New York Red Bulls won the Supporters' Shield and Sporting Kansas City were victorious at MLS Cup, but which team had the best fans in 2013?
Attendance numbers, jersey sales, noise level and the extensive process of creating tifos are a few examples of how supporters' groups in soccer can – more or less – "compete" with one another.
But with the emergence of MLS Fantasy the past two seasons, we now have the ability to compare league-wide knowledge at the digital level.
Here are the final results for the 2013 MLS season...
Best Fans – Top 10
- Sporting Kansas City – 1,800 points
- Portland Timbers – 1,777 points
- Columbus Crew – 1,769 points
- Philadelphia Union – 1,729 points
- D.C. United – 1,717 points
- Houston Dynamo – 1,713 points
- Colorado Rapids – 1,706 points
- Montreal Impact – 1,700 points
- Real Salt Lake – 1,699 points
- Chicago Fire – 1,691 points
*Averages based on all manager point totals
Sporting KC finished in the No.1 spot, which might not be surprising to some, but as we start to go down the list, things change rather quickly.
Crew fans finished in the No. 3 spot, Philadelphia at No. 4 and D.C. United fans came in at No. 5. All far off their actual rank in the 2013 MLS standings.
- RESULTS: Fan rankings for all 19 teams
It's easy to recognize fan representation on TV and at the stadium, but MLS Fantasy gives supporters the ability to compete against one another in a whole new way.
Since league-wide knowledge is crucial to having a successful fantasy season, one could suggest that SKC have the "smartest" fans in Major League Soccer.
The Seattle Sounders had the most fan participation in 2013, but they failed to make the Top 10.
MLS Fantasy will be back again in 2014 with more features, enhanced gameplay and possibly, better prizes – more details to come on this.
