Gameday Experience: SJEQ v. RBNY, July 27th 2008. Huckerby's Home Debut.

The announcer is godamn terrible. Mike "Maggy" yesterday, the numerous yellow card and goal mixups. The FO has to make an effort to get a higher quality announcer at the games.

I believe the announcement of the line-ups before they enter is actually due to a FIFA regulation.

 

After reading this and several other threads, I feel the need to defend those of us who choose not to stand w/ the Casbah and Ultras. Some seem to think that we are not doing our part as fans. I want to remind you all that many of us are season ticket holders. Many have been supporters since the jerseys were red.

I sit in 107 which is the Chicken Corner. Someone in another thread said that the colonel's corner only cheers for chicken, which could not be farther from the truth. Most of us season tix holders were unpleasantly surprised when this promo started. I have found some old friends from Spartan in my new section, and all are too savvy to cheer for crap free stuff.

My little corner of the section was full of "regulars" and we are starting to get to know and interact w/ each other. The people around me are heavily into the game, and there is an informed and humorous running commentary throughout each game. I think this is why we are not standing and cheering the entire game. To each their own...

I could hear the Casbah loud and clear, and joined in on occasion as would several others around me. When we heard the Redbulls chant, most joined in to boo them. I could not hear the Ultras, but I think this is due to acoustics as I have never really heard them at Buck Shaw. I can see their flags, so I know they're there, doing what they do best.

I sit high in my section and it was HOT with no breeze. The play on the field in the first half kept the energy in the stands hopping until the half time break. Our players came back out flat, and, frankly, the crowd was pretty flat by then as well. It is a symbiotic relationship, you know!

I enjoyed the game except for Denton's goal, think the new guys are swell (so far) and can't wait until they shake the rust off, and have even gotten over my last horrendous experience in OAK. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this season. So "Come On, You Quakes!"

 

BluByu I don't want you to get the wrong idea, as a member of the Ultras I know standing and cheering and sing and jumping is not for everyone and we do it because its fun. What I and I am pretty sure the other supporters who have come in are upset about is when the people who choose not to participate come on the board and tell us how much we suck. I thought everyone was really into the game yesterday because we played well.

 

Well we've seen what doesn't work this year and what does. Day games, particularly on Sunday, don't work. Night games seem to work be it weekend or weekday. FO seems to understand this if the Sept Houston game is any indication being moved to the night game.

Oakland works from a attendance persepective, but doesn't work from an atmosphere perspective (the former will no doubt trump the latter for the next two seasons). We'll just have to deal in the interim.

Buck Shaw seems to be working quite well especially during night games now that the beer gardens are properly placed and crowd control is better. Now if only we can stop own goaling and give the crowd something to cheer about after the 90 min mark.

 

my hats off to the supporters groups. i think it is great that you guys do what you do for the game and stand cheer and sing all game long. i think the players feed on that. i think it is wrong for people to come in here and tell you that your not doing your part. folks, the supporters groups are in 2 sections of the stadium. if you want the entire stadium errupting in chants and noise all game long, then take it upon yourself to lead your section or start your own sections supporters group. don't come here at tell them they are doing a bad job if your not joining willing to join them. another down side that does not contribute to a noisy atmosphere is that SOME san jose fans choose not to partake in the songs and dancing during the game. they like to sit there quietly and watch. and that is totally fine and as far as i'm concerned it doesn't matter what you choose as long as "your with us." so, i'll say it again, hats off to the supporters groups for all you do. keep up the great work. and, to those of you who are season tickets holders thank you for your support. and to those who are not ticket holders but still buy tickets and show up, thanks to you

 

Yes day games suck. Night games are much better. I especally like the mid week night games but realize I'm in a minority with that.

A+ to the FO for that.

Don't judge Oakland's atmosphere until after we beat LA this weekend.

Bhah! Spoken like a true teetotaller.

The Beer Ghettos suck. Blame it on the SCPD.

Wait 'til Sunday!

 

my thoughts on the oakland experience is that personally IMO (and this is no knock on the quakes supporters groups) it was the location of the supporters groups that made it sound like the southern support group was louder than the quakes supporters groups. from what i recall, the first game against the fire, the quakes supporters groups were situated in left field (i'm an a's fan and that the only way i know this stadium) and i could clearly hear you all game long. i think the reason that it sounded louder is that left field was sitting higher then where i sat and the noise carried better. i could be wrong, but i think the supporters groups have now moved to behind home plate and the visitor's dugout which has you at field level and the noise doesn't carry as well.

