Quote: SmokeyTA "The nasl didn’t have a huge profile, big crowds or international stars. There was a short period of time in the mid 70’s that the league splashed out to bring some household names in to try and gain a profile but it didn’t work its best league averages were 13k. For the last few years it was a joke league that even had the US mens national side playing in it at one point. It collapsed in 1984 and the US was without a professional league for 12 years before the MLS was set up.'"
I never said it was huge from inception to demise. The NASL grew organically and with investment and obtained reasonable attendances for a fledgling sport. But the arrival of Pele in 1975 was a truly huge media event across the US and indeed the world. 10 million in the US alone watched his debut game - still an American TV record for 'soccer', and not an audience that can be achieved without interest in the game. It doesn't get much more high profile than that. The arrivals of other big names helped the momentum.
So, for a time it had massive exposure including a TV audience of 10 million, a record crowd of 77,691 (and many above 30,40,50 and 60,000) and some of the biggest names in football history (Pele, Cruyff, Best, Eusebio, Hurst, Moore, Banks, Carlos Alberto, Beckenbauer, Oscar, Muller...and plenty more). It appears that I was correct. High profile, big crowds and international stars.
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