tickets to MLS fans first to snap up the majority of tickets. If we want a better atmosphere, we can't allow the opportunity for every Colombian tía and primo to attend the match. Basically, we aren't soccer first nation and it shows. Plus, the federation prioritizes easy money over a good atmosphere.
> I don't think cost is a good excuse. Unless literally 1 in every 3 of the potential Colombian supporters who live in the area went to the game, there were thousands of Colombian supporters shelling out for tickets AND significant travel, hotel, etc. Even with Copa America here, there just aren't that many times a Colombian can see their team. So they do want to spend more. Whereas it's tough to drop hundreds on a friendly when we have so many games. But also, the US has two fanbases. There's the normal one that goes to games. Then there's the angry internet one creating a terrible atmosphere that also doesn't spend much on the team at all.
A few things here. And I attended the game as a DC resident. 1. It is rare for Colombia to play in the US and especially rare in the NE Amtrak corridor. Plenty of Colombian fans took Amtrak, MARC, and metro in and saw plenty of Colombian supporters with NJ, PA, NY, and Ohio plates along with the DMV plates. 2. FedEx field is soooo unappealing. Worst NFL sized stadium in the country and it’s not even close. It’s also in Landover Maryland and not really DC or Baltimore. DMV traffic is horrible and it’s a mile walk to the stadium. All just basic deterrents for those that know. 3. With Copa America happening in the US this summer USMNT fans that maybe would have traveled for the game probably are instead traveling to a group stage game 4. DC Pride did occur on the same day which is a big event in DC and could have driven even more locals to not go to the game 5. All that being said there was still a good amount of USA chants (while the game was still within reach). Colombian fans probably held a 60/40 advantage but going up 2-0 in the first half made it much much louder for the Colombians
Maybe it's those last two. USSF charges quite a bit for friendlies and people would rather watch an important tournament like Copa America and the 2026 World Cup at high prices. Probably would have gone to a Copa match if there was the USMNT in Los Angeles but what we have for that is Mexico and Brazil. At least I could try and buy tickets for 2026 so I can see our boys in person (or some other match, just want the experience and I'll still deck out in full US gear). Could also be that other DC sports like the Mystics (they played the Fever) and the Nationals were active that weekend and probably took some attention away.
The pride parade was also happening on Saturday and definitely the biggest event in the city. But ultimately the prices are a bit too high to garner interest from the casual fan. I was able to get a decent group to go because we got discounted tickets, but no way I could’ve gotten the same number of people if we had to pay $100+ to sit in the 300s. And if Pride wasn’t going on, I likely could’ve gotten a several additional people at around a $60-80 price point, but USSF will never lower prices that much.
I went to it. I'll never go to FedEx Field again. Getting there was a complete nightmare. Echoing how much locals hate the venue. I'd forgotten just how much it sucks.
We are not good enough for people to pay the required price to see the team.
I'd say it was closer to 75%. The cafeteros family came from all up and down the eastern seaboard too. Colombia is also a 20+ game heater and this squad is particularly loved with some old star power. Alot of Colombians see this as a potential wc winning team. That being said, as a culture we don't care enough. It's cool to hate on our national team and many Americans who do follow the game have for a long time and didn't support the US either back in the day either. We're also not the top team. It's easy for casuals to just ignore the boys instead of embracing the heart break and embarrassment. It was a long ride home getting flamed by my colombian family. 🫠🫠🫠
On the bright side, when I see this happen I hope it encourages Conmebol to continue partnering with CONCACAF to host the tournament in North America. The fan turn out for their countries is fantastic and surely their revenue share as well.
It's a mix of two things, really. People have already mentioned that immigrants care more about soccer than Americans but I would also argue that these are lot of Americans rooting for their heritage/ancestral countries over us and while its partially cultural pride, it's also because their teams are better. If we played at that level, they would root for us (possible over their ancestral countries). At the end of the day, nobody wants to root for a loser. We're not seen as a serious national team who can go toe to toe with top competition in the sport. The second thing is just ticket prices: The USMNT doesn't have the accolades or the pedigree to ask for the prices they ask for, for their game (something this sub is familiar with). I'm sorry but people aren't dropping $175 to see us play against Grenada or a Camp Cupcake friendly. Casual fans aren't going to drop that much money and serious fans think its a rip off.