 

The Sunday games are because of the Telefutura contract. Every team has to suck it up and deal with their share of these games. Unfortunately for us on the west coast that means noon. If it were 3 pm like they have on the east coast, it would still suck, but it would be more convenient for a lot of people.

The Saturday 1 pm games that were scheduled look like they were just bad ideas by new management that didn't realize that day games are attendance killers. Now they realize it, so they changed the Houston game.

Saturday night games are where the fan base really build up its rhythm and its routines. A 14-week gap between Saturday night games (May 10 to August 16) is rough.

 

Saturday night games are where the fan base really build up its rhythm and its routines. A 14-week gap between Saturday night games (May 10 to August 16) is rough.

thats because we've had 7 hours (thats if you believe that drinking is supposed to start at noon) to support our local watering holes in preparation for the game. and some folks don't have to work on sunday and won't worry about having a little extra fun.

yes, sunday games suck. but i am a fan and i'll suck it up and go.

 

I beleive its a university rule.

As for the game yesterday, it was hot. Someone said it was only 70, but that can't be right. I have the sunburnt arms to prove it.
But I am still not sure why its considered a valid excuse to have lower attendance at a Sunday day game, as every other sport manages through that time slot fine. Why is soccer different?

As for the people knocking the supporters groups, I don't get it. I understand some people not wanting to stand & sing all game long, but how anyone could have a problem with those that want to is beyond me.
As for them being elitist, that is laughable. I have never paid anything, but have joined both the Casbah & Ultras on occasion and have been treated with nothing but good will.

If there is a reason for some lack of cheering and what-not, I think most of it stems from this Quakes team A) just not being very good and B) being a scrappy team, ie not fluid or "pretty".
Play some decent & attractive soccer, and the cheering will be there, scalding Sunday afternoon or not.

Lee

 

Sunburns don't really have anything to do with temperature. If it's sunny you can get a burn. The high temperature at the airport (close enough to SCU) yesterday was 75.

Because we're not used to it. The fan base is built of people used to going to games on Saturday nights. A certain portion of the people who can make it there on any Saturday night may not be able to make it on Sunday afternoon. Also soccer relies heavily on people involved in youth and adult soccer, and day games do nothing but create conflicts with those programs.

And there's pretty much no sport that plays at noon on Sunday. The only big exception is the NFL in the Central Time Zone, but you can deal with it when you are as popular as the NFL.

 

That's right. We were really lucky that the temperatures were as low as they were, probably below average for this time of year. It could have very easily been high 80's or worse. My daughter suggested that we bring a spray bottle next time, which is a good idea I think. Light-colored clothing helps too, though it goes against the "wear blue" or black sentiment. I was wishing I had a white away Quakes jersey.

 

It was hotter than 75 degrees where I was sitting.

Lee

 

Game atmosphere was okay. Not the best, but not the worst either. At least the Ultras were having our usual good time, but we did get off to a slow start (probably due to the kickoff time). Also, yes, it was hot! Hotter than 70 degrees for sure! But we chanted for pretty much the whole game. Our numbers weren't up to par with what we're accustomed to with the Saturday night games, which probably reflected in how loud we were. Again, probably due to it being a Sunday game at noon.

We (the Ultras) showed plenty of love to the new guys, Huckerby in particular! We had "Welcome" banners made for them and we had a few Huckerby chants going.

The post game at the Hut was fun! I think it's turned into the official post game hangout! Definitely worth it since you get a two for one with a
Quakes game ticket. Next home game I'm going to collect ticket stubs from anyone I can! Haha!

 

Its very common to see those that paid the most cheer the least. That goes for every sport. Sure you get a better view of the game from that close, but the people around you are complete assholes. This bodes especially true with Sharks Games.

Non-mandatory membership fee that gets you a scarf. I think the FO would have soemthing to say to the groups if they required 25 dollars to sit with them.

