Re: Our Very Own 'Other Teams' Thread [R] I was surprised today to see the story about Landon's return on ESPN.com headlines. Normally they just feature goldenballs....
Re: Our Very Own 'Other Teams' Thread [R] I'm hesitant to open up another thread with this news - I'd rather just put it here for the moment (It seems pretty big if it comes to fruition). According to this blog linked on original winger, the Linc may play host to some games of the Gold Cup. http://concacaf-futball.blogspot.com/2009/02/13-venues-for-gold-cup.html
Re: Our Very Own 'Other Teams' Thread [R] Been covered here... The field at the Linc is too small for FIFA sanctioned tourneys.
Re: Our Very Own 'Other Teams' Thread [R] For a sense of how seriously we should take this particular blog...he expresses his surprise that the Orange Bowl is not being considered as a possible venue. As in, the Orange Bowl that was demolished a year ago.
Road Report from Seattle [R] Just thought I'd check in from Seattle, where my vacation will end tomorrow morning a few days before the Sounders kick off. First of all: I wasn't wild about the Sounders logo when I first saw it. But it looks great on Seattle. There are billboards around the city and posters in every bar window in downtown, and they look wonderful. A lot of the ads feature the team's official scarf, which is very well done: for those who haven't seen it, it looks like this: And speaking of merchandise...I stopped by the Seahawks team store on my way past the downtown stadium. While it still says "Seahawks" on the outside, it's more than half Sounders merch right now. My wife, a longtime soccer fan, former San Jose season ticket holder and future Philly season ticket holder, actually bought a jersey...mostly because it was the first MLS jersey she'd ever seen that was made in actual women's sizes and therefore actually fit her. My Seattle friends, not big soccer fans, were aware of the team (although they didn't know much about the league) and were thinking of going to a game or two. No telling what the team will look like on the field, but the city seems to be very ready for it. A year from now, I hope we have the visibility and the marketing this team has. (Our own Freddie Ljungberg wouldn't hurt, either).
Re: Road Report from Seattle We can only hope our ownership handles our team like this.... hopefully this becomes the rule rather than the exception for promoting teams.
Re: Road Report from Seattle Agreed. Seattle has been the model expansion franchise. Philly should be diligently taking notes.
Re: Road Report from Seattle as much as i would love to see the marketing and advertising of the team to be everywhere, i tend to think it's so prominent in seattle due to the location of the stadium. being smack dab in a downtown location puts the team front and center. having a team located on the outskirts of a city, in the suburbs, or in a different town/city altogether MAY be a detriment, but not necessarily WILL be one.
Re: Road Report from Seattle chapka, Thanks for the report. From a distance, the Sounders evince an air of professionalism and competence that I'd like to see Philadelphia emulate. To be honest, I haven't seen it yet but I'm hopeful it will develop as we get closer to First Kick ZOlO. I used to live in the Capitol Hill area when I worked for Microsoft and I'll certainly be pulling for Seattle against the Red Bulls on Thursday. Hope you've been taking advantage of all the great seafood and local brews during your trip.
Re: Road Report from Seattle Will definitely be supporting the Sounders this season and , in future , against all but Philadelphia. Love Washington State in general and Seattle in particular. Can't wait to travel to Seattle in May, prior to heading to Gorge Amphtheater for Sasquatch Festival . Gotta hit Easy Street, the coffee shop at Elliott Bay books, and The Showbox and Crocodile Cafe. Sadly, no Sounders home game during my trip.
Re: Road Report from Seattle Wow, Thanks everyone! It's great to see other MLS fans, atleast on bigsoccer.com, give some positive feedback. I really admire the whole Sons Of Ben movement too. That was really awesome. But recently, at least in the general forums, I kinda feel like Seattle has become the new kid who blew the grading curve in science class and now everybody's pissed. There's no reason your FO can't do everything ours has. Use (or as some bitter forum posters like to put it "steal time honored traditions") what works from other clubs and adapt to what works in your area. You definitely have to light a fire under the FO's chair and let them know if they get it right, they'll have tons of support but if they don't you'll be breathing down their necks. Look at what Seattle's supporters did when we saw our initial three options for a name. We wanted Sounders and they didn't give it to us... so we rallied and we took it. 100% grass roots on forums and in pubs, and sounders overwhelmingly won as a write in. Ever since that moment, the FO realized it's not their club, they just manage the money. @Blind & Derek I live up on capitol hill. The Croc is reopening in a couple weeks I think and so far the booking seems pretty good. They're sticking to up and coming acts and the bands that will always and only be "indy" favorites (older definition of indy, not deathcab indy). Also while you're here try to catch a show at Neumo's and then close down the Cha Cha followed by drunken 3 am tacos at Tacos Gringos. And Sasquatch... this year's line up is incredible and the Gorge is amazing. Best of luck next year!
Re: Road Report from Seattle I hope the Sounders success is not short-lived. One thing Seattle has that we don't is less competition. In other words, I wonder what effect the Sonics leaving has had on the area's embracing the team., Obvioulsy 2 entirely different fan bases (basketball and soccer), but their sports market is less crowded than ours. In this economy where time and money are in short supply, something to consider.
And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... According to this report, Vancouver: http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110...61381/vancouver-whitecaps-could-make-mls-jump
Re: And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... well, with vancouver and reportedly portland (https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=17219742#post17219742) coming in as 17 and 18, i can fully understand the delay in our name/logo/colors unveiling (along with any legal issues) so as to get this news out of the way and give us our spotlight.
Re: And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... Good, I was sort of pulling for Vancouver, have a few friends out there. Can't wait to see a redesigned Whitecaps logo assuming they keep the name..... (which only makes sense)
Re: And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... vancouver is a fantastic city to visit.... lots going on...worth a road trip at some point
Re: Road Report from Seattle I am in Seattle now and will be attending the match tomorrow . The amount of advertising signage in town is astounding its been all over local Tv and radio X10 def a massive event in seattle . I am not a huge fan of the color scheme for the kit but I like the fact it looks different and hopefully we continue to see MLS clubs with very unique kits rather than the uniformity pushed in the past. pretty excited for the kick off still very unsure about this field turf crap. seems like the one spoiler .
Re: And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... i guess the "VANCOUVER 2011 MLS" logo pretty much locks this up.
Re: And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... I'm watching the press conference right now. It looks pretty good, and congratulations to Vancouver! It just seems a little flat to me, without a string band and hundreds of screaming fans to cheer on the announcement!
Re: And one of the teams playing in 2011 is... Depends on your definition of "better". Way too much stuff in too confined a space, plus they actually have an active team and therefore more content.