It's still something we're going to try. Telling people that have already paid for the next three games to not go does nothing either, since we've already spent the money, so it makes no difference to Kraft.
But it's like shooting a BB at a aircraft carrier Now what I'm proposing may amount to a rowboat in the way of said aircraft carrier, but at least the row boat will be noticed
If we don't go, the attendance figure will still be the same, and the revenue won't change that much (speaking for most of us, we tailgate outside so don't really buy concessions inside anyway). So it makes no difference. We've chosen to try it this way this game and see how it goes.
The point isn't that they might ignore the petition, in fact, I bet they will. The point of all of this is to make it clear that there are significant numbers of serious fans who have become so dissatisfied with the team (and nt just losing on the field--everyone will go through that at some point) that they are on the verge of giving up. It might be like the unappreciated spouse who keeps saying they are going to leave, and then the shock hits when they actually do. Hmmm, this sounds like a country song. JW can you write one based on this, or do you need more material, like references to the Greyhound bus and drinking too much? So it really doesn't matter what they do with this information. They can wallow in oblivion at their own peril. By bringing in the media as a witness to all of this, hopefully some of them might start asking what changes the team has in mind to fix some of the broken parts. And hopefully they will press them if they try more Burnsian stock answers. Let's face it, if they announced a groundbreaking for a new urban stadium anywhere in T range and needed fans as a backdrop, we would be there faster than a mutton vindaloo through a lager lout's colon. Real action will cure a lot of problems, but cheap talk won't.
How about instead of babbling on about how this won't work you actually take charge and do something? So far you're a lot of talk and no action... I will gladly give you the keys to the fan protest because I sure as hell don't want them and didn't ask to have them. Come up with an idea get people behind it and put it in action or you're just full of hot air.
Walk out in the 4th minute of the first and second halves Why the 4th ? To represent the $4m transfer fee for Dempsey that the league and Krafty Bob has done nothing with to help this team out Chant "Fire Mike Burns" from the instant you all sit down in the Fort As an aside, does anyone have a line into how to contact Clint ? Something tells me he would have some interesting things to say about Revs land and it's sorry state right now
I decided to try my hand at another version of a statement/manifesto/petition. To Sunil Gulati, President Kraft Soccer: Between 2002 and 2008, the New England Revolution where among the most successful franchises in Major League Soccer, with six straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, four appearance in the MLS Cup and two tournament trophies. Over the past two years, under the administration of Director of Player Personnel Mike Burns, the team’s on-field performance has declined dramatically. It is clear he is not up to the task of turning this team around. Therefore, we call on you to relieve Mr. Burns of his duties and replace him with an experienced and successful manager. We also call on you to provide that person with the means and staff to successfully evaluate the talent needed to once again make the New England Revolution one of the leading franchises in Major League Soccer. Add something here about what sort of additional action people will take later this season. I tried to limit it to our issues with the quality of the team, rather than off-field stuff and to hold the person most responsible (at least he's supposed to be) accountable.
I like this. I wouldn't include 2008 though, as they fell apart the second half of the season and dropped to Chicago in the first round.
They won SuperLiga in 2008, and I include that milestone. BTW, the team history on their website stops at 2007.
Fair enough. I just remember how badly they stumbled down the stretch of that season, and that's really where the problems started to be visible. Figures.
I can go with this (I can talk to a brick wall for an hour and that translates over into my writing as well ), do we want to go the more get rid of Mike Burns route than add better players? Building on both versions (bolding my own) To Sunil Gulati, President Kraft Soccer: Between 2002 and 2008, the New England Revolution where among the most successful franchises in Major League Soccer, with six straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, four appearances in the MLS Cup and two tournament trophies. Over the past two years, under the administration of Director of Player Personnel Mike Burns, the team’s on-field performance has declined dramatically. It is clear he is not up to the task of turning this team around. Therefore, we call on you to relieve Mr. Burns of his duties and replace him with an experienced and successful manager. We also call on you to provide that person with the means and staff to successfully evaluate the talent needed to once again make the New England Revolution one of the leading franchises in Major League Soccer. The transfer window opens July 15th, if no high level players who can make an immediate impact to the quality of this team are signed we will expect Mike Burns to be relieved of his post by the next League home game August 7th. If neither of these occur than the fans will take it upon themselves to take further actions to fully make clear our anger and disappointment with this organization.
