Petition asking the Revs to improve the product

Discussion in 'New England Revolution' started by patfan1, Jul 7, 2010.

  1. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    I've been trying to catch up on all the posts about the petition since getting home from work, it's going to be passed around the MR tailgate and The Fort as well?

    If this is the case, I think I have a reasonable idea for spreading the word about the Tea Men color concept. It would be very easy to hand out a flyer/memo in regards to the colors and the movement to all those who sign the petition saying something along the lines of:

    "The past 15 years of supporting this franchise has certainly had it's up's and down's but it's safe to say that we're edging ever closer to rock bottom. The Krafts and the Front Office have shown little dedication to actually improving the product on and off the field, as well as strengthening the Revolution brand in the New England area.

    New England has a rich history of supporting soccer, including Boston Common's Oneida FC (the first organized American team), the Fall River Marskmen, and the New England Tea Men of the NASL. It's sad to see the negligence of the Krafts possible destroy any future for professional soccer in the region.

    To express your displeasure with the way this franchise is being run, please try to incorporate red and yellow into your game day attire. Red and yellow were the colors of the NASL's New England Tea Men, and at the current time many of us view this fan movement as our very own Boston Tea Party. It's time for us to stand up to big brother (Kraft/King George) and physically show our unhappiness with the way our beloved club is being run.

    Please use red and yellow in any form that you wish to display your frustration with the Front Office. We encourage you you to make appropriate banners, signs, and flags in red and yellow displaying your disappointment. As well, look for red and yellow scarves and t-shirts available for sale in the near future.

    This is our Boston Tea Party, this is our revolution, this is our chance to let the Krafts know that we'll no longer stand for being treated like the second class citizens of Gillette Stadium. Wear red and yellow, make banners, signs, flags, write letters to the Front Office, talk to your ticket representative, etc. Do whatever you can to show how much you care about the New England Revolution but disagree with the way that the club is being run.

    New England Til I Die."

    This would certainly explain to fans who have a mutual feeling towards the FO the cause and the Anti-Kraft movement. I know some people have been opposed to this whole idea but I think it has great potential.
     
  2. ngower

    ngower foolish grin

    May 24, 2006
    Nashua, NH
    I love it! If I get my new computer tomorrow I'll whip up a cheap-to-print design and try to get it out there so people can print as many copies as they can.
     
  3. pwykes

    pwykes Member

    Apr 18, 1999
    Auburn, MA
    I actually have a genuine Tea Men cap I can wear! I attended most of their games and still have a cap in wearable condition.
     
  4. pwykes

    pwykes Member

    Apr 18, 1999
    Auburn, MA
    I agree with this. I much prefer the more general statement of dissatisfaction with the organization. It's not even clear to me that Burns is the biggest problem. The current woes (not replacing players, questionable signings, etc) started before Burns arrival and I don't think getting rid of him will be a cure all. I don't think it's a good tactic to single out one person to be fired.
     
  5. rscaramelo

    rscaramelo Coach/Hack Defender

    May 5, 1999
    MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I really like the more concise petition.

    In regards to the colors. I went to many Tea Men games. I loved that team and was crushed when they went to Jacksonville. I don't think using their colors makes sense here. The history was way too brief and ended in relocation. Why not just plain white. White flags, white scarves, white banners, everything just blank plain old white. No effort needed, just like the what we have been handed by the FO - the bare minimum.
     
  6. ngower

    ngower foolish grin

    May 24, 2006
    Nashua, NH
    It's been beaten to death, but apparently needs one more lashing. We aren't adopting red and yellow solely because they were the Tea Men colors. They're merely colors of protest that coincidently are the Tea Men's colors. We aren't saying "We want to be like the tea men" but just adopting their color scheme. I made a point in one of these threads that red and yellow are technically the complete opposite colors of blue, so from a color theory perspective it would make sense. Again, do not add any ideals or history of the Tea Men, just simply think of red and yellow as the colors of this protest.

    White and black won't work, I'm sorry. They're too generic to stand out. If the entire stadium wore navy blue, perhaps it would work, but given the amount of families in white shirts and the fact that the Revs away shirt is white, it won't look right.

    To clarify, are we or are we not wearing red/yellow at this weekend's game?
     