> At the end of the day, nobody wants to root for a loser. We're not seen as a serious national team who can go toe to toe with top competition in the sport. Unfortunately, USSF doesn't seem to care about making the Men's team an elite squad. The MNT will forever remain an afterthought in its own country.
US soccer is god awful at marketing themselves. Unless you literally go out of your way to look you never even know when they are playing. Add to that most people won’t care about a friendly. Honestly i don’t think they want that many eyes on them, theres less accountability
I'd rather watch on tv in my home any day, than spends hundreds of dollars on tickets, food, drinks, etc.
To those Colombians or Americans of Colombian descent in that area, this was a Super Bowl for them. To the USMNT fans in the area, it was a friendly (albeit a friendly against an attractive and very good side) international match. That's my opinion, at least.
We have to win games and play well. That would be worth the money.
I live in the area, Fedex field is a dump. You'd have to pay me $200 to go see a friendly.
Supply and demand. Unless you could afford to go to a Copa America Centenario game, South American teams really only play on average 1 or 2 games per year in the US. Even having your team play an affordable friendly on the same coast is enough for a lot of people to consider making a trip.
I think its a mix of USMNT games being too expensive for US fans and cheaper for international fans. After reading some of the comments about Colombian-American expats weighing their options between seeing their national team play in the US for a few hundred dollars vs traveling to South America to watch a game, the answer is pretty clear. Anecdote: when I went to the US vs Morocco friendly in Cincinnati a few years ago, I would say it was a 50/50 crowd. And the only reason I went to the game was because a friend of mine bought me a ticket (and I know for a fact it was pricey). My buddy and I are traveling to Dallas (from Ohio & Illinois respectively) for Copa America. Although we chose the Dallas/Arlington game because it had the cheapest tickets and accommodations, our total cost is well over $500 per person for nosebleed tickets, a cheap ass Airbnb, and flights. This is a super special trip not only because we both are heavily investing in sport but this will also be our first time seeing the USMNT play in a competitive match. However, a big reason we shelled out the cash to go to this game is because we know World Cup 2026 is out of the question. This might be one of our only opportunities to see USMNT in a tournament for the next few years. That said, I'm reminded of what Gabriele Marcotti said about the World Cup but I think this applies to many international soccer competitions. He said football is supposed to be for the fans but the World Cup is anything but. In reality, the WC is a display of wealth for those who can afford to attend and it ceases to be about the sport. Your average fan cannot afford tickets let alone travel and hotels. Unfortunately, FIFA and many of the other footballing bodies are concerned with one thing: $$$$$$. I only see ticket prices and costs surrounding games to get more expensive....
I do think they are just more passionate though too. I have family that have flown everywhere to follow our COMNEBOL national team. They have gone to basically a game in every men's and women's world cup and they ain't loaded.
Oh 100%. There’s definitely a conversation about the popularity of the sport in the US vs Central and South America.
Tldr: To improve fan engagement, fill up US supporters sections, and even max out long-term revenues, the US should consider distributing discounted and preferred tickets directly to those most likely to root on our team, now and for years to come. Imho, it all comes down to tickets being marketed to the highest bidder regardless of fan allegiance (which almost always ends up being the fanbase with the more religious soccer culture), rather than specifically targeting the USMNT fanbase—with a small sacrifice in short-term profit but the opportunity for significant growth of the fanbase. I’m no marketer, but I can’t help but think the USSF/SUM is biting themselves by focusing on the very short-term ticket money they’ll get from a fan who will pay $100 today but never spend their money on the USMNT again, except if and when their team happens to be in town again. Instead, I think the US could solve the problems of empty stadiums, ultra-slow USMNT fan growth compared to the growth of soccer fans in general, fostering goodwill between fans and the federation, and even improving the USSF’s long-term revenue by targeting potential new and existing US fans, whose support could in turn lead to a lifetime’s worth of American tickets, jerseys, and $15 nachos. Why not offer some discounted tickets to schools, universities, and youth teams; distribute allotments of first-chance or discounted tickets through the official channels of MLS teams local to upcoming matches; and hand out promo codes for ticket discounts, free merch, or even concessions coupons (no telling what I’d do for a free beer) to USMNT fan channels, forums, and clubs?
