Just asking because you have by far the lowest number of posts in the WPS threads, and your games are rumored to be poorly attended, and yet you have the #2 team! You're lucky to have such a rockin' franchise. What's the problem with you all? Don't like your team colors? Bad stadium? Nobody drives or uses the internet machine? It's like invasion of the Philly fan snatchers over there!
Well I can't speak for others but I'm here. It may be that the team hasn't played a home game in 3 weeks so it gets a little quiet around here.
Fair enough. But in our defense, this is our first year and the team so far is doing well and has not been plagued by on field controversies or bad play which is what contribute to a lot of traffic in the other forums. The biggest area of concern for Philly is the attendance numbers.
Yep, I'm here to. I agree about the non-controversy stuff. Waitin to beat SBFC's butt on Saturday!!! ; )
Sounds like y'all are in need of some good old fashioned pot stirring. Time to crank up the rumor mill.
Hmm. Wonder how you can increase attendance. Do you have a cheering section/ supporter's club? Just want my neighbor teams to do well, is all. btw, we at SBFC have had the most controversy aside from St Louis folding, and we're still near the bottom of the BS thread views list. So it takes more than rumors to generate noise, but you're welcome to try. Whatcha got? Mitts even more all-American than we thought? A-rod got even more goals up her sleeves? Coach Riley secretly even more compassionate and talented than he appears to be? Your Swede machine prepared to take even more time off nat team duties and sleep in airports just to help out their league team? Consider pot STIRRED!
Yeah, Philly has very little traction on the Big Soccer boards. There used to be a lot more, back in the Charge days. I've been to all the home games, and there are a handful of faces I see at every game, but mostly you see groups of young players. I don't see the same concentration of adult fans the Charge used to get, and those are your Big Soccer crazies. The team definitely has some work to do in building its adult fan base. Maybe they need to do a Charge 'retro' night to reach out to some of the former Philly fans. You know, something like, wear a Charge t-shirt, get in for half price. Or wear a Charge t-shirt, get a free Independence one. Of course, since they don't seem to advertise at all, I'm not sure how they'd get the word out. They have some presence in social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) but it all seems to be after the fact, talking about what they've done, not what they're going to do. Their announcement of upcoming activities is almost non-existent. And how are people going to find out about them and what they do if they don't give them a little advance notice? Like any team, their best asset is their players. People connect to the players. They have some of the most charming, engaging players in the league. Get them out there, meeting people outside of the games. And let the public know where they're going to be. You build a fan base one person at a time, and that personal contact can go a long way.
Nothing on here for us to talk about most times... Philly is pretty calm compared to drama at other teams... some of us talk on Facebook. there is a supporters club that was started by the Mens Supporters club, but I would never be a part of Daughters of Betsy..... and they have no presence at the games.
Good on you, nightofrefs, for stirring the pot. Indy are indeed a good team that is playing attractive, sophisticated, soccer. Riley should be in the mix for WNT coach when that job comes open. For me, the big issue is where they play. West Chester is, in traffic, nearly an hour away from Center City, where I live, and a longer ride from Bucks County and South Jersey, both hotbeds of soccer. From a marketing standpoint, the team appears to have put its eggs in the girls youth soccer basket, and moreover seem to have concentrated their efforts in the area adjacent to West Chester. To me, that is too narrow. But last night's match was on Comcast SportsNet (with no competition from the Phillies and the Union), and given that the Indy put on a good show, that may have been their best advertisement to date. I only wish the cameras were turned around to the side of the stadium where there were some fans.
The Independence do (and should) value their independence. But the Union have been a marketing juggernaut and the women's team should seek some synergies. One of those could be a move to Widener University's Quick Stadium, a 4,000-seater not far from PPL. PPL is too big and too expensive, but as soccer fans become accustomed to the ride to Chester, a move to Widener could be a good one for the Indy. This team is very good and deserves greater support.
Hopefully, they can Play at Villanova next year, it was not an available option this year because they were installing a new field surface (near as I could gather)
This fact right here needs to be repeated again and again. Moving to PPL would lead the team to hemorrhage funds even more than I'm guessing they do already. Moving to PPL would not get them +4k fans or even +3k fans.
Second the motion for Paul Riley to be in the mix for WNT coach when Pia is no longer US Women's Head Coach. Obviously I don't think she's on her way out anytime soon (her record is outstanding since she's taken over the team). But, when the time comes, Paul Riley is hands down one of the best coaches in the game and has the ability to take any team he coaches to a new level. Look what he has done with a new WPS team this season, can only imagine what he'd do with a dream team of US superstars.