  7. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Quite honestly I see the color portion of a fan movement as a season long effort. It will probably start with only a handful of people wearing the colors and participating. With the team colors essentially being blue and white, I think that red and yellow will be far more noticeable.

    All I can do is encourage people to stop getting hung up on the significance of the colors. We picked them because of their history and the New England Tea Men, however, if the movement is successful the only thing they will represent is being unhappy with the Krafts and the FO.
     
  8. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    It would be best to get this going as soon as possible, but all things considered we should probably wait. I'd rather be able to prepare, order scarves, make some banners, and start this whole thing off on the right foot. The DC game on 8/7 is a long way off but it would certainly give us ample time to prepare. Plus, I like Monty's idea of the petition and giving this franchise a chance to respond and redeem themselves.
     
  9. ngower

    ngower foolish grin

    May 24, 2006
    Nashua, NH
    I suppose the petition first is the proper response. There are still two Superliga games in that time frame.

    On a side note, you just made me realize I've only got two league games (three if I go to Philly) left before I move. :(
     
  10. RedRevs

    RedRevs Member

    Aug 24, 2005
    Cambridge
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is the general consensious that we're going to do petition and then apply the wait and see approach?

    I will hold off on ordering those scarves then. I don't know what'd i do with them if we never do this.
     
  11. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    It's hard to say, I can't imagine I'm ever going to be that happy with the FO's response, so the wait and see approach seems almost useless.
     
  12. VTSoccerFan

    VTSoccerFan Member+

    New England Revolution, Vermont Catamounts, NCFC
    United States
    Jun 28, 2002
    Cary, NC
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In the bizarro world that is Revolution soccer, if the front office sees a lot of orange this weekend they will think "I did not know that this many fans support The Netherlands in the World Cup Final." If the front office sees a lot of red and yellow this weekend they will think "I did not know that this many fans support Spain in the World Cup Final." :)

    Regarding the petition, I would say that whatever text gets written it should get posted online as well. Then go to every soccer writer, soccer player, coach, etc that you follow on twitter and ask them to retweet a message with a link to the petition statement. See who they suggest you follow on Friday's (#ff) and send it to them to.

    Additionally, I would suggest that when you think about which soccer reporters/bloggers to send the petition to take a look at their sites (or twitter accounts) and see what sites they list on their blogs and who they follow on twitter. Then send the statement to them too. For instance, SBI lists MLS Fan Blogs, SBI Soccer Blog Role, top soccer news sites, and also lists the SBI Media Blog role. I bet each of these sites/blogs lists other sites/blogs. Hit them all. Do not forget Du Nord and the other designated player sites. I would even try to hit some European sites, particularly Liverpool supporter sites since Kraft is sometimes linked to buying in to Liverpool. Finally, I would try to make #RevSupportersRevolt a nation wide or world wide trending topic on twitter.

    Current contact list:
    Brian Billelo
    Mike Burns
    Bob/Jonathan Kraft
    Shalrie Joseph (as team captain he should know what we are doing and why)
    Don Garber (@thesoccerdon)
    Sunil Gulati

    Soccer By Ives
    World Soccer Reader
    American Soccer News
    MLS Rumors (sigh... I know... but a lot of people read it whether they admit it or not)
    The Offside Rules
    Frank Del'Appa
    Kyle McCarthy
    L.E. Eisenmenger
    Damon Amendolara
    Thirdkit.com
    Grant Wahl
    Goff
    This is american soccer
    Du Nord
    3rd degree
    Jen Chang
    Soccer America
    Yanks Abroad
    LA Soccer News
    Sams army
    US Soccer Players.com
    ESPN
    CNNSI
    Fox
    Jamie Trecker
    Luis Bueno
    Steve Davis
    alexi Lalas (@alexilalas22)
    Wynalda
    Harkes
    Marc Connolly
    Mainstream press that hate soccer
    Jim Rome
    Wilbon
    Kornheiser

    Just give anybody and everybody a chance to get the word out if you are serious.
     
  13. NHFootyFan

    NHFootyFan Member

    May 28, 2007
    Outside Concord NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Beau Dure
    If we're stretching, Bob Ryan (certainly NOT shaughnessy)
     
  14. RevsFanDan

    RevsFanDan Member

    May 24, 2005
    North Shore
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't care either way on the color scheme thing...Just be consistent!!

