2008 MLS Season numbers so far

Just four weeks into the 2008 season and some trends are starting to appear. League wide average attendance numbers are pretty steady at a bit above 15,000, which is lower then last season's overall average, however a bit above where the numbers sat at a similar time last season (a year ago the average per game was just under 15,000).

As far as goals, the number is up against last year's start, however this past week saw the fewest number per game of the season. Is this due to better defending as teams settle into the long haul or is it just a momentary drop?

On the foul side of things, I am amazed by the consistency of these numbers. Each week the average number of fouls per game has been between 23.9 and 25.1. Certain individual games have had more or less, but in the end the numbers hold steady. I didn't track fouls last season so I don't know if these numbers are down.

But the most interesting number as I see it is the number of ties. Last season you could expect between 25 and 30% of all matches to end knotted up but so far this year less then one out of every five games have ended even.

Anyway, here is a week-by-week look at some numbers:

Week 4

	Season (28)	Week 1 (8)
Attendance	427,045	111,273
Att per game	15,252	13,909
Beckham Att	89,540	23,401
Beckham Avg Att (3)	22,385	23,401
Goals	82	15
Goals per game	2.9	2.1
Fouls	685	176
Fouls per game	24.5	25.1
Cards (red)	82 (8)	22 (1)
Inter-conference	East 6-1-3	East 1-0-0
Visitors	7-6-15	4-2-1
Ties	5 (17.9%)	2 (28.6%)

Week 3

	Season (21)	Week 1 (8)
Attendance	315,772	97,986
Att per game	15,037	12,248
Beckham Att	66,139	20,426
Beckham Avg Att (3)	22,046	20,426
Goals	67	24
Goals per game	3.2	3
Fouls	509	198
Fouls per game	24.2	24.75
Cards (red)	70 (7)	28 (2)
Inter-conference	East 5-1-3	Tie 3-1-3
Visitors	3-4-14	3-1-4
Ties	3 (14.3%)	1 (12.5%)

Week 2

	Season (13)	Week 1 (7)
Attendance	217,786	125,917
Att per game	16,753	17,988
Beckham Att	45,713	27,000
Beckham Avg Att (2)	22,857	27,000
Goals	43	28
Goals per game	3.3	4
Fouls	311	167
Fouls per game	23.9	23.9
Cards (red)	42 (5)	23 (3)
Inter-conference	East 2-1-0	East 1-0-0
Visitors	0-3-10	0-1-6
Ties	2 (15.4%)	1 (14.3%)

Week 1

	Season (6)	Week 1 (6)
Attendance	91,869	91,869
Att per game	15,312	15,312
Beckham Att	18,713	18,713
Beckham Avg Att (1)	18,713	18,713
Goals	15	15
Goals per game	2.5	2.5
Fouls	144	144
Fouls per game	24	24
Cards (red)	19 (2)	19 (2)
Inter-conference	East 1-1-0	East 1-1-0
Visitors	0-2-4	0-2-4
Ties	1 (16.6%)	1 (16.6%)