If you've been paying attention, you know that I'm extremely interested in what the Montreal Impact have cooked up for Wednesday night when they take on Santos Laguna at home in the CONCACAF Champion's League.
While the number of tickets that Montreal has apparently sold is impressive, I wanted to be fully educated before I spouted off that American clubs need to look north to Quebec for a little lesson in how to market a team. Sure enough, there are a couple of facts that dampen my enthusiasm just a little. Without first hand knowledge of the Impact's tactics, however, I don't feel comfortable attempting to qualify their success; besides, if the team is able to get 50,000 to a soccer match in the dead of winter and in the heart of hockey season, regardless of how they did so, it will be difficult not to be impressed.
Rumors that Montreal may reenter the expansion sweepstakes on the strength of their attendance Wednesday night now include an appearance by Don Garber at Olympic Stadium, something that would be very telling if it actually happens. I'm not sure why Garber would attend the match after the Saputo expansion bid has been rejected, unless he was open to their reduced entry fee proposal. Anything is possible in the current economic environment, although the other bids still in play would seem to make a discount for Montreal unlikely.
Besides, what does selling 50,000 tickets, severe discounts and handouts or not, really mean when it's for a one off match? Civic pride and the underdog status of the Impact are major factors, and maybe the people of Montreal are just excited that they have something on Toronto; it would still seem be a stretch to say that those things are certain to carry over if MLS puts a team in Quebec. Viewed in context, I don't think the ticket sales numbers alone are enough to bring Montreal back into the expansion mix; besides, there is still the little matter of the actual attendance, something which could be significantly affected by the weather.
The actual effect of the Impact's "success" should be negligible. Montreal is still unlikely to secure an expansion franchise, and the club itself is unlikely to significantly improve on it's 2008 attendance (just less than 13,000). Perception is important, however, and the shadow cast by both the Impact's progression through the Champion's League as well as their ticket sales bonanza for Wednesday's match will not bode well for MLS. Unfortunately for the league, this is exactly the type of information that will be picked up by the mainstream American media as well as the soccer-hating public as evidence that American soccer is failing. While those of us with a little knowledge understand the extenuating circumstances at play in Montreal and the context in which their sales numbers should be viewed, none of that will matter to the anti-soccer masses.
Without a "Beckham bump", would any MLS team be able to match what the Impact have done? I don't get the sense that any of the American clubs are capable; Houston's attendance for their CCL match tomorrow night should be a good indication that even the top teams in MLS struggle to sell out (although I suppose Atlante-supporters could help to fill Roberston), no matter the stakes. Toronto may be the only organization in the league that could legitimately sell 50,000 tickets to a match that doesn't involve David Beckham. So what is it about these Canadian clubs that has them light-years ahead of their American counterparts?
Perhaps the cultural differences between the two countries are such that soccer will always get a fairer shake with sports fans north of the border; maybe Americans are just incapable of the freedom of thought it takes to appreciate soccer, while Canadians embrace the game with a more continental attitude. It often seems that Canadians, while clearly proud of their country, are less burdened by the collective national self-image that keeps so many Americans from opening their minds to anything new.
My small history of personal interactions with Canadians does not give me a proper platform from which to speak to the reasons that it seems they get it and we don't; and I know I'm glossing over (or leaving out completely) the cultural differences between the cities in question themselves. Toronto and Montreal are probably as different as Boston and Dallas. It just seems that the as the successes for soccer in Canada pile one on top of the other, American clubs are left behind, choking on the dust of the Canuck express powering away into the distance. Seattle's season ticket sales gives me hope that the U.S. is not a lost cause, however, and I'm optimistic that Philadelphia will make a similar impact in 2010.
I'll be rooting for the Impact on Wednesday, and I hope they fill Olympic Stadium to capacity. I even hope Garber shows up. Not to revive the Montreal expansion bid, but to get marketing tips from the Impact front office.