Kool Aide, I'm not sure if you are from the Philly area or not (not sure by what river your van is parked) but I'm guessing you are not based on your posts. WCU has been a disaster for the Independence's attendance numbers because of the far west location and lack of nearby public transportation. PPL isn't the only other option but IMO your assertion that the team would not draw 3K there is off base. They are probably getting 2K now at most home games so just by moving to a more central location they would pick up more fans mixed in with some smarter marketing strategies that don't cost much. I can't tell you how many soccer fans I've talked to who said they have not been to an Independence game this year but would if they played at PPL due to its location and that attractiveness of the venue itself. Lots of soccer fans who cannot afford and/or secure Union tix might jump at the chance to see an Indy game at PPL. I truly believe they could double attendance at PPL and possibly do better than that if they marketed the team in a smarter fashion-- and my understanding is they have made some moves to do that. Now, whether 4 or 5K would look too sparse at PPL is another topic. As for PPL being too costly, it all depends on the lease agreement. The Union play 15 games at PPL and the stadium isn't used for much else. The stadium owners/operators might be willing to discount the rent some just to pad revenue. And increased ticket sales could more than make the difference up in revenues. But there are clearly other options than PPL, including Villanova and Widener's stadiums and the Campbell Park idea introduced up thread. I have my doubts about Villanova for some of the reasons mentioned before by MAR2010. But whatever they do, the Independence needs to get out of WCU because its crippling an expansion franchise that deserves more support.
Spoke with a staff member there are operating costs at PPL that cannot be reduced and they would need to secure a significant number of fans to make the move possible They are aware that they are a bit too far west and are open to looking at all possible venues with accessible public transportation. They need to find the right location and this team is not being crippled by WCU, only the attendance is. I used to go to NJ to sky blue several times last year and if the fans wanna go, they can go... If you live in the subburbs you have to have a car - you can't count on a 2000 in Philly using public transportation I also spoke about volunteering next season with the team, this year was not good for me to do so
To be honest with all of you, except for hearing that Philly was getting a WPS team, I have not heard much about the team. I am a season ticket holder with the Union and still not much info…..I thought there was suppose to be a link/tie between the Union and the Independence? If was one of the Independence staff (?) posting on the Union boards that made me goggle the team to find out about them. So right off the bat, they need to get out more….. I agree, location is a factor that concerns me, as I live in South Jersey, if it were closer to PPL Park or Philly we would more likely go and maybe even get season tickets. I know they cannot get into PPL Park yet… but how many tickets do they need to sell to get in there? I have a daughter and think it is important for her to see that pro-sports are not just for boys. I think we are going to try to get to at least one game this season. I am even thinking of getting my daughter and wife Independence Jerseys so they can wear them to the Union games….. I wonder if any the fans in our section will recognize them? How about a few of the players or marketing interns coming to the Union games and setting up a table with info about the team and maybe a giveaway? Throw a tailgate party…….. Just my 2cents.
I agree with Pasoccerdad and noid, and others, that the Independence need to get out of WCU. I appreciate that WCU was a start, but the team can't continue there. Not sure where they need to go but this team deserves better attendance. Good idea about setting up a booth at Union games.
My understanding is that the rent would be three times as much at PPL as it is at WCU. So Pasoccerdad's 5K number at PPL is pretty accurate. All of these other options that have been discussed in this thread would improve attendance IMO. I also think Noid's suggestion of a booth at Union games would be great if the Union would be amenable to it. I know some of the Indy players were at the Union home opener at the Linc. Below is an example of the free marketing I've been talking about— an interview with Heather Mitts on the Fox 29 morning show, where she plugged an upcoming game while enduring really dopey questions from the host. The team really needs to get its most recognizable face out there more in these types of settings because its free advertising and she's such a pro on TV. http://www.the700level.com/2010/07/heather-mitts-talks-soccer-in-philly.html
I agree that TV exposure is key, but it sure would be nice for them to be on a sports review, like Comcast's Sportsnite or Sportsrise, since it's local and geared more towards sports fans than those talk shows. I'm not sure how many stay-at-home moms are potential women's soccer fans. It's great that they're even on those shows, but I'm not sure it's the most useful target audience. Besides, if Heather Mitts is going to be on TV, you want a lot of men to be watching. Of course, now that the Eagles are in training camp and it's a crisis if Kevin Kolb gets a hangnail, getting sports coverage could be pretty tough...
It's GREAT to see so much activity on these boards! We just need to keep a critical mass of people posting here so others keep coming back.