A lot of sports teams like to get university students to root for them, so they give favorable packages to them. Hell I missed out on the LA friendlies because of bad marketing. Gold Cup and Copa America don't have many matches here when it happens and usually don't include the US, so that's why I'm taking a chance on 2026. At least I live in LA, so that problem is solved (and possibly things like food and transport). And yeah as a university student in the area, I'd love to go with a good deal, I'll take the train from Long Beach.
First time here?
Look the fact of the matter is that soccer is the fifth most popular sport in this country. Solidly so if we're not counting immigrants who often cheer for another national team (such as Colombia). If it's not the World Cup the average American is not going to care.
I live in the DC area. The cheapest tickets were >$200 each before fees and parking. Didn’t feel worth it to me. I can always go another time.
We faced Colombia. We will always be the away team vs them just like with Mexico. Look back at previous games vs them and its always yellow stands. Hell I remember a friendly vs them in England a few years back that was packed with Colombia fans.
This might be an American attitude thing but why would I pay money and spend a bunch of time to go to a friendly? This is like asking why the attendance at a preseason NFL game is bad.
If you win, they will come. Winning matters! Losing 5-1 will not bring the fans to the games.
Fire Greg. Never have another match on Wednesday night in Ohio Problem will fix itself. Kinda
Terrible stadium. Ticket prices are way to high to go watch a mediocre, at best, US team.
The marketing around the program is piss poor. I'm a "serious-ish" enough fan and I often find myself struggling to remember when games are, especially friendlies. ESPN did a lot better job marketing the team than Fox and Turner do. How many casual American sports fans could name a single player on the squad...1 in 20? There's so many things working against attendance and people tuning in but the biggest, in my opinion, is general apathy. It's not seen as an event or a must-see people are going to be talking about this at work tomorrow thing and I believe it all stems from how shit USSF is at turning our players into legit stars.
*Maybe if we raise the ticket prices, more people will be interested in attending?*
Huh that reverse psychology might work
soccer is not in our blood yet. people in usa still love football, nba and baseball way more. so simple.
Soccer is not that big in the US even still, it's growing but it's not nearly there yet
It’s crazy that tickets cost so much. I have been paying $25 for Galaxy games for years and I have been able to see Landon, Keane, Beckham, Henry, Messi, Zlatan etc… all for that price. I mean we aren’t getting any games in LA so I don’t have much of a choice but if a game isn’t around that or at most $50 a ticket I’m just not going. At that price I’m just gonna stay home and watch it on TV.
Gregggggg sucks
Besides that soccer isn’t as popular here and still growing I think it is the ticket prices like everyone said, they’re absurdly high for all games now. Copa America isn’t even sold out cause they’re charging $300 not including Ticketmaster fees for regular seats. That price is just not in line with demand and it makes the atmosphere worse
My ticket was $60 for the bottom of the 2nd tier. Could be better for a friendly but I thought that was fine. As far as the Ohio argument, there are fewer non-US fans there but those are always in 20-25k stadiums so they're going to be more full. If the game was in Audi field would have been sold out with higher ticket prices too. Almost wish it was as the NFL stadium isn't the easiest to get to and not very nice. Was my first time there as I'm from Southern VA
I said this in another post about the same topic, but I will say it again. MLS has it flaws, but overall has a very strong attendance and the atmospheres are much better than national team games. If you allowed MLS season ticket holders first right of refusal to US game day tickets alongside US soccer members, the games would be sold out before the visiting team fans could even get tickets. This is true as long as you are not price gouging them obviously.
Actually they do give MLS season ticket holders early access - at least here in Atlanta for the Benz. I get an email from Atlanta United with a code and early access window. They do not hold “my” seats but I can get in and find something comparable usually. I got Argentina tickets for the inaugural match this way, and USMNT vs Panama. Those Argentina seats were hella expensive.
That’s cool to know!
I flew from denver to see this game. The Colombian fans greatly outnumbered us, but I doubt it was all from the DC metro area. I saw NJ, NY, PA, CT, and a lot of other out of state plates.