Now you're getting some where I just posted this version of the above on the Revs facebook page Over the past two years, under the administration of Director of Player Personnel Mike Burns, the team’s on-field performance has declined dramatically. It is clear he is not up to the task of turning this team around. Therefore, we call on you to relieve Mr. Burns of his duties and replace him with an experienced and successful manager. We also call on you to provide that person with the means and staff to successfully evaluate the talent needed to once again make the New England Revolution one of the leading franchises in Major League Soccer. The transfer window opens July 15th, if no high level players who can make an immediate impact to the quality of this team are signed we will expect Mr. Burns to be relieved of his post by the next League home game August 7th. If neither of these occur than the fans will take it upon themselves to take further actions to fully make clear our anger and disappointment with this organization.
Might want to add WFD and maybe make a call into the 5 live World Football Phone-in on a night when Sean Wheelock is on.
Please add the Boston area news stations and sports radio stations to the reciepent list. Not that I expect they'll cover it, but you've really got nothing to lose.
I like most of this, just not sure if we need to name a person that needs to be fired. Will go along with whatever decision is made though. Agreed.
Why, why... for the love of God, WHY? The New England Revolution's myriad problems extend well beyond the pitch! The fact of the matter is that this franchise has significantly underachieved in every aspect of its operation - including, but not limited to, such critically important "off-field" categories as marketing and merchandising - for far too long. The result is not only a team that is performing miserably on the field this season, but an organization that has gone from being a Major League Soccer founding franchise to a case-study in how not to operate an MLS team. It brings me no pleasure to say this, but the Revolution are as underachieving an organization - both on and off-the-field - as exists in Major League Soccer. Frankly, Revolution supporters should count themselves fortunate that the long-standing dysfunction that surrounds the franchise's off-field operations took as long as it did to trickle-down to the on-pitch product. That said, giving Revolution ownership, management and staff a pass on their failings in off-field tasks will serve as a tacit endorsement of their efforts and methods in such areas to date. Further, by focusing our attention solely upon bettering the Revolution's on-field product, we supporters run the risk of coming across as little more than spoiled fans who whine whenever their team fails to come-out on top in the win-loss column. Given the vagaries of pro sports competition, that's going to legitimately happen from time to time and we should give every indication that we recognize said eventuality. The message we supporters ought to be sending to Revolution ownership, management and staff is that we expect - no, DEMAND - that they operate the franchise as an MLS leader both on and off the field. They should be striving to establish the management practices and set the level of effort by which every other Major League Soccer franchise measures itself. In short, the Krafts and their Revolution employees should be focused on operating as exemplary an organization in MLS as the Krafts and their New England Patriots employees do in the NFL. Period. Bottom line? As supporters we need to let the Krafts know that when it comes to operating the New England Revolution as a priority both on and off the field, the time for meaningful action - as opposed to empty pronouncements - is NOW. 6 States. 1 Team. 0 Investor/Operator Commitment. The Krafts have failed their players, their supporters and SOCCER!
This is great stuff guys. Keep it short and sweet. Identify the problem, rationale and what we've identified as our solution with clear actionable steps they can take to get there. Be clear why we are doing this and the deadline of Aug 7th to indicate when they have until to acknowledge our effort. I really like the idea of adding a "STH since [year]" on the petition to add a bit more punch and let them know who is unhappy. You may want to cc the VP of Ticket Sales also because he ought to be concerned about a potential mass exodus of season ticket holders on the horizon. When you tie it to money and the thought of losing a potential revenue stream, managers will suddenly perk up. Good luck and if you need someone to blog/tweet about this I'm in. For PR, make sure there's a thread on the petition in MLS News and Analysis also.
I can put together a quick document tomorrow and print out copies (and email them out to whoever won't be at the Riders tailgate) ... saying "Name, signature and season ticket holder since (if applicable)." Anything else needed on there?
Since the other thread was closed, I suppose this is the most appropriate place but... Regarding the Tea Men colors idea: orange is opposite to blue on the color wheel. Red and yellow make up blue, therefore they are essentially the exact opposite of blue. So if we completely negate the Tea Men reasoning, that could be a reason for using them... I just hate the idea of black, it didn't really work well when Toronto did it as it's far too common.