For only the second time in the franchise's 14 years, the Red Bulls' average attendance has fallen below 10,000 a game.
Yes, it's early in the season and there are 11 games remaining to make up lost ground. Only the 2007 season has started this slow.
The numbers do not lie.
The Red Bulls, who are in the largest market in the country, are 13th out of 15 MLS clubs (average attendance is 14,807) at 9,829 with only the Kansas City Wizards (9,192) and FC Dallas (9,747) trailing them, and the Wizards have a decent excuse because their capacity at CommunityAmerica Ballpark is only 10,385.
The Red Bulls averaged 15,928 last season.
The reasons for the disappointing numbers are pretty simple.
The recession has hurt many MLS markets -- D.C. United, for example is at 14,561, down from 19,835 in 2008 -- and the metro area is no exception. Even though Red Bulls ticket prices are lower than the Yankees, who have been heavily criticized for guaging fans, and the Mets, fans still have to make difficult decisions on what to spend with their disposable income.
Despite reaching the MLS Cup final for the very first time a scant six months ago, many fans are obviously asking the question: what you have done for us lately?
Apparently not enough.
The Red Bulls have stumbled to a 2-5-2 start. While most of the team's losses have been on the road -- 0-4-1 -- they have not been the world's most exciting side and have had their share of problems at home. They lost a pair of 90th-minute leads in a 1-1 tie with the New England Revolution and a 3-2 loss to D.C. United (actually, the finishes to both matches were quite exciting -- to New England and D.C. supporters).
Last Friday's 4-1 triumph over the San Jose Earthquakes was a start. But as coach Juan Carlos Osorio and the players like to remind the media, one game certainly doesn't make a season. They have to be more consistent and build some wins.
The schedule certainly doesn't help things. A typical MLS team schedule will have a game or two on the road, then the same at home. This season, because of the New Jersey State Fair, concerts and other events at Giants Stadium, the Red Bulls' home games have been compacted into stretches of four consecutive home games in May and five successive home matches from Aug. 15 through Sept. 18.
If the team starts winning, it certainly would not be surprising at all if attendance rose. But as we have learned, New York/New Jersey sports fans are not easily swayed. Out of the ashes of a disastrous 1999 season, the MetroStars, bolstered by a new coach (Octavio Zambrano) and new players (Clint Mathis, Adolfo Valencia and Lothar Matthaeus), enjoyed the best regular-season in club history.
Still, attendance lagged behind expectations. Philadelphia Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz, who was the MetroStars president and general manager at the time, wondered where the fans were.
I explained to him that New Yorkers and New Jerseyites were much like Missourians -- the Show Me State. They wanted to see if the team could sustain that success over months, if not a season, not necessarily weeks.
The Mets, who enjoyed a big revival en route to a Subway Series appearance against the Yankees in 2000, experienced a similar situation with attendance that season.
Even the appearance of David Beckham might not be able to save the day. When the Red Bulls started slow the past two seasons, they had the Los Angeles Galaxy and Beckham to bolster attendance.
The Galaxy come into town on Thursday, July 16 -- the game was rescheduled from Saturday, July 18 so the Galaxy could play an international friendly against A.C. Milan that Sunday.
One, it's a mid-week encounter, and Wednesday and Thursday matches perennially do not fare well in MLS. Plus, there might be a Beckham backlash and the fact the novelty of him playing in MLS having worn off. And there's no guarantee that Beckham will play. He is eligible to play after the transfer window opens on July 1. But he could not be ready or sporting an injury.
By the way, if you subtract the Galaxy games the past two seasons, the Red Bulls averaged 12,265 in 2007 and 13,727 in 2008, respectively.
This is the attendance breakdown, with the weather, through the first four home games:
* March 28 -- New England Revolution (cloudy, 50 degrees) -- 12,462
* April 18 -- Real Salt Lake (partly cloudy, 75 degrees) -- 8,508
* April 26 -- D.C. United (clear, 90 degrees) -- 10,303
* May 8 -- San Jose (cloudy, 73 degrees) -- 8,042
The Red Bulls' next test on and off the field is against the Houston Dynamo at Giants Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Saturday's weather forecast for East Rutherford, N.J.? A 30 percent chance of showers with a high temperature of 69.
Michael Lewis would like to hear from you. If you have a comment, drop him a line at email.
