Totally true, but isn't it a good thing there was a functioning national group to organize people in cities? I get it that you hate AO for whatever reason but to think they haven't had a hand in helping build a national supporters culture is ridiculous.
A lot of soccer fans in this country seem to be counter culture types. Now that US soccer is getting serious mainstream attention, and AO is becoming the face of the supporter culture for US soccer, I'm not surprised many of those fans are resentful. Personally I much prefer the nerdy Sam's Army group of people, but I like the energy that a lot of the younger AO members bring to the stadium on gameday. We can all coexist and support the team, even if it seems like many don't want to.
AO owes a lot to SA but let's be real here, SA stopped functioning in pretty much any way after the 2002 cycle. A lot of the complaints I hear from the AO haters sound like people bitching about a music scene changing. "Man, it was cooler when it was just us! And everything was done our way and it was our little thing!"
I'm more referring to SA in terms of earlier pre-AO groups. Most games I've attended from 2007-2010 were in supporters sections that were independent of any national organization. I still have no idea what makes it "cool" now, or the inference that it wasn't. Nothing against AO, but that's just a really weird statement. ...it's like saying "10 years ago I wouldn't have been caught dead at a Black Keys concert, but now that they're all over the radio, I go see them live whenever they're in town". Sort of the opposite end of your music statement.
Fact remains that AO has successfully managed to set up organized groups for US soccer fans to gather and watch games together around the country. I certainly see why some don't care for AO's general image (I suppose it's a bit self-perpetuating of the "frat" image and thus tends to attract mainly 20-somethings), but the fact that AO has established such a presence in many localities outweighs some of the underlying cultural stuff that people are turned off by IMO.
Sounds about right. If nothing else I kind of wish that back when I was in my fraternity days that there was an AO type setup out there. It's easy for me to discount the importance of FLRef's point having spent the last 6 years in Chicago and Philadelphia where there are soccer bars aplenty and people gather all over to watch games, but having grown up and gone to college in middle of nowhere Michigan, having an organization creating a place to watch games would have been a lifesaver.
10 years ago we were on here complaining about a lack of interest, no home-field advantage EVER, and guess what, now we have both. What are we complaining about again?
It's true the AO stereotype is 20 something fratboy. I think the real issue is starting to show. The fratboys are cashing checks to travel the country on your membership dime and the membership is starting to realize it. Fratboys are growing up and starting to look at books. Membership isn't supposed to pay for a few people in Lincoln to fly all over the world to drink.
I don't have a problem with paying for two or three guys (which is the most I've seen going on AO trips), if they are organizing things to make the experience better and cheaper for US fans. As of now, on the travel packages, they are failing. The packages are terribly priced and put together, but I guess people continue to pay for them. That's my only issue.
Then don't buy from them. What's to be so offended about? Sam's Army was selling tickets (which were more expensive) too to the Mexico game, and I'm assuming other qualifiers as well. AO-provided tickets are still usually the cheapest in the stadium. You're more than welcome to take your money elsewhere rather than bitching about it on this forum.
As mentioned up thread most countries supporters don't have a song list to work through. It's lame. It sounds like choir practice for a fraternity. It was the same with Sam's Army. I remember one qualie back in the day, we were handed lyric sheets FFS! It doesn't add atmosphere. Ask yourself what songs the Ticos were singing in San Jose? Here's one idea, maybe create some negative atmosphere for the opponent. Whistling when they have possession. We never do that in the US.
Did you miss the title of this thread? Here's a reminder. " I've noticed some people dislike The American Outlaws - Why is this?"
That's just not true. The guys that run AO do a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes. If you think all they do is just go to games and get drunk you're crazy. I get that you hate AO for whatever reasons you have but what you're saying here isn't true at all. If all they did was pocket money like you suggest and travel around the country than AO never would have taken off in the first place.
I think I'm going to start my own supporters group. It's going to be called, "we love to go to USNT games, cheer and not sucked into petty high school student council-esque melodramas." I think I'll acronym it, "wltgtugcansiphsscm" Applications will be accepted beginning in Kansas City. To apply you'll need a ticket to the game, an interest in watching it and enough maturity to stop crying about AO Seattle v AO Columbus.
Nice idea, but it pretty much runs afoul of the most basic tenets of human behavior. Put a bunch of people together in a group and some level of pettiness is inevitable. (At the very least I agree that a lot of the "drama" over the AO Seattle/National thing is idiotic and was poorly handled by a number of people from the national to the local levels)
Some level of pettiness is indeed inevitable. But this feudal lordship attitude among some of the local AO chapters is mind boggling.
Very interested in "wltgtugcansiphsscm"!!! Where do I sign up!? and will it offer cheaper away-game packages? As long as I don't get a roommate that snores, I'll take the cheaper package!