Since I can finally post new threads i'll start with this one. What measures are you as fans taking to grow the supporters groups?
I'd love to see Fran or one of the other board members answer this, as they're in charge of the Riders. I'll email them and ask a couple of them to respond here. It was mentioned in the other thread, but they did bring a bus load of fans from the Banshee in Boston out for a game last year, and that went well. Those that came, including some regular fans too, had a great time and were very interested in coming back. Personally for me, I try and bring a bunch of new fans each and every year. Sadly at times I feel like I'm suckering them into it (due to the product), but I know they've enjoyed their experiences, and have come back (and quite a few over the years now have season tickets).
Just a reminder...that you can still get your season seats in the FORT for just $243 until tomorrow at 5pm. After that the price goes up, so if you haven't renewed or purchased yet you still have time.
The experience for Newbies has to be greater than trying to get them drunk at the tailgate prior to watching what goes on the field!
There was mention of this a while ago. And I'm not sure if it's come to your attention, Or, if the users of the Fort or the Kraft Organization would even want this. But, where the Fort is currently seated is probably the worst place in the stadium for noise projection. With the huge hole to the left side of the Fort that goes under the bridge, any noise created by the SGs gets swallowed up and dulls it. While some noise does escape into the stadium, for the most part it's pretty bad & muffled. KSG was asked at one time if they could move to the center of the un-used section of Gillette, similar to what the DC United groups do. But, the FO told the SGs that no, unless the SGs wanted to pay "midfield" price. That didn't go over very well. Just a suggestion. Is there a way to have an experimental one game where the fort is at the very least moved to the opposite end of the stadium where "concerts" are usually held? Then, determine if the noise factor is better, worse or the same? You could even have a Saturday, sometime after the gridiron season and before the Revs season starts where you could asks the SGs to come for a few hours and do a sound check? Empty stadium, fill the current fort and video from midfield and run some sound level devices. Switch the SGs to the other end and do the same. For a few hours time by KSG and the willingness of supporters, the perfect place for the Fort can be discerned. However, if the "concert" seating, etc. and logistics to move the Fort is too much for KSG then the point is mute and the Fort stays where it is. I'm not a member of any supporter's group. But, I LOVE the sound of Supporters singing great tunes, in unison and IN-TUNE during games. As we've seen around the world and in MLS, if done right, it can be a very valuable experience for Fans of the Game and for newbies. Just a thought.
Since I've never been a member of a supporters group, I know nothing of the logistics of garnering support or setting things up for day of game, etc... But I've often thought that Dan's idea would make the most sense. Not only could it possibly be noise projected across the field to the other fans, and the supporters be closer and more engaged with the players...but it could also be an area of limitless (ok there is a limit obviously) growth in that section. The only motive to move there in recent years, when it was opened up, was to be closer to the field. Then you were surrounded by empty seats, no atmosphere, and likely got bored when you realized the only part of the experience that is appealing, now sucks; the quality on the pitch. I think moving the fort to the other side at the 50 yard line would be fantastic. I think a lot more fort first timers would come back to games if they got a better view of the game, as well.
I for one want to see the game. I realize the cheap seats are the cheap seats because of their limited view of the action and depth of vision. That's why behind the goals = cheapest seats! The acoustics is so bad in the current fort that from one section to the next(Across the isle!) the songs/cheers are out of time and it throws everyone off. I've said this before, the drums are the key as they can set up the tempo and should be behind the whole group. In any case, I enjoyed the few seasons in the fort and when I had season tix at midfield, I'd always spend the 2nd half going over to the fort. Not because of the songs/cheers, but just because the noise was vibrant. The morgue is truly, the morgue!
Moving to the other side of the field would push us away from the field come Pats season. That's the only slight negative.
