No Whining

[CHICO13]

Reading thru some of the posts here on BigSoccer and having some conversations with other fans it's obvious people are upset with the baseball situation. I understand and I think we can all agree that things are going to be rough for awhile.....BUT, I just want to re-iterate to members of La Barra Brava what we are all about. We are first and foremost all about supporting our team. We've been there thru the great times and the not so great times. We've endured monsoons, heat waves, battles with security and lousy beer.

Even thru the crap that lays ahead we've committed ourselves to make La Barra grow and flourish next season and the season after that. All the way into our new home. So all I ask of our members is to show up with a positive attitude, enjoy the tailgates and the company of your brothers and sisters and most important of all......JUMP! :)

La Barra Brava
La Barra Bruta
Los que nos Saltan
Son Hijos de P....

CHICO

[RFK 315]

Reading thru some of the posts here on BigSoccer and having some conversations with other fans it's obvious people are upset with the baseball situation. I understand and I think we can all agree that things are going to be rough for awhile.....BUT, I just want to re-iterate to members of La Barra Brava what we are all about. We are first and foremost all about supporting our team. We've been there thru the great times and the not so great times. We've endured monsoons, heat waves, battles with security and lousy beer.

Even thru the crap that lays ahead we've committed ourselves to make La Barra grow and flourish next season and the season after that. All the way into our new home. So all I ask of our members is to show up with a positive attitude, enjoy the tailgates and the company of your brothers and sisters and most important of all......JUMP! :)

La Barra Brava
La Barra Bruta
Los que nos Saltan
Son Hijos de P....

CHICO

Amen, Chico.
I tried to raise this sentiment a little earlier, and I think its important to keep in mind- whatever configuration the stadium is in, wherever we sit, whoever is dumping on us- the Barra will survive - and thrive ! The combined force of our supporter's corazon is way stronger than anything outside forces can throw at us - whether its MLB, CSC, or the DC Govt. There is no way that money, ignorance, or brutality can trump what the Barra symbolizes, and wherever they put us, we will continue doing what we do best - pouring our hearts out in support of United !

[Barbara]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to CHICO13 again.

[mcontento]

Mad respect to Chico and the Barra (I wish I could give you rep) from a non SC member.

[RFK 315]

oh, and p.s. -
see ya at the tailgate and in the bouncing stands tonite, and every last home game this season...


Andy

[Victory]

Amen, Chico.
I tried to raise this sentiment a little earlier, and I think its important to keep in mind- whatever configuration the stadium is in, wherever we sit, whoever is dumping on us- the Barra will survive - and thrive ! The combined force of our supporter's corazon is way stronger than anything outside forces can throw at us - whether its MLB, CSC, or the DC Govt. There is no way that money, ignorance, or brutality can trump what the Barra symbolizes, and wherever they put us, we will continue doing what we do best - pouring our hearts out in support of United !

Chico - I would not classify the concerns of DC United fans as whining. Today is a dark day in the history of DC United. DC United will incur a tremendous loss of revenue and fans when baseball comes to town.

- The dirt infield will alienate many fans and further demonstrate to them that MLS is a minor league sport not worthy of their attention. Season ticket sales will decrease.

- New seating configuration will alienate many fans, ruin atmosphere in the stadium. Season ticket sales will decrease.

- Baseball will secure a tv contract that will limit the when DC United games are televised and how many are on TV.

- Baseball offers an affordable alternative to DC United. DC United is the most affordable ticket in town. Baseball will be on par with DC United and many family's will now go to baseball games.

- There is more competition for the entertainment dollar. DC United will get a smaller piece of the pie.

- There will be a loss of media coverage. Limited space and time and the coverage will get now will decrease.

DC United has survived and established the groundwork to allow it to prosper over the past several years. Media coverage has been decent, season ticket sales have improved, community involvement has increased etc. This is all despite the on field problems.

Baseball is a major problem. People need to know and be aware that this is not going to be another battle with the FO, or CSC or the Stadium Authority. It is bigger than that.

You said you "think its important to keep in mind- whatever configuration the stadium is in, wherever we sit, whoever is dumping on us- the Barra will survive - and thrive !"

I believe that the Barra will survive and thrive. I believe that DC United can make it through these tough times. The dedicated fans of DC United are going to have to carry more of the load than ever before. More season tickets need to be purchased. More newbies need to be brought to games. More events need to be held to grow our numbers.

It is no longer enough that we know what the Barra (and all the supporters clubs) symbolize. It is no longer enough that we continue to pour our hearts in D.C. United. It is time to grow our numbers, increase our power and let everyone else know what the Barra symolizes and get them to pour their hearts into DC United.

La Barra Brava
La Barra Bruta
Los que nos Saltan
Son Hijos de P....

Vamos United.

[CHICO13]

The NO WHINING header is directed at our membership, that's why I posted this on the Barra subforum.We have no pull or influence on people that have made up their minds that this is going to suck and aren't coming back. We are just going to concentrate on our membership. The leadership of the Barra has committed to making our numbers grow. Is this a dark day in United history? Maybe, but I would rather focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's every Barra Brava members duty to bring somebody new to the games. We have an entire offseason to work on this. I'm up for it, are you?

