[gofire2001]

Last night there was more US fans at Spartan stadium than wales fans. How is it there is more Wales flags and banners hanging up than US? How do our players feel when they walk onto a home field only to see more Wales flags than US flags? Does anyone else agree that something has to be done about this before WC qualifying starts?

[Thomas Flannigan]

I would love to see something done about this but don't count on it. The USSF markets to FOREIGN fans, not U.S. fans. If you want to take a course in ethnic geography in the U.S., just look at where the USSF puts games:
El Salvador in DC, largest Salvadorean population in the U.S.
Canada in Lockhart, FL, where the largest concentration of Canadian "snowbirds" who winter in Florida can be found.
Mexico in Houston.
Wales in San Jose, home of the largest Welsh community in the U.S.
Japan backed out of Seattle, but that game was put there because of the large Japanese population in Seattle. Portugal was scheduled for Boston, in the Portuguese heartland.
The USSF did the same thing with qualifiers last time, but we lucked out. Next time we may not be so lucky.

[Straight Red]

Originally posted by Thomas Flannigan
I would love to see something done about this but don't count on it. The USSF markets to FOREIGN fans, not U.S. fans. If you want to take a course in ethnic geography in the U.S., just look at where the USSF puts games:
El Salvador in DC, largest Salvadorean population in the U.S.
Canada in Lockhart, FL, where the largest concentration of Canadian "snowbirds" who winter in Florida can be found.
Mexico in Houston.
Wales in San Jose, home of the largest Welsh community in the U.S.
Japan backed out of Seattle, but that game was put there because of the large Japanese population in Seattle. Portugal was scheduled for Boston, in the Portuguese heartland.
The USSF did the same thing with qualifiers last time, but we lucked out. Next time we may not be so lucky.

Can you blame the USSF? It's all about money and selling tickets, and you won't find US soccer fans filling a stadium for a friendly.

[gofire2001]

Originally posted by Thomas Flannigan
I would love to see something done about this but don't count on it. The USSF markets to FOREIGN fans, not U.S. fans. If you want to take a course in ethnic geography in the U.S., just look at where the USSF puts games:
El Salvador in DC, largest Salvadorean population in the U.S.
Canada in Lockhart, FL, where the largest concentration of Canadian "snowbirds" who winter in Florida can be found.
Mexico in Houston.
Wales in San Jose, home of the largest Welsh community in the U.S.
Japan backed out of Seattle, but that game was put there because of the large Japanese population in Seattle. Portugal was scheduled for Boston, in the Portuguese heartland.
The USSF did the same thing with qualifiers last time, but we lucked out. Next time we may not be so lucky.

But if only a couple of hundred US fans brought a flag or banner and was able to cover the stadium that would be a small victory for us.

[yellowbismark]

Originally posted by Thomas Flannigan

Wales in San Jose, home of the largest Welsh community in the U.S.

huh? there's a Welsh community in the US??

[Thomas Flannigan]

I am all for making money. There are cities in this country that are dying for a game. The national team hasn't played in Chicago in 10 years. The last game was a US Cup game, a kind of friendly, against Germany in 1993 that drew 36,000 under threat of rain. That's 3 times what yesterday's crowd was and 9 times the Lockhart crowd. I have no problem with playing Mexico once a year in a venue where the Mexicans will pack the place. But every single game does not have to cater to an ethnic market. You can make lots of money from American fans too.

[pweakland]

Originally posted by gofire2001
How do our players feel when they walk onto a home field only to see more Wales flags than US flags?

i doubt they give a rat's ass. but what do i know...maybe landon thinks, "damn, those welsh have more pretty flags and banners hanging around the stadium, maybe i won't play as hard as i would if there were more pretty american banners and such around the stadium..."

[Thomas Flannigan]

Of course they care! Doesn't anyone remember what Earnie Stewart said while walking through an empty Saprissa Stadium in Costa Rica after our WCQ loss? "Just once, I wish I could play in front of a crowd like that." Josh Wolff wrote on his website that coming out of the tunnel for warmups in Columbus before the Mexico game was one of the greatest experiences of his life. Finally, we had a home field atmosphere for a game against Mexico.

[eric d]

Originally posted by Thomas Flannigan
I would love to see something done about this but don't count on it. The USSF markets to FOREIGN fans, not U.S. fans. If you want to take a course in ethnic geography in the U.S., just look at where the USSF puts games:
El Salvador in DC, largest Salvadorean population in the U.S.
Canada in Lockhart, FL, where the largest concentration of Canadian "snowbirds" who winter in Florida can be found.
Mexico in Houston.
Wales in San Jose, home of the largest Welsh community in the U.S.
Japan backed out of Seattle, but that game was put there because of the large Japanese population in Seattle. Portugal was scheduled for Boston, in the Portuguese heartland.
The USSF did the same thing with qualifiers last time, but we lucked out. Next time we may not be so lucky.

Tom "Pass The Buck" Flanigan at it again.

Maybe if some of those fat old duffs in Sam's Army got off their ass, left the tailgate early and hung some banners in the stadium, it wouldn't be an issue. But I guess 1 kinkos made Sams Army Banner is suficient.

[gofire2001]

Originally posted by eric d
Tom "Pass The Buck" Flanigan at it again.

Maybe if some of those fat old duffs in Sam's Army got off their ass, left the tailgate early and hung some banners in the stadium, it wouldn't be an issue. But I guess 1 kinkos made Sams Army Banner is suficient.

Your right. You would think a supporters club with 10,000 members would have more than one shity banner.