Thanks Monty.I don't tend to spend a lot of time on the boards here these days, but as always anyone is free to reach out to me or the Midnight Riders via email (web@midnightriders.com) or twitter (@Midnightriders or @franharrington). As far as getting people to games, we did bring a bus of fans (mostly new fans) from Boston last year (it was from The Phoenix Landing though, not the Banshee) and we are already planning on doing the same, and hopefully more, for the home opener this season. We did this in conjunction with our Midnight Riders "open house", where essentially we wanted the established members to welcome the newbies and show them what we are all about. We asked people to cook a little extra food, maybe bring a couple more beers than usual, and share and engage with the people who came on the bus or wandered over to the lot from elsewhere. We've also for the past couple years been trying to figure out a carpooling program, but it seems to not get used much. People still email us or tweet at us regularly for rides which we do our best to coordinate. I myself live in Boston and don't have a car, so I fully understand the difficulties in getting out to Foxboro. For the game day experience we always welcome non-members to come and hangout pre-game in our tailgate lot. (More info and map here) In the stadium the majority of the Riders are in the Fort, which is a GA section open to all and we encourage anyone looking for the supporter experience (singing and standing all game, waving flags and banners, throwing streamers/confetti, etc.) to join us. We occasionally work with the FO to sell discounted tickets in the Fort as well (we probably will for the home opener like we have the past few years). For away games we coordinate a few road trips per season (schedule permitting). Last year we had groups in New Jersey (two buses worth), Montreal (100+), Philly, DC, and a handful of others. One does not need to be a member of the group to join us on these trips, but there are discounts offered to paid members for any buses that we run. The discount on these trips is how a lot of people end up joining initially. For games that we don't travel to we generally have 4 or 5 viewing parties throughout New England as well (The Banshee in Dorchester, Parlor Sports in Cambridge, The Amsterdam (I think?) in Nashua, NH, Ri Ra in Burlington VT, and City Steam (again not sure if this is the current bar) in Hartford, CT. These viewings are always open to all and are a good place for people to find out more about us, sign up (providing you're at a bar with Riders board member), and find fellow Revs fans in their neck of the woods. We also run various charitable events throughout the season geared for local soccer fans. This year we had a trivia night at the Pour House in Boston where we raised right around $10,000. We were beyond capacity for the downstairs. Just a couple weekends ago we also had our second annual FIFA video game tournament at The Greatest Bar. We invite members from all the local European club supporters groups to come and play. Camille might be able to add some more to that list, but those are some of the things we're doing to try and grow the supporters culture in New England.
Thanks Fran. The Nashua spot is the Nashua Garden. It's pushed back a few yards from the field IIRC. I honestly don't remember if they bring them back if the Pats game is the next day (for example), so I don't think they're permanently removed. Those few rows just get pulled under the other rows.
Alright..enough about the stupid seats in a stupid dumb ass stadium that wasn't built for Soccer!! LOL Let's see if anything comes about finding a better acoustical place for the supporters to be placed. So as not to muffle their cheering and song..! =)
We had that epic US-Barbados Gold Cup match a few years ago where a bunch of us went from the Fort to the south end for a bit of the second half and we noticed the acoustics down there were significantly more conducive to chanting. That said, the idea of permanently moving has ban bandied about over the years but the main reason why it hasn't been taken up is because there is no guarantee that the stands will be configured the same way for each game and that there will be the inevitable game(s) where concert staging is set up, precluding us from using any part of that area.
Only potentially louder, Monty. Since they are movable, they have aluminum floors, not concrete. We could make a stomping ruckus out of those and they probably would shake much in a cool way too.
Thanks.. Answers my initial question. Looks to me the logistics with the occasional concert and when the other team plays late in mls season would make KSG's work in setting up the stadium for Revs game a real nightmare! I mean who would be in charge of that?? They'd have to hire another person and get rid of an Academy player or the guy in charge of driving Sene around... Wouldn't want them to do any extra work or anything, just for the better atmosphere..I mean really? For a Soccah game? ppfft!!
You mostly covered it. Those are all things that we do to try and increase membership. The Midnight Riders also "sponsor" a team in the BSSL. There are other things that we would love to try around tailgate, which is very unique to the Riders and the Revs at Gillette but there are far too many restrictions on the "supporters lot." We try to build value in our membership as much as we can but it can be tough when it comes to "day of game" stuff. The tent at the top of the section has made a big difference as far as allowing the group to be more approachable and it was a boon to our membership at the beginning of the year. However, as the season wound down and the team was really struggling we saw less and less people interested in finding out about the group.