[Red&Black]

Cruyff once said "within every disadvantage is an advantage" and to my mind that's how we have to play it here. while i think the type of concerns Victory lists are valid--there are also some opportunites here.

i know that United management sees some potential advantages and that in the long run the arrival of baseball will help give momentum for a SSS and working with DCSEC is crucial in the pursuit of an SSS. i think in hindsight you'll see that baseball helped accelerate the process. there are also numerous other less obvious benefits in working with DCSEC and finding some solutions to the dual-team problem at RFK.

there will be improvements to RFK, something that should benefit all United fans.

everyone knows this is going to change things and probably in some very dramatic ways for the Eagles and us. we are going to have to work hard to look at this as a challenge to overcome.

we are already working with United giving input as to new seating, etc. we will be very proactive in this process. we will also gain benefits by working with the team on this. i have personally been putting in time on this and plan to be in regular discussions.

at this point we need to wait and see how the options develop, there is no "plan" as of yet. we will participate in the process. i promise you that when there is information we'll pass it on to members. united will no doubt also make an announcement when there is sufficent info to warrant it.

[RFK 315]

Well, you raise some valid points, but a little too gloomy for my tastes.
There are a few points I would offer in response.


- The dirt infield will alienate many fans and further demonstrate to them that MLS is a minor league sport not worthy of their attention. Season ticket sales will decrease.

- New seating configuration will alienate many fans, ruin atmosphere in the stadium. Season ticket sales will decrease.


Its still unclear to me how the $13m in renovations for RFK will be spent. I want to believe that some of that money will go towards an acceptible and safe way for baseball and soccer to coexist in the stadium. Perhaps the basepaths will be covered by sod trays or something else that won't alienate the fans of futball.


- Baseball will secure a tv contract that will limit the when DC United games are televised and how many are on TV.

- Baseball offers an affordable alternative to DC United. DC United is the most affordable ticket in town. Baseball will be on par with DC United and many family's will now go to baseball games.

- There is more competition for the entertainment dollar. DC United will get a smaller piece of the pie.

- There will be a loss of media coverage. Limited space and time and the coverage will get now will decrease.


We also don't know if part of the plan to accomodate Angelos and the Os will include a new cable channel for the 2 baseball teams. If so, I don't think United will really lose out.
Besides, with Chivas USA joining the league, I wouldn't be surprised if MORE MLS games get televised on Telemundo, Telefutura or Univision.

As for losing fans, I'm not sure how much of a drop off there will be - as the general sentiment on these boards show, there are a lot of soccer fans who HATE baseball - we won't lose them. The soccer moms and dads and youth teams will keep coming (Freddymania will not be killed by this), and again we may gain some Mexican fans due to Chivas. Granted the fickle fans who just want cheap entertainment might drop off, but there are plenty of fans out there who will keep coming.
As for me, I will probably catch a couple of BB games, but I will still attend all the United games I can, as I have every season since the league started.

As always, fans of United need to spread the word and convert people to love the game, and I for one will keep doing so - I'm bringing two DCU-virgins to the game tonight- and there has always been room for improvement in terms of turnout. I just don't believe that baseball will be that devastating to the team we hold so dear.

[MikeLastort2]

I can't wait for baseball to come to DC. It's about damned time!

In the long run, this will be good for the city AND for DC United. Not to mention the fact that it will finally put a franchise of the national pasttime back in the national capital.

[fatbastard]

But Chiiiiiii-iiii-iiii-co, I waaaaaa-aaaa-aaanna whiiii-iii-iii-ne :rolleyes:

I will support the team no matter what, including my 5 season tickets, but I'm not plunking down my season ticket money until I have a better idea of what it's gonna get me :) And I think it gives the SCs more leverage to hold the $$ until we see if they care enough about us to put forth an effort to work with us, or just take us for granted. I'm 90% sure it'll be the former :)

Mike, I feel good for your optimism, but very rarely does a publicly financed ballpark do anything good for the actual public or the city. I do think the two stadiums across the river could be a spectacular thing if they do even a tiny bit of coordination (like stylish footbridges to get you from park to park).

Screw the aesthetics of the dirt infield, I care more about the large number of potential injuries we might see. We can barely keep our players healthy now. I was watching Oakland Raiders kick someone's ass this weekend and watched the place kicker try to kick a ball from the dirt, the way his planting foot slid made me grimace thinking about one of our guys planting to send in a cross.

Anyway - I agree with Chico's call to at least stop and think before just starting to rail about something. And also I trust Rob and Chico and Kim and Paul to keep all the supporters' best interests at the forefront with the DC United front office.

[CHICO13]

I can't wait for baseball to come to DC. It's about damned time!


[Chico Escuella] Besseball been berry berry guud to me...

Hey, I'm down with it Mikey, I'll probably even catch a Cubbies game or two. I wonder if they'll let me bring our drum and confetti in?

[Victory]

There is a difference between whining and entering a situation with open eyes. Nothing will interfere with my love for the Barra and for DC United. It might be trying times but those are times where one can prove there worth.

[CHICO13]

There is a difference between whining and entering a situation with open eyes.
Which is exactly what we're doing. We're being proactive with the front office instead of reactive. Read Red&Black's post.

[AndyMead]

Screw the aesthetics of the dirt infield, I care more about the large number of potential injuries we might see.

The Portland Timbers and Rochester Raging Rhinos seem to be no more or less injury prone than A-League teams that don't play over infield dirt.

[The Gentleman Caller]

:mad:

[CHICO13]

:mad:
Are you in the Barra friend?

[BBBulldog]

It's not like we're playing on some of Croatian 3rd league fields... :D

http://www.ultras-croatia.net/images/demoni/16.jpg

[Nick_78]

Sooooo, I don't think anyone has really voiced the true concearn here. Due to the upgrades, is beer going to be more expensive? I'll throw half a 6 dollar beer, but that's where I draw the line!!! :D

[MikeLastort2]

The Expos coming to DC is the best sports news to hit the city since the creation of Major League Soccer.

TWO brand spanking new stadia will be built, and the national pasttime comes back to the national capital. This is fantastic news!