Friday, June 5, 2009

Just how good are the Seals?

After a rough first road trip, the Seals returned to Victoria and had a solid 3-3 home stand. Of course their first series win in franchise history came at the expense of the previously winless Orange County Flyers. The Seals are set to face the Chico Outlaws tonight in a much tougher test. The Outlaws have an 8-5 record, but they have also lost their last three in a row. By the end of the weekend, we'll find out just how much the Seals have improved since the season began.

The Seals averaged 1,815 fans for their first six home dates. That's good enough for fourth place in league attendance. The figures are a bit lower than I was expecting, but there was one weekday afternoon game included in the six-game home stand. The Seals next six home games are on the weekend, so you can expect that average to rise.

The Tucson Toros are miles ahead of the other teams in the league with an average of 3,856 fans in 10 home games. Surprisingly, Long Beach and Orange County have yet to play at home. My guess is that this scheduling quirk has a lot to do with the last-minute withdrawal of the Tijuana franchise.