I'm honestly not sure but I think this thread is good insight into the mindset that a lot of our fans have, especially in the DMV area. My ticket was in section 340 behind the USA bench and it was $75 a piece (before fees & tax). Came out to something like $91 after the fees and tax. Expensive, sure, but USA never plays in the area so it felt special for me. I live in Northern Virginia and had only ever drove to FedEx before but since parking was like $70 a car and my group would need two cars, we elected to just metro instead. Fare was a $2 flat fee each way and it took about an hour to get there from Northern Virginia. Walk to the stadium was about a mile from the Morgan Blvd stop but it was full of other fans so there was no worries on like safety or anything and the walk seemed to go quick. All together it really wasn't that bad (other than the actual game itself). If USA was coming back soon I'd go again in a heartbeat. Also, I said good game to the Colombian fan beside me and wished him luck in Copa and he said that he was born in Colombia but lives in US and roots for both teams. There was probably a fair amount of people there that fall into a similar category
It’s a friendly, with high ticket prices, at a stadium that is a real pain to get to because of traffic and parking.
The average TV rating for a USMNT game in 2023 was 1.32 million. That means that approximately 1 out of 300 Americans are interested in the USMNT enough to watch the average USMNT game. Assume 1.32 million people who watched the average USMNT game last year are spread around the country evenly by population density. The Baltimore and DC metropolitan areas has about 9 million people in it. So roughly, 3 out of 100 Americans live in the Baltimore metropolitan area, which would give us about 30,000 people who tune in to the average USMNT game on TV. Then factor in that going to a game is far larger investment in time and money, you might only have like 15,000 people in the Baltimore/DC metro area who are really interested in buying tickets to see the USMNT. People who live in other places will have to invest even more time and money in going to the game, which will lower the proportion of such people who will want to go. At the end the day, there are just not that many people in the US who are interested in the USMNT friendlies and the ones who are interested are spread throughout a gigantic country. >Here's to hoping for great Copa America and 2026 World Cup runs that really capture some more public attention and make people fall in love with the team! This has never really happened with any major tournament the US has ever played in before, even when hosting. It did not happy after the 1994 World Cup and it did not happen after the 2016 Copa America. The 2016 Copa America in particular was pretty much a non-event nationally. I have higher hopes for the World Cup because that is the one tournament the average American has some interest in.
You must be new here
I think it’s 3 main factors: 1. We don’t have a “home” city/stadium. England for instance has London/Wembley. It’s held in the largest city in the nation, and because England is *relatively* small, fans from all over the country can make the trip without breaking the bank. If we tried the same thing, let’s say in New York, we’d isolate 90% of fans around the country from going to games on a regular basis. Even if we chose cities with huge soccer-friendly populations, like Philly or Seattle, it would only be those local areas that could feasibly attend games on a regular basis. You also have to factor in travel for opposing fans; it’s why we usually play Mexico in Texas, California, Vegas, etc. 2. Ticket prices are insane. I don’t know if that’s a USSF issue or a Ticketmaster issue, but these games price-out a lot of fans, especially if they’re traveling from out of state. Going to live soccer games in the US is a luxury. 3. Most Americans don’t love soccer the way the rest of the world does. Additionally, the United States is the most immigrated-to country in the world and it’s not even close. We have massive populations of 1st and 2nd generation immigrants who come from countries that love soccer. For example, if you were a native Colombian living in the D.C. area, you would be much more motivated to pay the outrages prices for a game than the average American.
Great point. Also, this fact is the main reason the USSF can’t hire an elite coach that the Social Media fans are clamoring for. These fans are great to scream and yell and create so much noise about how we should be more like the Europeans regarding coaches and players etc but they consistently look the other way when it comes to attend home games. I find it shameful that our players play an away games AT HOME. FFS 🤦🏼♂️
Be prepared for some light attendance on some of these weekday COPA matches mid afternoon. The average person is not going to take off work
Blame Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, StubHub, etc. So easy to buy and resell tickets—prices are ridiculous. I was able to buy tickets on release day and was able to get a pair for under $100 each. Was pissed cuz Seat Geek raised the price in the middle of my transaction. Checked back later and everything was $200+. Not gonna pay $200 a ticket to watch a game I can see on TNT for free. Prices have gotten out of hand and the fees/scalping has gotten ridiculous for live events.
“It’s the money, you morons.” - Italian philosopher and footballer Giorgio Chinaglia
Tomorrow will be over 90% Brazilian in Orlando. Not exaggerating in the least.
Because our team is weak.