    I thought a solid black was best because 200 people wearing black in a section should look like a giant hole!

    But, whatever everyone decides..I'm with it!

    Maybe another POLL..LOL =)

    Ps. That could be just Black..or Black with a RED Armband.
     
  15. bwidell

    bwidell Member+

    Apr 19, 2005
    Manchester, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Black is way too close to the dark dark blue that is the current Revs kit and the navy seats. It won't stand out enough. You'd want a bright/contrasting color. Doesn't really matter to me what that ends up being.
     
  16. RevsLiverpool

    RevsLiverpool Member+

    Nov 12, 2005
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Shanary,
    I posted this in the comments of the Burns answers blog entry:

    The fans are speaking and demonstrating our passion for the club. Hopefully management is listening so positive change can happen. We all want this team to succeed so the ball is in your court. Show us you care as much as we do so we can move forward collectively and once again be proud to support this club.
    Go Revs.

    Feel free to append it to the end of the letter if you want, no worries.
     
  17. Mike Marshall

    Mike Marshall Member+

    Feb 16, 2000
    Woburn, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This.

    I'm not sure a petition is a good idea. Again, all I want from the Revs is some indication that they care about this franchise as much as I do. They don't have to fire Mike Burns to show me that.

    1. I'm not sure Burnsie is the guy most responsible for the current state of the franchise.

    2. If I were the owner, getting a petition like that might actually make me less likely to fire Burnsie, because then it would look like I'd be bucking to fan pressure.


    But you know what? It's long since time that the organization shows its fans that they really do care about them and about winning. Give us a reason to think tomorrow is going to be better than yesterday. Give us a reason to get excited about going to watch this team. Is it too much to ask that the Revs bring in one player that someone has heard of?
     
  18. patfan1

    patfan1 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 19, 1999
    Nashua, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ahem ... Khano!
     
  19. NHFootyFan

    NHFootyFan Member

    May 28, 2007
    Outside Concord NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    It's those f*cking loopholes that'll kill ya, every damn time....
     
    1 person likes this.
  20. Argyle

    Argyle Member

    Jan 31, 2002
    Plymouth, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A few comments.

    My version of the petition doesn't include Bilello for a couple of reasons. First of all, I think our complaint should be focused on one thing, and the team's on-field performance is far worse, and (perhaps) more easily fixed
    I also think we have less to complain about with Bilello's performance. I think he's making a genuine effort to turn around this team's off-field image. He can't snap his fingers and build a stadium or get Revs gear in every store in New England. I'll debate this point in another thread if anyone wants to.

    I think someone does need to be the target of this petition. Maybe I'm a big softie for not naming Nicol, but he has a record of success that earns some slack. According to the Revs own website, Burns is in charge of player decisions. And, whether or not that is true, I also think the team's decline does roughly coincide with his tenure.
     
  21. Brian in Boston

    Brian in Boston Member+

    Jun 17, 2004
    MA & CA, USA
    We'll have to agree to disagree.

    On the Revolution's website, Bilello's responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer of the franchise are said to encompass "sales, marketing, communications, marketing [sic], broadcasting, special events and operations".

    * Sales: Sales of what? Tickets? The Revolution are averaging 10,602 fans-per-game at MLS home matches this season. That's good for ranking 14th out of 16 MLS franchises in ticket sales. Last season, the Revolution averaged 12,427 fans-per-game during regular-season home matches, ranking them 12th out of 15 MLS clubs.

    Or, are we talking merchandise sales? As is often brought up in this community, outside of the Gillette Stadium Pro Shop, it isn't as if Revolution merchandise is overburdening the shelves of New England retailers. As for your belief that Bilello isn't able to "get Revs gear in every store in New England", his responsibilities with the Revolution have included running both the concession and retail operations. Nobody is asking him to get Revolution product in every store in New England. Rather, we'd just like him to use his retail management/merchandising experience to increase the number of outlets in which Revs merchandise is available.

    In any event, whatever Bilello's supposedly "selling", people aren't buying it in impressive numbers.

