Supporters Group Meeting - Sat, January 7 @ 7 PM: Richmond Arms

[yanks02]

Okay so this time was suggested and it's looking good for people so far.

Saturday, January 7 @ 7PM at Richmond Arms.

Richmond Arms is located at 5920 Richmond Ave. Their website is here (http://www.richmondarmsonline.com/) and a map here (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=5920%20Richmond%20Avenue&city=Houston&state=TX&zoom=9)

I guess we'll do a sort of roll call to get an idea of how many will be there.

[fordfjord]

Awsome. God willing and the flood waters don't rise, I'll be there.

[anderson]

Sounds good.

[chazsoccer]

Good Luck to you guys!

Based on observations of watching (and being involved in) supporters groups, you will have a blast, make a lot of new friends, and learn quite a bit about group dynamics.

Some things you will probably want to discuss:

Where to sit/stand in stadium?

Where to tailgate?

What is the purpose of your supporters group?
(drink? hang out? sing? chant? just make noise? formal group or informal?)
http://www.guilfoos.com/bigsoccertoolbar/friday.gif

How will people know you are a supporter?
(by where you sit? what you wear? how you behave?)

How will your group be organized?
(membership? just whoever shows? only BS posters? dues? adults only? anyone? )

How will you communicate?
(soccer boards? emails? create own website? phone calls?)

How will you get the word out to potential new members?
(just let it happen? word-of-mouth? internet? flyers? get a newspaper article? radio? space on team's website? hook up with local college kids?)

Roadtrips?
Coming up to Dallas for Feb 19 US friendly?
Two games at FC Dallas?
World Cup in June?
Other games?

What will your group be called?

Watching Parties?

Game day props?
Banners? Signs? Blow-up dolls? ;)

Secret Handshakes and Passwords are optional

[FuBoy]

Okay so this time was suggested and it's looking good for people so far.

Saturday, January 7 @ 7PM at Richmond Arms.

Richmond Arms is located at 5920 Richmond Ave. Their website is here (http://www.richmondarmsonline.com/) and a map here (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=5920%20Richmond%20Avenue&city=Houston&state=TX&zoom=9)

I guess we'll do a sort of roll call to get an idea of how many will be there.

Thanks for the map and location. For those of you that haven't been, it's just east of Fountainview on the north side of Richmond. It sit's right next to a Wendy's, and there's plenty of parking in the back. I'll fire on the old red USMNT jersey. Forecast looks nice for sitting outside, unless there's going to be some good soccer on the tele.

[Dre00]

I'll be there. 7 PM sounds early enough to avoid the big Saturday night crowds. Looking forward to it...

[anderson]

Richmond Arms pic - they have a nice patio in front, maybe we can gather there if the weather's nice and there's still space:

http://www.richmondarmsonline.com/images/logos/ra_front.jpg

[The Spleen]

kudos for picking the richmond arms, i'll do my best to get out there.

[Numero Dos]

kudos for picking the richmond arms, i'll do my best to get out there.

me, too

[Hypo-Luxa]

well damnitalltohellandback!

Two years after I move from Dallas to Houston, Dallas gets the Dallas Burn...gutted

One year after I move from Houston to Austin, Houston gets a team...I give up!

But I'll be with ya'll in spirit!!

PS. Richmond Arms is a great place to have a supporter's meeting if not be the official bar of said supporter's group. Now maybe they can replace a few(preferrably ALL) of their dirty Liverpool jerseys with some Houston ones!

[bford]

I shall do my best to be there...
stinking Liverpool Jerseys...

rock

bford

[CeltTexan]

I'm there!

[chapulincolorado]

Just some thoughts based on what I have seen experienced with other soccer and non-soccer groups.

How will you communicate?
(soccer boards? emails? create own website? phone calls?)

My experience has been that email groups work best only to organize and keep a club's planning private. Keep the trolls away and concentrate on the nuts-and-bolts of a tailgate, fund raising, etc.

BigSoccer.com is the best place I have seen to gather around chit-chat and fan support for the team.

As far as web page, start simple. K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid. You can probably start with geocities.com since they have a free web hosting and a very simple tool kit for setting up a web page. Keep at the beginning with a small of pages, maybe just start with one web page with the basic information: contact info, meeting times, etc. If funds start coming, you can probably upgrade it to a web page with your own unique url and the bells and whistles you want.

Keep up the great work. Hopefully, this rivalry can get as good as a Tigres-Monterrey or Chivas-America rivalry. :D

[FC Texas]

Website:


Let me know if you want to go a very flexible route in paying $2.99 for a year of domain name service (DNS), and $12 for a year of webhosting that offers a multitude of services - including Wiki, which allows 'open source' additions to 'agreed upon' contributors (Houston fans) to the cause. This will include Bulletin Board functionality and email list service as well.

I can ask Buzz if we can use his Matchnight graphics for this proposed website in cooperation for mutual promotion.

[yanks02]

Thanks for the ideas about the website. Someone a lot more computer literate than me will have to get back to you about hosting otions and stuff. I have always hated website design and have no clue about any of it.

Celt! I'm so glad to here you are coming! I was worried when you weren't around the boards much lately.

[chapulincolorado]

Let me know if you want to go a very flexible route in paying $2.99 for a year of domain name service (DNS), and $12 for a year of webhosting that offers a multitude of services - including Wiki, which allows 'open source' additions to 'agreed upon' contributors (Houston fans) to the cause. This will include Bulletin Board functionality and email list service as well.


Damn...those are good rates. Is that open to..uh..other soccer and non-soccer groups? :D

[Caturro]

I follow mostly South American futbol, but ever since I heard Houston was getting a MLS team I've been getting excited about the whole thing. I'd love to chant for a local team on a constant basis.

The fact that I go to UofH makes things easier too! I could just walk from the Arch building to the stadium every Saturday (if that's when MLS games are played).

I'll try to make it on Saturday if possible. Either way, I think I'll keep posting in these forums to keep myself informed. ^_^

[The Spleen]

does anyone have an idea how many houston supporters are floating around Big Soccer?

[The Spleen]

word about this meeting has also been posted on the Chron.com (Houston Chronicle) message boards:

http://forums.chron.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=hc-soccer

[drew622]

Sounds great.....I'll be there.