The Colorado Rapids experienced a season-high crowd of 17,837 for yesterday’s visit of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s LA Galaxy, but the big Swede wasn’t there. Ibra was serving a one-game suspension after electing to skip the MLS All-Star Game in Atlanta, and we now know what the 36-year-old has been doing with his time off.
He’s been calling LA Galaxy season ticket holders and thanking them for renewing for the 2019 season. With 15 goals in his first 17 MLS appearances, Ibrahimovic has been the highlight of the 2018 season. You can imagine that Rapids fans were slightly pissed at his absence yesterday, and the Zlatan effect is definitely being felt at StubHub Center.
In 2017, the Galaxy attracted, on average, 22,246 supporters per match. That was down 11.5 percent from 2016. But with the arrival of Zlatan, the Galaxy’s average attendance is up to 24,466.
He’s got a lot of phone calls to make.