I'm a new soccer fan. I've flirted with it over the past two WCs, but this is the first season I've kept up with a club (Bundesliga at that; I know I'm doing it wrong). So here's my noob question:

Is home advantage a bigger deal in soccer than other sports? If so, why?

deadbq03 said:

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I'm a new soccer fan. I've flirted with it over the past two WCs, but this is the first season I've kept up with a club (Bundesliga at that; I know I'm doing it wrong). So here's my noob question:

Is home advantage a bigger deal in soccer than other sports? If so, why?

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Nothing wrong with following the Bundesliga. Personally, my favorite non-US league is the Premier League, but the Bundesliga is a top-tier league as well. Who are you following? Dortmund has Pulisic, Hamburg has Bobby Wood...Monchengladbach has Fabian Johnson, etc. Thanks to Klinnsman, there are a bunch of USMNT players who are in the Bundesliga.

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However, the general trend visible in the major European leagues, MLS and international football is that the home side can expect to win somewhere in the region of half their fixtures, with the away side victorious just one quarter of the time.

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Don't know how that compares with other sports, though.

Bundesliga fan here too! Definitely my favorite league outside of the US.

I certainly like watching the US players and that's a fun aspect of watching Bundesliga games, and Hamburg is probably my second favorite team to watch despite the fact that they're pretty bad. I'd like to watch Dortmund more but I loathe watching Tuchel whine.

I started following Leipzig this year (not a popular choice, I know). After the last WC I was really wanting to watch more soccer but didn't know how to start following a club. I decided that I'd go by family heritage, and if a team from Leipzig or Dresden ever made the top tier, that'd be the team I follow. The fact that they're having a great season is icing on the cake. While I know (and agree) that the corporate aspect isn't great, I also know they're great for Leipzig, and I predict they'll be good for the Bundesliga as a whole, too.

An Ag in CO said:

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However, the general trend visible in the major European leagues, MLS and international football is that the home side can expect to win somewhere in the region of half their fixtures, with the away side victorious just one quarter of the time.

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Don't know how that compares with other sports, though.

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Thanks. Leaving draws out of the equation, I think that 2:1 ratio has got to exceed the percentage involved in US sports. Certainly so in football where it's only like a 3 point edge.

Any idea why? I only ask because as someone new to the sport, it seems counter to home field/court advantages in US sports. Football and basketball crowds get loud on defense; soccer crowds are loud in a way that seems indiscriminate (with the exception of whistling at bad calls and set pieces resulting from said calls). So is it something besides the crowd, like sight lines, field familiarity,etc? Or is my perception of crowd impact wrong?

I know for my Spurs it's been a pretty big deal.

18 wins and 2 draws at home this season. Zero losses.

What a way to send off one of Europe's Iconic stadiums.

Here's the quick and dirty way that I look at it. For a solid club that isn't highly likely to get relegated the results you want from best to worst:

1) away win
2) home win
3) away draw -- depending on the quality of your opponent. Taking a point on the road can be a big deal. Getting a point at Darmstadt isn't exactly a big deal but getting a point at Bayern Munich is.
4) home draw -- same concept as 3. You still get a point, but splitting points at home with a garbage opponent will make the supporters and local media grumble. Taking a point from top of the table competition will at least buy you some respect.
5) away loss
6) home loss

deadbq03 said:

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An Ag in CO said:

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Any idea why? I only ask because as someone new to the sport, it seems counter to home field/court advantages in US sports. Football and basketball crowds get loud on defense; soccer crowds are loud in a way that seems indiscriminate (with the exception of whistling at bad calls and set pieces resulting from said calls). So is it something besides the crowd, like sight lines, field familiarity,etc? Or is my perception of crowd impact wrong?

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At least in the EPL (Where I understand the language) they don't just cheer. They sing. And sometimes it gets cheeky:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/64jrj7/mls_clubs_have_6th_best_home_field_advantage_out/

MLS has a high home field advantage probably due to players flying coach long distances to games. Not fun. That said, champions league has a pretty high rate too, likely due to travel.

I did not know that the MLS still makes their players fly coach. Brutal, especially if you're at one of the geographic endpoints in the league. I figured that by now, the league would at least have the financial wherewithal to effectively run a charter service for their players (since it really isn't likely feasible for individual teams to own an appropriately sized jet). And if not a charter service, a strong enough of an agreement with the airlines to get their players upgraded.

Excellent point on the singing. It's probably more similar to heckling in baseball than just sheer noise in football/basketball.

blindey said:

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I did not know that the MLS still makes their players fly coach. Brutal, especially if you're at one of the geographic endpoints in the league. I figured that by now, the league would at least have the financial wherewithal to effectively run a charter service for their players (since it really isn't likely feasible for individual teams to own an appropriately sized jet). And if not a charter service, a strong enough of an agreement with the airlines to get their players upgraded.

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It's not a "priority" to Don Garber. Him and Sunil are too busy jerkin each other off

PatAg said:

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blindey said:

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I did not know that the MLS still makes their players fly coach. Brutal, especially if you're at one of the geographic endpoints in the league. I figured that by now, the league would at least have the financial wherewithal to effectively run a charter service for their players (since it really isn't likely feasible for individual teams to own an appropriately sized jet). And if not a charter service, a strong enough of an agreement with the airlines to get their players upgraded.

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It's not a "priority" to Don Garber. Him and Sunil are too busy jerkin each other off

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Is the off in which they're jerking the private jet that they're not willing to share with their players?

Seriously, if they cared slightly about the quality of the league, this would be a cheap improvement.

It's primarily familiarity, routine, and comfort. There is psychological value to playing where you are welcomed and don't have to waste any mental power on wondering where something is or how something works or when to arrive.

West Ham and Tottenham are good recent examples. West Ham just opened a new stadium, and they've been dreadful in home games. Tottenham played its European games at Wembley this season, and was equally as bad. In both situations, they are still the "home" team but they don't have any of the benefits of a home game other than crowd noise. It's all very interesting and a great question.