Got this in the email from Doug Quinn and thought I'd share it with everyone else who isn't a season ticket holder.
You beat me to it! Interesting point he makes about the youth on the team, especially as we complain so much about the youth not getting a chance. If only more of that youth was homegrown. Anyone else tired of "Dallas 'Til I Die"? Every time I see the players in that video before the games I think "Dallas until I can get a contract with a European team," "Dallas until I get traded," etc. The "Til I Die" thing makes sense for England, where unless you emigrate you really are England 'til you die. Seems like a big stretch for an MLS club. And as a Fort Worthianite, "Dallas 'Til I Die" really sticks in my throat.
I agree with you here, it's kind of silly in MLS (or any club for that matter). Any player can leave at any time. Huh? Understandable (although, personally, I don't get the Ft. Worth hype) but remember this is referring to the team, not the city .
I need to email Mr. Quinn and suggest that the concession stands start pouring beers (and even soft drinks) about 5 minutes prior to halftime. I couldn't even use all of my coupons last weekend because I would've missed too much of the 2nd half...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
"Dallas" as the name of our sports teams makes sense as Dallas is the largest and most known city in the area, but being Dallas until I die is carrying it too far.
I agree about the Dallas until I die slogan - it's a bit much. I guess I understand about the difference between the slogan and name of team. It just seemed odd when I first read it.
Thanks for writing this. Yes, I am tired of it, and it would stick in my throat if I ever said it. Like so much in MLS, it feels artificial. I'm "Dallas because I've got family roots there stretching back to at least 1900, and I grew up in the area, but neither the city nor the team are likable and I reserve the right to focus more of my soccer energies on teams I follow in other leagues and places." Catchy, huh?
It was taken from the Inferno/Matador chant. I think it's a stretch calling you a supporter of anything FC Dallas, you're more like a lurker who comments on our affairs.
The problem I have with it is that it's a supporter chant. It makes sense for supporters. Even if the DFW area were without a high level team, the supporters would fondly remember FCD and most of them would undoubtedly throw their support behind any replacement team. Though it's a bit awkward away from the stadium for those of us fonder of the Westoplex than of Dallas proper, it still makes sense. Almost any team is going to have "Dallas" in the name. What's weird is trying to force it into being a slogan for the entire club, including end of the bench players and town-hopping front office folks. I know you can't have people on videos singing "Dallas til I'm surplus to requirements," but maybe that's a clue to avoid this particular type of slogan. For instance, while there are oh-so-many things wrong with my Jacksonville Jaguars, the current marketing slogan is "Jaguars: All In." It works better because it doesn't turn the coach and players delivering the line into instant hypocrites by being blatantly beyond the expectations we have for them; I thoroughly believe that 1-7 is about right for those players under an "all in" standard. Also, this is the most offseason-y post I think I've ever written, and I've put some doozies out there in the past.
You're not entirely wrong, but you're wrong enough. You're falling into the "you're not 100% like other internet-dwelling fan-types, so you must not be a fan at all." How many people in FCD Stadium on any given day feel even less passionate then me (a former season ticket holder and former Burn supporter)? Would you tell them to their faces that they aren't supporters, that they're metroplex residents who occasionally come to games? Or would you tell them, "Thanks for your interest, I know the team isn't the best and it wasn't too easy to make it up here, but we hope you'll consider coming back every now and then"?
Quinn's letter was posted here 10 days ago. There have been 13 replies. 5 years ago, there would have been 130 replies in the first 24 hours. But if you read Quinn's letter, excitement over the franchise is at an ALL TIME HIGH!! The hex dates are out. Where's the thread discussing how Dallas hasn't hosted a Full International for the nats, ever? Is the inferno board the place where all the discussion is happening? Has ClarkH finally won, and killed the Inferno for good? Anyone in here? Bueller? Bueller?
with respect to the chant, all organizations mirror their leadership. the day doug quinn was hired, wfaa taped and broadcast that same night a puff piece with quinn and clarkH walking around the stadium concourse. talking about how they were going to remake the franchise. (for the 4th time). with scarves around their necks. in august. on a day when it was 105 degrees. the scarfing ceremony. the march to the match. the perversion of a british chant, the actual meaning of which is beyond the comprehension of the entire administration. look at the kansas city chiefs, and you have the blueprint of the future in frisco. sold out stadiums of drones, and no results. 3 years in to exile, i have gone 180 degrees on one topic. i am glad they re-branded, because now they can never own The Burn, and what that was, and what it meant, to all involved. one day, a king shall appear, and the lady of the lake shall arise, and the sword that was broken shall be remade. (sorry for the mixed excalibur/tolkien. it's friday).
