[MicroBob]

"The ECHL ("Double-A" farm league) doubled the attendance of the MLS."


This is an incrdibly misleading stat if you are just going by total attendance which I assume you are.

The NFL had 22 million total fans last year.
MLB had 10 teams that drew 3 million or more each this year.
OMG....it only took 10 MLB teams to crush all of the NFL in attendance!!!!!


MLS only has 13 teams and they play 30 games each. Only 15 home-games each.
ECHL bounces around from 25-30 teams typically and they play 72 total games, 36 at home.

Don't get me wrong. I think minor-league hockey is one of the great unknowns for much of this country and many people are missing out on some really awesome sports entertainment. Glad you enjoy the Stockton games so much. your experience is not unusual for that league where fans just go crazy and have an awesome time all over the country.

But comparing their total attendance to the MLS is just ridiculous.
Most of the MLS teams draw in the 15k range per game and some of those teams intentionally built smallish stadiums so 15k/gm means they are at 80% capacity.

Also, the MLS is a truly 'national' league in that their games are televised and they really do have fans who follow the top players and debate who the best player is and watch the standings and playoffs, etc.
Even though the ECHL now is on both coasts it is still a 'minor' league. You enjoy going to the games but you probably don't follow the standings or playoff race very much and probably have very little idea who is leading the league in scoring or even who won the championship the previous year and stuff like that.

It's still a great league though. But the ECHL and MLS are completely different animals and really shouldn't be compared.