Interest in Sounders Reaches Fever Pitch Weeks Before Sounders Reach Pitch
We rarely post stories about ourselves so we’re going to claim this story is about you and in a way, it is. It is just under seven weeks before Sounders FC kick off their second season in MLS. Once there were fears that the honeymoon would wear off after season one. Then the season ticket sales applications came in and it became clear that Sounders FC and club soccer are both far from a one season phenomenon in Seattle.
But there are other signs that interest in the game is not only equal to least season but increasing. And the proof comes in the form of how many people are logging onto websites that deal exclusively with football.
January 2010 was Prost Amerika Soccer’s second best month ever. The only month where we had more readers was last October at the height of Sounders play-off drama against the Houston Dynamo. What is surprising is that for a site best known for the quality of our Award-winning match reports, all this interest arrived in a month without a Sounders fixture to tell you about. Moreover, it’s not just a January thing. The week that ended last Friday was our second best week ever, producing more interest in the world of soccer than Opening Week 2009, and the visits of both Chelsea and Barcelona. At the time of writing, there’s a fair chance this week will surpass it. Unique visitors have topped 1000 now for six consecutive days, only the second time ever this has happened. By the time we have goals, saves and points to report, we expect numbers to increase significantly.
GOALSeattle.com Webmaster David Falk is Encouraged by the Numbers
“Numbers are very nice on Examiner, and returning on GOALSeattle.com. My Nov, Dec, and Jan were all better than my Sept and Oct during the season. A good sign. Interest in the Sounders training camp could be even greater in 2010 than it was before the 2009 season. My Soccer Examiner pages are getting viewing totals larger than during the end of the first season. To have pre-season news topping in-season news hit totals from 2009 is quite amazing, actually. The momentum seems to just keep on building,” he said.
Additionally, Sounder at Heart reported January to be its best month ever, and the Radio Sounders shows are receiving larger numbers of listeners every week. All supporters groups are reporting heavy and successful recruitment campaigns.
What this all means in the bigger picture remains to be debated on chatboards like David’s. One thing is sure. The honeymoon isn’t over and there’s no sign the love affair is going to end any time soon.
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Not in our experience. Numbers took off in March 2009 once the games started, and these figures are four times the equivalent time period last year.
At least with other sports, offseason traffic is typically higher in the offseason when there is a lack of news ’supply,’ so I’m not sure if this an indication of much of anything.
A huge fear of mine was that after the first season, the honeymoon would be over. I’m glad to see that at least for now, it’s not. But Seattle fans are so fairweather, I think I’ll still be nervous towards the beginning of each season. Not that I think the Sounders will fall into mediocrity, but I think one bad season would turn a lot of people off.
Of course, the Seahawks still sell out every game…
I think this reflects the real deficit in mainstream media reporting on the Sounders, both in terms of quantity and quality, relative to the interest that exists. People are seeking out, and finding, more informed sources of information.
I think part of it for prost is that you’ve really established yourself as the main blog for SSFC coverage and analysis, much like USS Mariner and Lookout Landing have done for the M’s.
Great balance of local and international football and terrific analysis and original content. Might be time to start thinking about more bandwidth…