Progess Check

[nobletea]

I thought it might be interesting to revisit all the possible pitfalls of the Nationals' arrival that were forecasted/whined about all winter long. These are just a few I could think of quickly, feel free to add.

Then: Not being able to play in RFK
--Now: Not a problem.

Then: Playing on dirt at RFK
--Now: While the field isn't perfect, I think it can be fairly said that it is in good shape, and all things considered, nothing to be upset about.

Then: Terrible seating at RFK.
--Now: With apologies to the folks at the North end, the seating is largely unchanged and there are still plenty of good seats in the house, including bouncy ones.

Then: No DC United on local television.
--Now: One of the best packages in years, I think.

Then: Drop off in attendance or interest
--Now: Too soon to call, but the fans didn't jump ship at all.

Then: Drop off in media exposure
--Now: I haven't noticed it, but I don't live in the district, so maybe there are some things I'm not catching on a daily basis.


Well that's a good start. Of course, anything can happen, and something we take for granted now might be a nightmare in a year's time, but here's where we are today.

Of course, there may also be some things that aren't working out or weren't foreseen. Add those as well.

Personally, I'm just relieved that so far, so good, as they say.

noble

[TheYank]

Isn't there an issue right now with the field not being exactly rectangular? I thought that the refs paced it off and it was like six yards too long on one side. I've only been to one home game this season, but I really didn't notice anything major.

[Bootsy Collins]

Then: Terrible seating at RFK.
--Now: With apologies to the folks at the North end, the seating is largely unchanged and there are still plenty of good seats in the house, including bouncy ones.

I disagree, insofar as I think that La Norte and the seats behind the north goal offered a tremendous amount to the atmosphere in the stadium, and I miss it.


Then: Drop off in attendance or interest
--Now: Too soon to call, but the fans didn't jump ship at all.

This is the other one that worries me; I was thinking about it a lot earlier today. It is, as you say, too early to tell. But we shoulda had a lot more than 14k there on Saturday, especially given how gorgeous it was. I don't think any hardcore fans have jumped ship; I think the overlap between the really hardcore DCU fans and the hardcore baseball fans isn't big. But I can't help but wonder if a fair number of the casual fans, the folks who would come to the game on a whim with a kid or a friend and buy their tix walkup, aren't going to be coming as often because they only have so much money to spend on entertainment and some of that is going to baseball.

BUT, like you say, it is too soon to tell.

[spidergoose]

Then: Drop off in attendance or interest
--Now: Too soon to call, but the fans didn't jump ship at all.

Then: Drop off in media exposure
--Now: I haven't noticed it, but I don't live in the district, so maybe there are some things I'm not catching on a daily basis.

I think it was the Orioles who ended up taking the fall on both of these.

[mcontento]

I think it was the Orioles who ended up taking the fall on both of these.

Hopefully it will force Angelos to fold the team.

[spidergoose]

Hopefully it will force Angelos to fold the team.

Go to hell.

[McOwen]

I disagree, insofar as I think that La Norte and the seats behind the north goal offered a tremendous amount to the atmosphere in the stadium, and I miss it.


I love La Norte to death and you're my pal as well Boosty but I REALLY think that the missing section has had a nice effect of pushing the fans together.

The 15,000 the other night looked like 18,000-20,000

There were few big gaps and the closeness of the fans helps magnify the supporters and gets everyone else into it.

p.s. LOVED THE MOJO cd though man! Thanks again for that.

[Bootsy Collins]

I love La Norte to death and you're my pal as well Boosty but I REALLY think that the missing section has had a nice effect of pushing the fans together.

The 15,000 the other night looked like 18,000-20,000

There were few big gaps and the closeness of the fans helps magnify the supporters and gets everyone else into it.

Sure -- but they can't fsck with Matt Reis' head from where they are now. Or TP his goal.


p.s. LOVED THE MOJO cd though man! Thanks again for that.
The Metros have no Elvis in them.

[Pints]

Hopefully it will force Angelos to fold the team.

Or continue to win.

[BBBulldog]

I love La Norte to death and you're my pal as well Boosty but I REALLY think that the missing section has had a nice effect of pushing the fans together.


hehe I'm kinda starting to like the big hole too :D

[Jegao Paraiba]

Then: Drop off in media exposure
--Now: I haven't noticed it, but I don't live in the district, so maybe there are some things I'm not catching on a daily basis.


The Nationals have undoubtedly increased DC United's exposure.
Even the contraversies get soccer in the news more.
Every fan that goes to a baseball game sees that huge Adu poster in that park-like median.
Every baseball fan in the stadium sees our banners and some soccer lines.

Baseball fans that get used to going to RFK will find it less daunting to go to a soccer match. They will already know how things (Parking, Metro) work.

I think the baseball team has been pretty good for DCU in this regard.

[BigKris]

I'm not going to go so far as to say that baseball's arrival has been GOOD for United, but I do think that the stadium authority deserves recognition for doing everything that could reasonably be asked to minimize the impact of baseball on soccer. We lost out on the north end seats; that's about it in terms of impact. They have taken care of business.

Just before the Crew game I read somewhere that there was an impasse over cutting the grass the right way for soccer. The Nat's GM was saying, essentially, that you can't just re-cut for one sport one way and the other the other way, and he would not agree to f'ing up 'his' field for soccer, looks like we have our first big disagreement. 24 hours later I was staring at a field that had been cut the way we wanted it. Now, I still don't understand why that was a big deal in the first place, but the point is the stadium guys didn't just roll over when the Nat's GM barked at them.

[fatbastard]

24 hours later I was staring at a field that had been cut the way we wanted it. For some reason, I picture Kevin Payne going down and starting up the mower himself to get that done :D I did notice this when I first walked into the stadium and smiled.