"Quakes near deal with Mexican club"       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Big news Goodsie: I saw your link to the article on the San Antonio thread and jumped over here to see what your reaction might be. All I can detect is that your normally gloomy looking emoticon is now beaming..... What's your take on this development? I was just going to put an Earthquakes sticker on my van (where can I get one by the way - a sticker that is, not a van?) next to my Spurs decal. Should I hold off?
Gee. Great. Change the name from Quakes to "America". What, Club America USA? US soccer and MLS are prostituting themselves to remain "economically viable". And Garber's last statement about the stadium smells fishy. SJ will be a short-term location while the Mexicans find a city with a huge untapped Mexican base. Good bye SJ, hello Houston or San Antonio, Texas. Good bye blue unis, hello yellow and blue. Mexican fans do not follow MLS because it is American and not Mexican. So shoot, make it Mexican, right? Oh, well. I've got my tapes of this year's playoff run to enjoy for years.
Re: Big news That should be a Club America USA sticker. The Quakes will join the Clash as an extinct name in US soccer annals.
I think it's a bunch of crap. I couldn't believe what I saw in the paper this morning. I'll write in more detail later....But in a nutshell, everything that we have been building on the past few years is going to be tossed out the window after next season. My father and I WILL NOT be renewing our season tickets after next season (the first time since '75) if this deal goes through and they make the changes that they propose. I just don't understand why it is so important for them to bend over backwards to bring in the hispanic community rather than building on the fan base that is already there, and have been through the years. It has already been proven that the hispanic community here aren't solid fan base. Sure, they will be out in numbers at first, but by half way through the season the numbers will be back down again. This is pathetic....I'm sure I'm in the minority, and I'm fully prepared to be ripped on, but I feel very passionate about this.
Re: Big news       The beaming emoticon is a holdover from the MLS Cup 2003 win - and the fact that thus far, despite the rumors and reports, the team is still called the San Jose Earthquakes.       Club America taking operational control of the Quakes could be a positive (especially with the potential stadium reconstruction), and I doubt that they would make a ton of roster changes to the best overall MLS team of the last three years (they'll most likely just fill Ekelund's and perhaps Faria's SI slots with Mexican players).       One of the only true negatives about this, but it's huge one, is the potential team-name change (and subsequent potential logo and uniform changes). The team-name has been around for thirty years and the current team has won two MLS Cups with it. Despite what other non-Quakes BSers will tell you, there is a tradition and identity built with this team and the Earthquakes brand, and once the front-office got around to marketing/promoting the team in the second half of the last few seasons, the attendance increased dramatically.       I completely agree with those who won't renew their season-tickets if the name-change occurs!       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I have no objections to their ownership or increased marketing to Hispanics. But changing the name? I will not renew my tickets if they do that. I have been supporting the team with a hundred mile round trip to every game. New committed ownership is great, but I do not want to feel like my team has been ripped out from under me.
You're not alone. I won't renew my tickets as well if this idiotic crap comes to pass. And it does sound like they are laying the groundwork to move the team shortly after they take over. I mean, they haven't even settled the deal and they're saying that they're changing the name. So much for staying loyal to the fans. If I had known this garbage was going down I wouldn't have renewed my season tickets for this year
No point telling each other that we'll cancel our tickets if they make a name change. Tell the people who can do something about it: MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER HEADQUARTERS 110 East 42nd Street 10th Floor New York, NY 10017 Phone: 212.450.1200 Fax: 212.450.1300
Maybe I'm trying to read between the lines of a news story and a few quotes, but it "feels" to me that the Mexican ownership will use SJ for a year then bolt for a new market with the new name of Club America USA. This will all come down to the Mexican owners getting control of Spartan and putting in MILLIONS of dollars in renovations. What is the chance of that if AEG was apparently getting no where. Can the Wee Man give us some info or is he in the dark like the rest of us, or unable to comment? Anyone want to change the tag line to "we've got two cups but no team in 2005" yet??
Re: Re: San Jose Mercury News (Sunday, 1/11/04)       This is most likely the case.       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
What really seems to upset me is that they don't care about the fan that is already there and supporting the team/teams. They are so consumed with pulling in the fans that aren't there. Naturally you must do that in order to increase attendance and to grow, but you don't do it by turning your back on those who have been faithful. It has been proven that the hispanic community are more "novelty" fans then the rest. Look how hard they have tried over the years to bring in the hispanic community.....has it worked? HELL NO! And I assure you that the league could care less about how we feel. Have you ever tried sending the league an email, or calling the office? Have you honestly ever gotten a response? No....because they really don't care. However, despite my feelings about how the league doesn't care, I think it's very important that we all get together and do what we can. I will be more than happy to spearhead a group to see what we can do about fighting this. Hell, I'll fly out to New York if I must. This could be our playoff run....and I'm sure there are a few players who may not agree with this as well. Might be a way for us to repay them for all the memories. If interested, send me an email. tonyhuston@comcast.net Sorry, but I've had enough of this franchise and its fans being screwed over. It's time we do something about it. And who's the marketing bozo that decided this was a good time to come out with this crap? Yeah...now there's a way to increase season ticket sales on the tales of the most incredible playoff run in history. Yeah...lets sell the team rights, change the name (again), and maybe move them in a year. And oh....but please buy season tickets just in case. Now there's a way to build loyalty. And finally....why change a name that already has brand recognition? Who's the brain surgeon there? As has been mentioned before...at least the Kraft's listened to the fans, and were smart enough to realize that The Clash just didn't work, and that changing it to Earthquakes was a great marketing tool.
There is no other way to feel about this article but depressed or negative. Rewrite with this twist and then ask a Man U fan how they would feel: "American football owner Malcolm Glazer announced that he is going to buy the Manchester United franchise and rename the team to Buccaneers or Tamba Bay UK. The EPL announced that the name change would not take place this year as negotiations are ongoing. Rumored to be holding up the deal is control over stadium revenues and reconstruction. A Glazer spokesman said that if the stadium deal cannot be ironed out, a move to London is possible in an attempt to get more American ex-pats living in England to attend the games. "We've got to find a way to get the American base in England interested in Man U football", said Terry Redneck, head of operations for the Glazer team."
who can read Spanish? I'm trying to find the address for the head office of Club American on there site: http://www.esmas.com/clubamerica/ thanks!
I FEEL SICK OVER THIS ARTICLE. I WILL NOT RENEW MY SEASON TICKETS. I AM NOT MEXICAN, THIS IS NOT RIGHT. AFTER ALL THE BS THIS TEAM HAS GONE THROUGH, WHAT CAN WE DO? LETS ALL GET TOGETHER. LETS DO SOMETHING NOW.
I wonder how many current SJ supporters would stop going to games if all of this news is true. Name change ? New Mexican players ? I'll definately stop going, this isn't my club. This isn't our team.
OMG! I hit my head last night really hard. And I have a really bad headache. I think I'm hallucinating now. Did I just read an article on Club America taking my team? Those bastards! MLS = Major League Sellouts
Yeah....I said the same thing in a thread earlier today, but was sent an email stating that I was an idiot. Nevertheless, I'll try this again. If you are all interested in getting together with one big strong voice, then send me an email. Nothing will be communicated to the leauge without everybody's approval. tonyhuston@comcast.net
      Now I wish those rumors of Bayer Leverkusen's U.S. division taking control of the Quakes would be coming true instead (as they apparently had no desire to change the team's identity and whatnot).       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
If I thought they gave a crap about anything but money, then I'd do something. But this league sees things in only one color - money. Bastards! I haven't written the final check for my season tickets. And I won't until I find out what's going on with this. I'd rather use that money for my new car.