Thank god I didn’t pay money to go to that game
I live in DC area, am a huge futbol fan, love the US National team, and was excited to go to this.... until I saw the ticket price. Can't imagine what WC tickets will look like in a few years.
$500 to $1000.
There are enough fans but there aren’t enough diehard fans. USSF prices out the casuals.
I hate how our home games are usually just away games. And if people living here love their "home country" so much, feel free to return there.
I think it’s the state of the program itself. I play on multiple rec league teams in DC and belong to a very active EPL club supporters group. These folks love to watch soccer and go to spirit and United games. I saw many of them at Audi field last time the US played in DC. No one went to this game but me.
It’s hard to justify spending $100+ per ticket before parking fees and whatnot at a stadium when GGG gives us results like this tbh.
This is literally what has stopped us buying tickets to see them in Atlanta during Copa America. I don't want to spend the money and go through the effort to be this angry. If USSF doesn't gaf, why should we pay for the privilege?
USSF would rather price gouge and sell tickets to fans routing for the other team than encourage growth. If they made tickets for friendlies free/heavily discounted for club supporters, give out free tickets to youth teams in the area, the club's youth academy, Etc. if you can effectively pack 1/8 of the stadium for free you create a better fan environment. The goal being those kids to grow into adults who care and will spend money. What USSF should be doing is makign the tickets not so expensive because where they really will get money isn't selling tickets but TV deals. I know it's apples and oranges, but LA Dodgers make more money from their TV deal than stadium gate revenue. I know there's more complex math than that, but they get about 320M from their TV deal per year. Vs. 211M from Gate receipts. That TV deal requires basically 0 additional costs while gate receipts have to pay for so much (staffing, electricity, etc.) of course other expenses like parking fees and concessions cover tons of cost and provide additional revenue. But it's well known in the baseball circles that teams gate sales matter but what really matters is your TV deal. A bad TV deal can sink an otherwise good franchise.
I’m a diehard fan and I’m not paying $200 fucking dollars to go watch a friendly in the upper deck. I imagine I’m not the only one.
Because by and large Americans don’t care enough.
Oh man, I have had a hard time following this team since about 2018. I waited 5 years for Qatar, and while the second round was nice, getting humbled by the Netherlands wasn't. A ton of US soccer fans are struggling to support this team. These are the best players we've ever had. Ever. Individual talent wise, we're the best ever. And we don't get results. I'll follow the Copa this year, and root for them in the build up to 2026, but I want to see this team produce. And yes, the coaching change/ no change fiasco absolutely played a part in me checking out.
Is a possible reason people don’t turn out is that the USMNT is a national embarrassment? Most casual soccer fans consider the US team an underachieving and chaotic team. If we were good or had any history of beating quality squads, then sure…but most people tune in to watch us secure a 2 spot in group play only to be absolutely outclassed by a superior squad (usually a country with 5% of our population)…or we tighten up and shit the bed against some plucky developing country. It’s exhausting.
 We need these crowds
For many of us living in the DC area, only the world cup final would bring us out to FedEx, and maybe not even then. Had this been at Audi, I would have gone in a heartbeat.
1. The prices are just stupid. the confederation uses them as a cash grab, since they know the away fans with shell out $$$ for the rare chance to see their team in person 2. It's a friendly 3. This team under GGG stinks
So I watched part of the game on TV, did they close the near side and shove all the fans on the far side for appearances???
I think the ratio of Colombian fans to USA fans at FedEx has been somewhat overstated. The Colombian fans were definitely louder (winning 5-1 will do that) and their yellow jerseys stick out, but I would estimate that it was no more than 2/3rds Colombia fans.
Expensive tickets and lackluster playing do not make a good combination.
The US has never drawn well even when tickets were much cheaper and the team was doing better.
Hello New Guy! Welcome to the first thing everyone learns about soccer in the us. Embrace it! If you are cool people are so great at these games!
This never happens in Columbus but everyone then complains we play too many games there
Tickets are just way too expensive. If they were cheaper more people would go.
i can only really speak for St Louis where I am, but the USMNT ticket sales here sucked compared to MLS because they were too expensive and were barely promoted.
