Football may be viewed as a minority sport in the U.S., but in a city as multicultural and monolithic as New York, there are hundreds of thousands of soccer fans following the action from Europe and South America every week.
The problem for Major League Soccer is getting those fans through the gates at New York Red Bulls matches.
The Red Bulls struggle to attract more than 15,000 fans to their home games despite inhabiting a greater metropolitan area of some 19 million people. It is a mark they achieved only six times in 16 fixtures last season.
Arena location does not help. Giants Stadium, the current abode shared with the NFL’s Giants and Jets, was built across the Hudson River on the swampy wastelands of East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Though only seven miles from Midtown Manhattan, the venue poses transportation challenges for many of the city’s vehicle-less residents…and tourists.
Sacrifices are easily made to watch the NFL, but not MLS. Not yet.
Unperturbed, I made the journey a fortnight ago to see the Red Bulls clinch an unflattering 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake—their first victory of the season. I wondered how many others would join me.
I set off from my hotel at 5.15, travel instructions printed from the Red Bulls’ website in hand, allowing plenty of time for a 7.30 kick-off.
Steps One and Two were a breeze as I strolled the three blocks to Penn Station and acquired a special $10 round-trip ticket covering the train and bus rides to the stadium.
By contrast, residents of Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens firstly have to negotiate the city’s extensive transport network to arrive at Manhattan’s major rail hub. But there I was, ticket at the ready, scanning the departures board at 5.29, when major inconvenience reared its head.
Step Three involved taking a New Jersey-bound train to nearby Secaucus Junction. Plenty of trains cross under the river, but only one every hour was identified as stopping at Secaucus.
With 42 minutes to fill until the 6.11 to Dover, I wandered the station concourse looking for gathering throngs of exuberant soccer followers heading to the match. None appeared.
Instead, the platforms overflowed with New York Mets merchandise as fans returned home from an afternoon watching baseball at Citi Field.
I finally arrived at Secaucus station at 6.20 and embarked upon Stage Four—transferring to one of the buses heading for Giants Stadium. Within ten minutes, Stage Five was complete as I alighted in a vast but desolate parking lot.
Americans love to tailgate, but I could see no more than a dozen people enjoying a pre-game beer before entering the stadium confines.
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