Crowds thin as wins mount

In the Revolution's early years, the team would sometimes outdraw other professional sports franchises in the Boston area, despite not having a plus-.500 season until 2003. But the Revolution failed to build on that audience, and the crowds dropped off, despite the team's recent success (five successive appearances in the Eastern Conference title game since 2002 and three conference titles).

The attendance of 35,402 for the Revolution's 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy Sunday again provided a glimpse of the potential popularity of professional soccer. Most of the spectators were attracted by David Beckham, and the fact that he did not play was a letdown. But the fact that the Revolution won the match and are tied with Dallas FC for first place overall in Major League Soccer created a feel-good factor while people waited in line to exit the parking lots.

The Revolution have mostly disappointed before large crowds; they were 4-10-6 before their 20 largest home crowds before Sunday. And they have lost before their two largest home crowds, in the 2002 MLS Cup (61,316) and against Columbus in the final match of the 1996 season (38,633), a result that cost them a playoff spot and epitomized their on-field failures and off-field success.

Confoundingly, as the Revolution's play improved, crowds diminished. This season, average regular-season attendance is 16,224. Two Gold Cup dates averaged 24,432, and the Brazil-Mexico game Sept. 12 is expected to attract more than 60,000 to Gillette Stadium, so the total soccer attendance this year will again surpass 300,000.

Ideally, the Revolution would play in a soccer-specific, grass-field stadium with a capacity of 25,000-30,000. But at least the team owners are passionate and savvy, plus they control the stadium.

The perception of soccer is changing in the United States, and Beckham will have a say in the direction of the game for years to come. Meanwhile, the Revolution are being pragmatic, concentrating on getting to the next level after losing in the MLS Cup two successive times.

"Winning solves everything," midfielder Shalrie Joseph said after Sunday's game. "The bottom line is winning championships and trophies."

Yes, Beckham is still recovering from a left ankle injury and he has started only one game (for Real Madrid) since June 6. But he was clearly dissuaded from testing the ankle on Gillette's artificial turf. Beckham has played twice for the Galaxy, both times on grass; on this three-game road trip, he missed two games, both on synthetic surfaces.

Galaxy defender Abel Xavier also sat out Sunday's match, though he was not on the injured list, shying away from even training lightly on the Gillette surface Saturday.

MLS teams will have to start taking into consideration that veteran players will be reluctant to play on artificial surfaces, even in latest evolution of FieldTurf at Gillette Stadium.

So far, the Revolution have actually played some of their best soccer on their home FieldTurf. But the appearance of the Gillette Stadium field is about to change as the Patriots prepare to play and concerts clutter up the schedule.

The US men's team has set up a Sept. 9 match against Brazil in Chicago, billing it as a "clash of champions" (the US won the Gold Cup, CONCACAF's title; Brazil won Copa America).

But US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati has not been able to make much progress with a matchup against Asian champion Iraq.

"There have been informal discussions," Gulati said.

There are logistical problems, some of which could be solved by having the game at a neutral site. The Iraqis, who upset Saudi Arabia to win the Asian Football Confederation title, need to continue playing games; they cannot play at home, so they need to tour. Even if an Iraq-US match cannot be arranged, the Iraqis could play in Mexico, and that could pave the way for them to perform north of the border someday.

The simplest way to get the ball rolling on this would be for an MLS team to sign someone from the Iraq national team. Nothing is likely to happen unless the political climate changes after '08 elections. In less than two years, though, there will be a good chance that Iraq and the US will meet on the playing field; both have qualified for the 2009 Confederations Cup, scheduled for June 14-28 in South Africa.

There will be a special guest of sorts -- the UEFA Champions League trophy, won this year by AC Milan -- at the Mass Premier Soccer coaches' game and banquet at 4 p.m. Saturday at Bowditch Field in Framingham. MPS's flagship team, the Cape Cod Crusaders, finished the season 9-1-6 and won the Northeast Division championship of the Premier Development League before being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the national tournament.

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com