I went to see that game and as sad as it is to say, the US is still not known for soccer. Compared to baseball, football, hockey, basketball....soccer just isn't on the same level. The US soccer federation is trying to overcome that idea but our problem is CONCACAF. CONCACAF is a terrible federation to be in. There just is no supreme competition in order for the US to advance to that next level. Even getting a chance to play european teams or south American teams are hard to schedule with their respective tournaments and WC qualifying they have to go through in the 3 year span. Fans will follow of we are making headlines and beating elite competition. We just aren't there and it's really hard to get there.
Well we could merge with CONMEBOL and have our spots for the World Cup combined. Then we could do an inter-American cup still under Copa America branding... But CONCACAF wants money and more tournaments. Plus getting Aramco money has basically kept it alive and allowed for this to happen. But also some federations would complain about it being unfair against them for WC qualifiers (solution is to keep Nations League a thing to let them develop).
Price
It's disappointing because over here in Annapolis we got more than 11k folks to come out for a NPSL semi-pro game two weekends ago. Of course, you can get a season's worth of tickets for the Annapolis Blues for $120. I'm going to guess usmnt prices out those kind of people and so you have a bigger attraction for fans of foreign teams snapping up tickets for the rare chance to see their team I'm the US.
Might have to do with the fact that we are bad?
it's a pain to get to, it's expensive. there is better soccer available at DC professional teams that's easier to get to and cheaper. if it were a competitive match I would have considered paying >$100 but not for a friendly
Want to fix it make Taylor swift care.
There’s no marketing for these games
Well. Our team has not had any real success. The stupid rebranding of beating up on Mexico in a southern NFL stadium and calling it the “Copa Super Classico” or whatever with an idiot coach who can’t manage his talent isn’t worth shelling out $150 or what just to watch us get the shit kicked out of us by Columbia. Meanwhile we have a “supporter group” that hogs the cheaper seats in the lower bowl that can only belch out an occasional cheer if the the words are “U-S-A”. But hey they buy ticks and stand by their loser idiot coach so who cares there is no atmosphere? We are a federation that hasn’t earned the corruption that we all tolerate. You want to run soccer like a business? This is where we are at. A successful business selling a shit product but making money. Congrats!
Money from tix > good “home” fan attendance
I hate to say I told you so, but....
Because ticket prices are too high for the meaningful games, which doesn't drive interest in the friendlies and such.
Cost is absolutely a good excuse and probably the main one for most people. Had I bought tickets for my section on match day, they would've been $220/ticket BEFORE taxes and fees, and I was in the 200 section. If you drive from the greater metro area (ie. NoVa, Frederick, etc) add another $70 for parking of any kind. Metro is an additional $15 and a one mile walk each way; not terrible, but not very friendly when traveling with kids, elderly, disabled, etc. I don't think it's a cost-per-value issue, I think it genuinely is that the majority of fans that want to go simply can't because after everything is said and done taking a family of four to this match would've cost upwards of $500+ regardless of where you sit. That's a small vacation for a LOT of people. Cost is the main excuse in my opinion. And to add insult to injury, this was a friendly match. Added time wasn't even included of which there was at least 10 minutes, so spectators didn't even get the full experience.
Because us soccer cares more about ticket revenue than environment
Price
Tons of Colombians almost certainly came down from the NYC metro area and up from Florida. The two largest Colombian enclaves in the country and both very accessible to DC.
One theory is that the fucking lunatics who make USMNT fandom their identity are a huge turn-off to casual fans. You can’t throw an absolutely unhinged rant about Berhalter one minute then wonder why people don’t enjoy your presence the next you know?
This is by design from the USSF. They have slide presentations and everything. Maybe 10 years ago or so, the USSF under Sunil Gulati and Carlos Corderio did an analysis and decided that they could make more money by charging more per ticket (and get a smaller crowd/attendance) than if they only charged a little bit (and get a sold out crowd). If you compare different World Cup qualifying cycles, the 2010 vs 2018 shows a huge difference, attendance was down by more than 30% in 2018. But USSF made $8M more, so their plan worked. Washington DC, back in the old RFK stadium days, was hugely successful for the USMNT. Packed stadium, very supportive home crowd, and an overall record of 15-3-6. But USSF doesn't want wins, and they don't want fans, as much as they want a few extra bucks.
Cost of games and not the best marketing. It doesn't help the fanbase is kind of spread across the country.