    * Marketing: I'm sorry, but coining pithy phrases like "Defend the Fort", introducing brand-ambassadors like Bob's Bare-Midriff Bunnies (aka the Tevs Girls) and scheduling a preseason supporters get-together where Brian and Burnsie engage in boilerplate "happy-talk" leave me cold. It is going to take a hell of a lot more from Bilello to convince me that the New England Revolution organization is committed to marketing their franchise like a bona fide major professional sports franchise.

    * Communications: Real, substantive news comes out of Revs Central slightly more often than smoke drifts above St. Peter's Square.

    * Broadcasting: The Krafts committed to broadcasting Revolution matches to fans in Greater Boston long before Bilello's arrival upon the scene.

    * Special Events: Hey! We get to watch the Revs get their heads handed to them by Benfica and Cruzeiro! Yippee!!!

    * Operations: How tough can managing the operations be? Half of Gillette Stadium isn't even open on Revolution match days. Plus, the other half is capably ( :rolleyes: ) policed by the jackbooted thugs - uh, security personnel - of TeamOps.

    Bottom line? Color me underwhelmed with Brian Bilello's performance as Revolution COO. He strikes me as being in over his head, particularly with regard to marketing and communications. Deep down inside, he's a bean-counter... a number-cruncher. He's certainly not someone who I consider capable of effectively building the Revolution's brand.

    That said, I'm willing to go so far as to say that he's been placed in a very difficult position by the Krafts. To whit...

    "In addition to his role with the Revolution, Bilello also works on other aspects of the The Kraft Group's operations, including but not limited to the New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, Patriot Place and other new business ventures."

    Gee... is that all? Call me crazy, but I believe that the New England Revolution would be best-served if Bilello - or, a new Revolution COO hire - were allowed to solely focus on the REVOLUTION!!! Just how much of a priority does anyone believe the Revolution is to Bilello when his employers have also placed their pointy-ball team, the Taj MaBob and the Route 1 Man-Mall under his purview?

    The entire organization - top to bottom - needs to be the "target of this petition"!

    The Revolution are as dysfunctional an entity as exists in Major League Soccer today - hell, in major professional sports! The problems plaguing this team start at the top. Letting Bob Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, Sunil Gulati, Brian Bilello, et al off the hook without taking responsibility for their culpability in the mismanagement of this franchise is short-sighted and completely misses the point. Do Mike Burns and Steve Nicol have to shoulder a significant portion of the burden for the franchise's on-field failings? Absolutely. That said, to fire either one, or both, of them without meaningfully addressing the apparent disinterested stewardship provided by the investor/operators of this franchise would amount to little more than scapegoating.

    The time for empty pronouncements and half-measures is over. The Krafts and their management team need to PROVE - with sustained action and effort - that establishing and maintaining the New England Revolution as a benchmark Major League Soccer franchise - both on and off the field - is a priority for them. Just as the Krafts and their New England Patriots management team have established said gridiron football franchise as a pace-setter in the NFL, the Krafts and their New England Revolution management team must establish their soccer franchise as a pace-setting entity in MLS.
     
    1 person likes this.
  22. patfan1

    patfan1 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 19, 1999
    Nashua, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So I have no access to a printer now, and wanted to see where this stood. Can someone print out a few sheets for a petition to bring to the tailgate? Name, signature, are you a season ticket holder should be the column headings.

    And did we finalize the wording we want attached?
     
  23. shanary

    shanary Member

    Aug 18, 2008
    BOSTON
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think we go with the amended version of Argyle's we may want to make it a little less mike burns specific because I really think this is a from Kraft down issue...
     
  24. shanary

    shanary Member

    Aug 18, 2008
    BOSTON
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe this?


    Over the past two years, the team’s on-field performance has been dramatically declining. It is clear to us that no one has a plan or is making any efforts to turn this team around.
    Therefore, we call on the Revolution organization to take the major steps needed to ensure we have a team that is a viable cup contender next season. We also call on you to provide 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.
     
  25. pwykes

    pwykes Member

    Apr 18, 1999
    Auburn, MA
    I really don't think limiting this to Burns is the way to go and I personally wouldn't sign that petition. I much prefer the one that targets the organization as a whole. We don't even know for sure how much of a problem Burns is so it's foolish to assume getting rid of him is going to solve the problem.
     

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