I would call you (and them) a "fan." Meah, I'll come to the games if I get free tickets, or because Jr. keeps bugging me but I'm going to have ridiculous conversations about how slow it is during the game and then get up to get nachos thus missing a good 15 minutes of it. Obviously you're more knowledgeable than the average Joe Blow that comes to the stadium, and you use to be a season ticket holder (so did I). I'm not saying I'm a better person than you or a better fan than you, I'm just saying there is a difference between a supporter and a fan. Supporters are there through dark days and through the good days. Fans jump on when it's convenient and the team is winning then when things go south they're standing from a distance holding their nose talking up how (whatever team they have gravitated toward at that point) has it so much better. I know beggars aren't choosers but I want 20,000 supporters. I want a waiting list for season tickets. KC has proven that it can be done under the right leadership. I seem to remember the Hunts saying they were moving away from the kiddie model and on to more of an adult mold yet on the last day of the season I couldn't help but trip over a million children who weren't watching the game (I think it was association soccer night but still). Does this make any sense or am I just the crazy guy that posts here?
1. No it isn't. It is fairly dead over there as well. 2. Just about. Why the exile? Self imposed or have the dark lords cast you out? I think Big Soccer in general is not what it used to be. There is the discussion on the Arsenal board about it. There are a number of reasons for it. I just moved back and I can count the number of people I know from the Inferno that I know from 2002-2006 who are still around on one hand.
There has definitely been a general drop off on Big Soccer the past couple of years. That being said here in the FCD forum it's significantly worse, but i'm not sure that it's a real indicator in the general populations interest in the team. I think a lot of the hardcore/soccer nerd types that post here have gotten frustrated by the team and moved on, but it's hard to argue that there hasn't been an improvement in general in stadium support the past few years. The crowds of people that tend to come now seem a lot more into the game then when the stadium first opened. I think a lot of the drop off in conversations on places like this is the advent of twitter, you get all the same information there, only quicker and usually directly from a source, vs someone like me copying and pasting someone else and twitter then trying to have a discussion here.
The "till I die" crap, is just crap, until we see investment along the lines that slogan implies. We were struggling mightily mid season, Perez was out, DF wasn't back yet, and in the July transfer period FCD's response was to go shopping in the Arg 2nd division? FFS. We need a new head coach. SH's tactics and player personnel decisions are just poor. His subbing and use of his players is poor as well. We keep hearing how great our academy is, yet our track record of bringing these prospects to the first team and integrating them is terrible. Is it mostly hype? Are these kids really that good but something else happens along the way in the academy which prevent them from making the leap to first team contributors? I'm beginning to question our academy coaching, and given how poor of an actual soccer coach I think SH is, if our academy coaching is worse than him that explains a lot. Why are all these great academy prospects not being developed to the point they can get some minutes for a non-playoff level team? I'd like a new coach, new philosophy, new tactics, a roster that actually makes sense and for someone to figure out why one of the supposed best academies in MLS has an increasingly terrible track record of converting that talent to first team minutes. We need another striker, and not some cheap ass deal at that. We also need more creative mids. Our mid field play was terrible aside from a few moments from DF. We need wing play on the right. We need better finishing in front of goal. Acting like Jackson, a defender, up top will somehow get it done is insulting. Not finding a better replacement is worse. Quit blowing smoke and saying we're going to follow the KC model if you're not willing to take the steps necessary to get there. Just look at their roster compared to our. Much more creativity in their mid field. Better wing play. Sapong/Bunbury/Kamara up top. Tactics which are so far above what SH can teach. Much better movement. Playing through the middle, getting the ball to their wings with space, multiple options going forward. An attack which is in sync. Not onyl does our talent level not work, but we're incredibly boring to watch compared to KC. There is so much work to do, and I hate it when I see someone blowing smoke and acting like "till I die" is the slogan I live by and we'll follow the KC blueprint, while every decision we see says the opposite. Money isn't the issue either. KC, RSL and SJ, among others, are much more entertaining to watch and have much more talented rosters with a similar payroll. We don't need LA/NY type spending to turn this around. Not at all. We need f'ing competence in our FO and a better coach. There's no reason we can't have a product as competitive and entertaining as SJ, RSL and KC. Not having it is simply a failure of our FO and coach.