I'm guessing that when you say "preparation" you mean "glug glug". Nice. Stadium was empty, and i can't blame the weather. I'd blame the "performance" of the team. Wait til the Quakes pull off 2 or 3 in a row (wins, not ties). The stadium will be a little fuller after that. I'm sure that the FO will do something about air circulation at the new stadium considering the weather had to be pretty much the same at FMC.

Announcer is horrible. I'd be happier with the spanish announcer they had at the Chivas-Atlante game.

Este partido fue presentado por Chevrolet. Chevrolet: Mi auto es su auto, por favor!

The Quakes "blame" the University. The University says its up to the team as they don't mind alcohol being sold by private persons/entities at events using their facilities. (No a frat is not a private entity, it is directly related to the school) My guess is the following. Since the Quakes are using borrowed land for parking (corporate lots), the laws of the city of Santa Clara come into play. No drinking/loitering on private property. They'll ignore the loitering part, but won't allow drinking on the lots. I've seen drinking occur outside of the beer garden but on University property on the lot that connects to the beer garden. I don't think its a coincidence that the lot is the "super VIP thanks for letting us rip you off" lot.

If the Quakes had their own lot that was theirs year round (or a large open space like @ Spartan that was "theirs"), tailgating wouldn't be an issue.

Hockey games sometimes start at noon, as do mexican league soccer games. As for comparing the niners and raiders to the quakes, 1pm start and a noon start aren't much different. Its all dependent on the popularity. Believe me if the first game against Houston were a 1pm start time on a Saturday (or even a noon start), there would have been atmosphere for sure.

 

I was told by a Sargent (Lieutenant?) on the SCPD that it was their rule. It's such a dumb rule that it's easier to believe the cops made it. Besides Jesuits like to drink.

Behave. If there are no problems this season maybe they'll revisit that decision next season. MLS games have been good so far. The Honduran game was a problem. The front office has to push for this. They left a lot of money on the table Sunday. You could sell a lot of those $11 beers at a day game.

 

There's that, and there's the fact that you normally don't sit stationary out in the sun in the middle of the day unless you are sunbathing. Unless it's really unseasonably cool in the summer it's just going to be hot, period, by nature of the "activity".

But we were lucky that it wasn't much hotter. We just gotta toughen up and prepare better (I'm telling ya', spray bottles!). It can't be anywhere near as uncomfortable as the summer humidity that you'd find in, oh, I'm not naming names, but, heck, just about any other city with an MLS team.

 

He did and as Tiffany pointed out, Joe always does. But on balance, across the team, they just don't have the same feel as past teams. I think that message has to get to them and the captains. Whoever said it before that the advertising is exactly backwards and it shouldn't be the team asking the fans "Are you with us?" because we have more of a problem with the fans needing to ask the players "Are you with us?"
I think at the very least the team, as a complete team, needs to applaud the supporters sections if they heard them after every game, home or away.

I think if there are any of them where it doesn't mess up their pre-game mojo, they need to enter for warm ups "through" some congregation of fans and shake a few hands and let people see them do it. Those, like Kelly Gray, who spend 15 minutes doing hugs and conversations with players from opposing teams needs to spend that time instead finding a way to bond with his own fans.

I'm sure there's other ideas out there, but it's palpably different from past teams and our guys from past teams like Russel and Ekelund and John Doyle need to figure this out. Even John Doyle spending some time with fans pre-game and during game would help.

 

I knew I bought the white jersey for a good reason.

 

Well that's horrible if true. It ruins a bonding moment between team and fans. There's no chance really to hold up scarves and boo the other team's players or turn your back when they're introduced. This is really bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.

 

Wouldn't surprise me. SCPD is the department with "Taskforce 900" dedicated to eliminating all alcohol in and around SCU (yes that's an exaggeration, but not by much). And as someone said above, Jesuits and Catholics in general have always loved to drink so SCU doing it is unlikely. I mean hell the University has their own onsite bar so they're not opposed to booze.

 

I doubt there are any FIFA rules about how teams are announced. It might have something to do with the TV contract, wanting to keep the PA noise to a minimum while the TV announcers are talking.

 

I think that those who diss the supporters groups are just jealous of all the fun you are obviously having. If they had the same desire and organizational skills, they could create something special in their own sections. Keep up the great work, Casbah and Ultras! I know it is the wrong sport but: "Build it and they will come."