Tom Dunsmore at Pitch Invasion looks at a group with a lot at stake in event of a last-minute MLS player strike: the sizable number of hardcore fans travelingon First Kick weekend.
He knows of more than 200 Fire fans who have booked flights to New York for the first MLS game at Red Bull Arena on March 27. He estimates they’ve spent a total of$75,000-$100,000 on the trip — a portion of which are nonrefundable deposits.
Other fan groups are presumably headed on the road for big matches: Philadelphia’s first game, at Seattle;the Texas derby between FC Dallas and Houston in Frisco; and Toronto FC at Columbus, where Red supporters have numbered upwards of 2,000.