It was an obvious formula. The classic A + B = C…

A: Millions of American kids play youth soccer.
B: People tend to take up watching sports when they can no longer play them.
Thus!
C: Kids in large numbers would grow up to become professional soccer fans.

It didn’t quite work out that way. From the NPSL to the NASL to the MISL to the WUSA to the MSL, the purveyors of professional soccer in America have watched in frustration as legions of kids climbed into the proverbial mini-van after their last youth soccer game, and…well, never got out at a soccer field again.

Finally, over the past several years Major League Soccer has found the key to unlock some measure of success and stability. Quite simply, if you can’t create the quintessential American soccer experience on a pro level, bring the European and Latin soccer experience to America. The singing. The team flag waving. The soccer-specific stadiums. The, um…imbibing.

On the other hand, the two-year-old Women’s Professional Soccer league is giving the old model one more concerted try – or at least as best as I could tell when I attended a WPS matchup this past weekend between the Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride and the Chicago Red Stars. From my first step into the venue, the identity of the Pride’s target market was no secret. In fact, even before heading through the turnstiles, I noted that there was an entire entry gate reserved for “Ball Kids” – and there was a line. And while it may have been my imagination, it sure seemed as if every youth soccer participant in the East Bay was in some way or other involved with either the pre-game or halftime extracurriculars. The WPS, if their Bay Area team is an indicator, is still talking directly to soccer kids and their parents. And you know what? It appears to work here, for on a cold, windy night the game drew 3,153 enthusiastic fans – about 80% of capacity – most of whom stayed throughout.

Toward the end of a fast-moving first half I recall thinking that, (a) I was proud of the Gold Pride front office for not going the full Chuck E Cheese route, what with all of the kids in attendance; and (b) the smell of multiple stadium delicacies had me out-drooling Pavlov’s dog.

With regard to the latter, I don’t know who had the rights to the concessions, but they left a significant amount of money on the table. Most men would have had to shave twice in the time it took to score a polish sausage. Then again it was the most effective diet I’ve ever been on – three times I lined up for food and three times I bailed without having moved forward more than a spot or two. So it was with some surprise that at the end of the game, one of the concession tents that I passed on the way out was selling out all of its stock for just $2 an item. Weeping openly, I took one of each.

At halftime I recanted my kudos to the team on taking the high road, entertainment-wise. I’ve seen some pretty unusual interactive fan contests, but this one, in which a kid is chosen at random to toss toilet paper into a tub held by the mascot while standing in front of an open port-o-john, well…insert your own joke here. And if that wasn’t riveting viewing for you, then you could watch the mass “YMCA” dance being orchestrated in one of the sections of stands across the field. Now I’m not saying that this is an old bit, but – oh what the hell, I AM saying this is an old bit.

The big-time game aura having been compromised, once play began in the second half the atmosphere devolved from the fairly professional sports atmosphere it had held until halftime into your standard high school football game environment. And it certainly didn’t help that it was about as one-sided a game as you can get with a score of 2-0. Literally 90% of the action took place on the Pride’s offensive end of the field, and while a check of the box score the next day indicated that the Red Stars had managed two shots on goal, I certainly didn’t recall either one of them. The young natives started to get restless, emptying out from the stands to frolic around the grounds.

I mention this because it is germane to the sustainability of this league. It is one thing to create a lively, comfortable event environment that will draw families interested in a unique night out. The Gold Pride have done this well. It is another thing entirely to create a fan of the team, i.e. someone that will become invested in the success of the team and its individual players. When people start to check the internet or the newspaper for the team’s scores on a regular basis and know their record and place in the standings, then you’ve reached that second level of connection. There is a wide gulf between the status of Attendee and the status of Fan. The former spends once or twice a season, albeit liberally more often than not. The latter however, creates a line item in their household budget for games.

Fortunately the Pride has the killer weapon – a winning team featuring a truly transcendent athlete. Marta (yup, simply Marta) was the 2009 WPS MVP and leading scorer, and she’s one of those players that demands your attention when she is on the field. Lightning fast and extremely savvy with the ball, she seems perpetually on the verge of scoring. Acquired from the L.A. Sol when they were disbanded after the 2009 season, Marta has already developed rock star status among soccer fans of all ages in the Bay Area.

The game ended at a fan-friendly 9:00, and the Pride players left the field to start an autograph tour of their adoring pre-pubescent fans. A half hour later, Chicago scored. Ba-da-boom. Thank you, thank you – make sure and tip your waitresses.