just thought this would be interesting. We take the top 3 group of fans from each coast and see who is better.

so first we got to get the Top 3 fans in the west and in the east. here are mine.

West:
1. Portland
2. Vancouver
3. Seattle

East:
1. Rochester
2. Toronto
3. Pittsburgh

I agree that the top fans in te West are Vancouver, Portland, Seattle(in no particular order). But in the East I'd have to go with Rochester(of course), Montreal(based on this years ticket sales), and Toronto a distant third.

West - Vancouver, Seattle, Portland

East - 1.Rochester, 2.Montreal, 3.Toronto

P.S. I'm not being biased towards Canadian teams, I'm just calling them the way I see them.

I can only judge the places I have been in person. I'd rank the West as:

Portland
Vancouver
Seattle
Calgary

In my biased opinion, the Pacific NW teams seem to have the best support outside of Rochester, which draws the biggest but are they the most passionate? I also give props to Montreal.

Oh, for crying out loud, it's simple: The west is the best, the east is the least.

I could'n't agree more! Well said.

The places i've been or am familiar with fan base:
(USL Only)
1.Portland
2.Vancouver
3.El Paso
4.Toronto
5.Wilmington
6.Charlotte
7.Utah
8.Charleston
9.Western Mass./Ludlow
10.Spokane
11.Richmond
12.Rochester
13.Virginia Beach
14.Greensboro/Carolina
15.Long Island
16.Raleigh

El Paso??? This needs some further clarification!

Tsk Tsk Tsk as you guys on the coasts banter back and forth on who has the better fans, us midwesterners see beyond the silly talk and know. Minnesota has the strongest and most loyal fans. Has any other A-league teams loyalist been given props by Alexi Lalas on national tv? I don't think so.

I was going to Thunder games from 1994 to 1997, and have been going to Timbers games since 2001. The Thunder have the best organization in the league, and a pretty solid fan base, but if you want to see passionate, loyal, fanatic, and LOUD fans, come out to Portland sometime.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chris Caron:
[qb] The places i've been or am familiar with fan base:
(USL Only)
1.Portland
2.Vancouver
3.El Paso
4.Toronto
5.Wilmington
6.Charlotte
7.Utah
8.Charleston
9.Western Mass./Ludlow
10.Spokane
11.Richmond
12.Rochester
13.Virginia Beach
14.Greensboro/Carolina
15.Long Island
16.Raleigh

Where in the hell did you come up with this CHRIS?? - plez eSS-plain - p0r favOr ...

Coach Dave will be ashamed of you...

CHRIS CARON - the years of credibility you've built on these boards just went to hell...

- how do you POSSIBLY rank El Paso, can't draw flies...

- Charlotte, NO FAN CHARISMA WHATSOEVER & DAMN FEW FANS PERIOD...

- Toronto, arguably the WORST team in the league, worst PITCH in the league, worst COACH in the league, granted they have a few fans, SOMEHOW...?

- Wilmington?,hey it's your home team I'll give you a pass there...

- & Utah for chrissakes...?

- these bums ahead of Charleston...?

- did you go to Hyper Happy Hour this Friday perhaps & post this from the bar...?

posted by Football Freak 05-24-2003 12:09 PM

Indiana @ El Paso Attendance 498

How does this franchise continue to survive?

Posts: 83 | From: Vancouver, BC , Canada | Registered: May 2003

I think the fans in the east are the most witty. With coming up with chants/insults on the spot.

I don't think Long Island fans get enough respect, so I'm glad they were included. You gotta drive all the way to hell's half acre to Uniondale- which for the most part (like most of LI) is an industrial wasteland. You've got the constant pull of the city, very little local news coverage, virtually no TV coverage...Rough Rider fans are like a little cult.

Speaking as a reporter covering the Riverhounds, who are no longer in the A-League, I'm not surprised they have not been put on the list with the dwindling attendence, which I hope will improve. I've never been to any other pro games, but in the box scores, I notice that El Paso has done decent in their turnouts when they play in Dudley Field, averaging about 1,500.
But the strongest teams, not neccesarily in order, are Rochester, Charleston, Portland, Minnesota, Vancouver, Seattle and Virginia Beach as of late. Please forgive me if I missed any, while I'm sure I have.

www.soccersheet.com

Yes, but Buck pulls us down, so it averages out.

