D.C. United’s Odd Fan Sweepstakes
July 17, 2008
D.C. United wants you to see them take on the New York Red Bulls in August.
And Amtrak is going to get you there.
In the strangest team promotion since Big Tigger linked up with the Washington Wizards, D.C. United is collaborating with Amtrak to send you and a friend up to New York for this riveting MLS match-up. Riveting loosely meaning “I’d rather watch fly fishing.”
If you’re going to send your fans somewhere, and it has to be a divisional opponent, try Chicago or Toronto. That promotion would involve a flight, and heightened expectations of traveling.
Don’t put your fans on a train. Chances are, your biggest fans ride the freakin’ Metro everyday and dying to escape sickly middle managers, ghetto-ass secretaries and copies of the Washington Post left behind with the sports section taken out.
D.C. United Reigns Supreme On Local Television
July 7, 2008
Chances are, if you are watching sports in Washington D.C. when the Washington Redskins, Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals aren’t playing, and you’re looking to pass the time until McGlaughlin Group comes on, you are watching D.C. United. Courtesy of the venerable D.C. Sports Bog:
As mentioned earlier today, based on SportsBusiness Journal’s analysis of Nielsen Media Research numbers, the Nats are drawing an average rating of 0.39 in the Washington Designated Market Area, which consists of approximately 2.3 million households. A 0.39 rating corresponds to about 9,000 households.
For one comparison–with a sport whose season begins and ends at virtually the same time–D.C. United is thus far drawing a 0.5 rating for its eight regular-season MLS games that have been shown live on Comcast SportsNet. That doesn’t count the taped replays CSN shows, nor does it account for D.C. United games on any of the ESPN/ABC family of stations. The 0.5 rating corresponds to approximately 11,500 local households.
Which means that, at the season’s midway point for both franchises, D.C. United is outdrawing the Nats on TV.
Tell me the Nats don’t need Barry Bonds. I dare you, dawg.
DC United to Honor 97 ‘MLS Championship Team With Wack Exhibition
October 16, 2007
DC United will honor one of its greatest players, Mario Etcheverry, and its 1997 Major League Soccer championship team with a tribute match pitting aging soccer players against marginally relevant actors and musicians this Saturday. A sample from the release:
Scheduled to join these soccer luminaries will be “Without a Trace” star, Anthony LaPaglia, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and Hootie & the Blowfish drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld.
What? Who?
I don’t know how interesting this will be, but they could certainly use some pointers from Allen Iverson and his annual celebrity softball game. As it stands now, DC United is going to honor a great team with an event that has lame written all over it.
