I am repeating what I have said in at least one other thread, so I will keep my post brief. I have missed many games over the past nine years due to professional and personal commitments (read: exhaustion, overworked, overeducated, mom, wife). If this season is indeed the final hurrah for my beloved Crew, I will be at as many home games as I can be at. Hell, once the schedule is released, we may try to go to an away game. For the last handful of seasons, my brother, dad, and my family have shared a season ticket or two season tickets between the group. For this upcoming season, we went #Allin for five season tickets. If nothing else, then I will at least take satisfaction in chanting "Save The Crew" for 90 minutes during the entire 2018 season.
One side says "Forget this business. Since he's so gung-ho on leaving, I'm out!" The other side says "Support until the end. If fans don't go, that gives more ammo to the ownership." It's Columbus Til I Die, not Til They Move.
I'm having trouble with my love for the team/players overcoming my absolute loathing of the I/O and contributing anything towards him.
If there's one thing I've actually been able to come to a hard and fast conclusion about regarding this whole fiasco, it's this: I'm not begrudging ANYONE their feelings on what to do, regardless of what it is. Some people are going to support the team until the bitter end. Because we love them, because we may never get the chance to again, because we still might have a chance of winning something, and because we're holding onto the hope that an attendance boost could persuade someone that moving the team is a big mistake. I think that's fine. Other people are so pissed off at the league, Precourt, and Garber that they've accepted the inevitable, and they're refusing to give any money to the pigs running the place. And they may be trying to distance themselves from the situation because it's easier to sever all ties than endure the slow painful death. I think that's fine too. Frankly, for myself, I don't even know what I'M going to do yet next season. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the horse is dead, and next season is going to be a slow, protracted burial. The guy who bought the team doesn't want it here, Garber's not interested on keeping a team here (and he's still pissed over the "There's Only One Don Garber" chant at MLS Cup 2001) and the other owners don't want to reject one of their own. We can start as many hashtags, create as many apps, appear on as many blogs and podcasts, write as many congressmen, buy as many tickets and debunk as many myths about the "metrics" as is humanly possible, and none of it's going to make a damn bit of difference. Because the bullshit "metrics" they keep ramming down our throat was always a smokescreen in the first place, put in place only to mask their ulterior motives from the jump. So while I appreciate the hell out of all the #SaveTheCrew people, and I hope they keep doing what they do (and I'll still be doing some of it myself), I'm pretty much resigned to the idea that 2018 will be the last season of Crew soccer. I mean, don't give up the fight if you're fighting. Better to do everything possible and find out later that it was meaningless than to do nothing and find out later there might have been a difference to be made. But I find myself leaning towards the "F*** them all in the face" crowd. But on the other hand, I've been attending Crew games since 1997. 2018 will be the 20th season of soccer at our stadium, and I've had season tickets for 13 of them. Once they're gone, they're probably gone forever. Am I really not going to go at all? Am I really not going to at least give myself the opportunity to go to a couple of games and bask in the memories and reflect a little? Deprive myself of the chance to cheer one more time? I just don't know.
I think what I'm going to do is try to attend Crewsmas and see how I feel. Just... let it sink in while I'm there that this might be the end. Then I'll see what my heart/brain come up with.
I'll continue to follow the team closely until it's 100% over. I live too far away and don't have enough time or money to come down for games very often so I'll probably just attend one more game for good times sake. I'm aware this teams pretty much already got one foot out the door but I'm not giving up on Saving The Crew til the team has physically moved to Austin and even then I will remain committed to tearing down Precourt. Like they keep saying...It's not over. Anything can change. What seems inevitable today can flip upside down and be promising or assuring tomorrow. Will it change. Not likely. But "not likely" isn't a certainty. You never know what positive development could be taking place behind the scenes.
Let's all be real here for a minute. I'm sure the metrics that are constantly brought up are 100% true. I mean for fvcks sake we've bitched about low attendances and tv ratings and God knows what else for years. However, two things can be true at once. Its also true that there is clearly no marketing budget, app, etc. Would improvements in those areas help? Probably, but who knows. If we got a downtown stadium or an easton stadium or whatever, would be get 25,000 people a game? Maybe, maybe not. Tickets would probably go up, what, 30%? 50%? I'd rather the team stay and get said new stadium and find out then see them leave obviously, i just dont think it will happen though.
I'm not. The one thing this whole fiasco has taught me is that the MLS are a bunch of liars. We already knew that but the unashamed blatant bullshit of the past few months is embarrassing. I closed my wallet to MLS years ago but always hoped things would improve. I was wrong. Stupid, actually, considering this league is the love child of NFL and Warner/Blazer CONCACAF. I still sign petitions and write letters hoping the Crew stays because it means something to great people I have met and the fantastic city of Columbus but I am under zero illusion that the fans and city I adore deserve more than MLS greed and arrogance can offer. The fact is this league sucks. It's more a mockery of a sports league than a sports league and has earned any disdain that comes it's way.
I mean, we have the league's cheapest tix, low end of attendance, middle of the pack salary, zero natuonwide appeal for selling merch... not unreasonable to believe we're near the bottom.
These things are all mostly true. Doesn't mean they can't be fixed....that is if there's somebody who wants too...
Not sure about "cheapest tickets". I've looked it up once or twice. And, if you consider the lower business costs associated with being in Columbus vs, say, LA or NYC, the difference in revenue per ticket vs expenses per ticket might not be that bad.
The reason we open in Toronto is so the story of our opening game will be the home fans celebrating their championship, and not the visiting supporters protesting their team's impending move (and maybe the home fans taking their side).
1:30pm tomorrow with the reveal at 2. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/01/03/watch-2018-mls-schedule-reveal-show-thursday-130-pm-et
It was part of the contract.....there is an interview from several years ago, where PSV said the 2018 jerseys were going to be great.....but now looking back on it, I dont think great means the same to me.
There are two trains of thought: 1) Why give them any money? They're gone after the year, anyway. 2) Continue to support, no matter what. Maybe, they'll get a few sellouts and reconsider. If this is the final season, go down blazing. If it is the final season, why not buy the final-ever jersey when you have a chance? Personally, I'm with the second one...but I won't begrudge those of the first. But honestly... if this is the final jersey, well... I regret not buying the final-ever old logo jerseys.