She shoots, she scores. Pattie Rocks!

In my opinion the best fans are:

West: East:

Portland Wilmington
Seattle Charleston
Minnesota Pittsburgh
(no midwest cat.)

Oh that's a great list. It includes Seattle and Minnesota and leaves Vancouver out.

Too funny.

Didn't you get the memo K-Head? As Canadians we only get a 70% exchange rate on fan suppurt. So Seattle's average of 3357 easily outdoes Vancouver's 4292 per game.

Well I wasn't even thinking of total numbers. I was thinking of quality of support. It takes more than attending games and politely applauding goals to be considered "best" fans.

I guess the exchange rate also applies to the quality of support.

Vancouver Fans,

Sorry for the ommision I wasn't familiar with your club or support so I did a little research and found you have the Southsiders...nuff said.

Best of luck in 2004!

No problem, all we wanted was a little recognition....sniff...

I echo the previous disclaimer of not being able to judge, on a first-hand basis, the level of fan support of many teams in the league. While I lived in Rochester I was a season ticket holder and was always impressed by the total number & percentage of attendees that were season ticket holders compared to other A-league teams.

Rochester like many teams that draw fewer attendees has a smaller core of dye-hard fans that raise a ruckous, wave scarfs and flags and are willing to follow the team on the road. Should a ranking like this thread is attempting to create be a comparison of those smaller core group of fans? Perhaps.

Now that I live in Minnesota and attend the Thunder matches I have a greater appreciation for what it was like to feel that high enery vibe in Rochester's Frontier Field. Aside from a few young folk banging drums the Thunder played in front of a generally silent crowd during their opening match at the Metrodome. With so many empty seats and a generally subdued group of attendees it appeared and sounded as though there were 550 watching the match; not 3,400.
I believe as the poster, matthew, from Minnesota alluded to there is a solid soccer tradition in that state a growing legion of youth playing the sport. So why don't the attendance figures at Thunder matches reflex this large base of families involved in soccer? My reasoning is many of these families would rather spend their time watching their own kids compete. I don't see a critical number of MN soccer families feeling really passionate about supporting the Thunder.

Thats the problem with most teams that focus on selling the game to the families. Time for teams to focus selling the game to everyone, as a great sport to come out and watch.

July 23rd K-head vs. Eagleman !!!

Upstate CNY fans rock. Rochester is only 1.5 hour from Syracuse. The 2 cities do not share fans yet check the averages for each.

I think there is no real argument that the Portland Timbers fans are the most organized, passionate and loyal in the league. I mean who else this season is already renting and filling 50 person coaches to away matches?

After that it becomes a matter of comparing attendance with passion. A club like Rochester may draw alot of people but for the most part they sit on their hands. Vancouver draws about 1/2 of Rochester but that place gets rocking (at least in the Southside) during a game.

I respectfully ask the judges to remove Seattle's name until such a time as we can draw what would be considered a "crowd."

Thank you.

Hello...

I dont know how to post a quote, but according to mr. Krammerhead (spell check), numbers is not the only thing, and i agree.

So starting from there i got to say that the ISLANDERS fans are the best :p

We are the loudest and more loyal fans, and we keep supporting them even when they are win-less. Just ask any visiting team or fan. And by numbers i think 4000 average is not that bad either. So, we won. Thanks for trying.

(general spell check...lol)

It seems there is a major difference between west coast fans and east coast fans. East coast fans whine. Whether it be officiating, player conduct or conference structure the majority of east coast fans are whiners. Excluding Puerto Rico their fans have been really cool. Its a shame they couldn't be in the Western conference; you have to wonder if the Islanders fans are getting the impression that the league is supported by a bunch of whiners.

West coast=fans who can roll with the punches
East coast=fans who scream when their coffee is hot.

West Coast fans are conceited and obnoxious. Add annoying too. You could be onto something here.

Conceited? Thats a good one. I would say the east coast fans are the ones conceited. I mean why else would they endlessly complain about the ref when their teams lose.

I forgot to add Atlanta and Montreal to Puerto Rico in my previous post.