{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Laces Out Loud","title":"Wait, What? Maybe the Fans Don't Know Everything","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2364,"description":"Seven teams have punched their playoff tickets, and somehow the NWSL has left us with both a Shield race and a three-team fight for the final postseason spot. This week, Alli, Pamitha, and Gurushabd look ahead to a chaotic final weekend as Seattle controls its own destiny, North Carolina and Denver prepare to fight each other for survival, San Diego tries to steal the Shield from Gotham, and Ashley Sanchez gets one final regular-season chance to make history.\n\nFor Washington Spirit fans? We’re processing. But with the NWSL Championship coming to Audi Field, there’s still plenty to look forward to. \nThen we stumble into a question we did not expect to spend this much time thinking about: What does “attendance” actually mean?\n\nAfter Kansas City announced an 18,000-person crowd for a stadium that seats roughly 11,500, Alli had questions. So instead of simply getting mad on the internet, we brought back our friend Evan to explain how professional teams think about tickets sold, tickets distributed, show rates, corporate seats, comps, average ticket price, revenue, and why the number of people physically sitting in the stadium only tells part of the story.\nAnd, inconveniently, he changed our minds. We learn why giving away thousands of tickets can actually hurt a team, how community ticket programs differ from simply “papering the house,” why teams track who shows up even when they don’t report that number publicly, and how Kansas City’s unusual watch-party experiment could provide valuable information as the Current plan for a larger stadium.\n\nTurns out, there are a lot of variables behind the numbers fans see—and maybe the healthiest thing we can do is occasionally admit that our first take was wrong. Learning with Laces Out Loud. What a concept.\nFrom the fans, for the game—this is Laces Out Loud.\nInstagram, TikTok & Bluesky: @lacesoutloud\nlacesoutloudpod@gmail.com","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/ZzdwEoELZb1-ga2qI8OXWS8c-zXxLFLQhhoCLzX-wjY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85NThm/NjBmMTE2OTU5ODMz/NjkxYmRjZDcwOTAy/ZTdjYi5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}