While men's World Cup qualifiers, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America Centenario have drawn "mostly robust crowds," attendance has been a "problem for U.S. men’s friendlies for a year now," according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. The east-side lower bowl at RFK Stadium during the USMNT's friendly against New Zealand on Tuesday "was almost full of bouncing, tifo-raising spectators," but the other side was "almost empty." To avoid bad TV optics, organizers did "not sell tickets in the premier sideline sections behind the team benches." Instead, everyone was "compressed into the the camera-friendly far side, in a corner on the near side or on the mezzanine." Announced attendance was 9,012, the "smallest gathering in a 25-year span of U.S. men’s appearances at RFK." The previous low was 10,216 for Saudi Arabia’s visit in '95. Before Tuesday, the "average crowd for a U.S. match in Washington was 32,186." This match was an "impossible sell from the start." Aside from the opponent, the friendly "fell on a Tuesday night, which also happened to be the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday." DC’s notorious rush hour also "probably scared off other potential customers." The USMNT friendlies this year "have bombed: six consecutive home turnouts of fewer than 10,000, all at MLS venues." None of the opponents were "particularly appetizing," and the public "wasn’t falling for it." Meanwhile, the USWNT "isn't immune to fickle fandom" despite its world champion status. After large crowds for the World Cup victory tour in late '15, numbers have "cooled this year" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/13).
