November 20, 2011
NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR THE NBA TO SELF-DESTRUCT:
'Beckham experiment' shows signs of success as fans flock to MLS final (Guy Adams, 20 November 2011, Independent)Question: What is the hottest ticket in LA this weekend? Answer: a seat just above the half way line of the Home Depot Center in Carson. Here, amid the smog and sprawl of Southern California, the local side will tonight bid for a little place in history: as national champions of a sport their fans call "soccer."
The final of MLS Cup, the US league's post-season playoffs, is the biggest game in the North American football calendar. This year, that actually seems to count for something. Tickets in the 30,000-seat stadium are long sold out, and on the secondary market, where US law permits sports tickets to be bought and sold, they were yesterday changing hands for between $150 and $350.
In a country that measures the worth of everything - particularly sports - in dollars and cents, that's a big deal.
Games already have higher attendance than the NHL and NBA and teams like KC and Seattle outdrew the local baseball franchises.
Posted by oj at November 20, 2011 8:13 AM
Tweet