Joplin's been a great addition and it'll be fun next year to add Wichita to the NPSL mix. Memories are a funny thing. The Roughnecks never technically sold out Skelly Stadium (which had a capacity of 40k+ in the late 70's and early 80's) but did have a couple of crowds that topped 30k, and regularly had crowds that topped 20k... Tickets were rarely ever sold to the upper tier of the stadium which held around 8k... while the north end zone held around 5,500 and only had partial views of the north goal -- which meant you only knew somebody scored a goal on that end of the field by the reaction coming from the rest of the stadium... lol. The west upper tier and north end zone sections have been removed over the last decade, so the current capacity is around 27k in fixed seating but official capacity is listed at 30k. Doesn't make your point any less valid, BTW... not unlike my insistence that the NASL never played games on Tuesday nights... only to find out from an attendance-obsessed soccer geek on this forum, that over 70 games were played in the old NASL between 1978 and 1984 on Tuesdays... which comes out to... less than three percent of all games played (or one out of every 33 games)... my bad, I guess... I certainly hope so. It's going to get crazy next season with the USL Pro's "Roughnecks" playing more than double the number of games downtown... that is, unless the Athletics can get an NASL team... here's probably the best and most comprehensive article written on the dilemma thus far.... The Soul of the Game • By RJ Young •
As long as they don't show up announced attempting to poach our players... oh, wait... From this morning's Tulsa Athletics supporters (The Armory) FB page: Tulsa Athletics Official Supporters Group Posted by XXXXX · 2 hrs · I guess the ARMORY are not the only folks who are excited for the Tulsa Athletics 2015 season to start. So are apparently the coaches of some other "professional" team in town as they decided to show up unannounced and uninvited to a CLOSED scrimmage last night & refused to leave to the point the police were almost involved.
No, I'm obsessed with facts. And there isn't a human being outside of your house who would call me a geek and not you, jagov. Not. A. Single. One.
No, Kenn. You chose to respond to an 8-month old post because your "jagov" ego can't handle it. You're. Only. Obsessed. With. Yourself. Meanwhile, back to topic: The USL Tulsa Roughnecks have only signed 7-8 players thus far, and a couple of their coaches (do they have more than two?) showed up uninvited last night to a Tulsa Athletics CLOSED scrimmage, presumably to poach. They will play Univ of Tulsa tonight at 9pm.
Their invitiation got lost in the mail. It would suck to see those players actually get picked up by a team that would pay them and could employ them for more than 2 months a year. Damn Poachers wanting to give out jobs.
Showing up at a closed practice at the A's stadium without asking permission is a dick move. Simple really.
Well they could only poach the players with no NCAA elegibility right? Unless they talk them into leaving college to pay USL ball.
I think the real issue is that they came to a closed facility uninvited. It would be like me coming to your office without your permission and offering your employees new jobs right in front of you.
Plenty of dicks in soccer, too... evidently. The Tulsa Roughnecks already had their tryouts in mid-Jan and mid-Feb. If memory serves, the fee was $150 per player. They've already been practicing for weeks, yet have only signed a handful of players, none of them local (and by local, I mean anybody from the state of Oklahoma). I keep thinking they'll eventually sign Adam Black from OCU/OKC FC but nothing so far, and the season starts two weeks from Saturday. The Tulsa Athletics just had their tryouts five days ago. I believe the fee was $30 which included a "trialist" t-shirt. The practice in question was one of the first, and was closed to the public. Even though there is no pay (NCAA players can't play alongside paid pros), the Athletics have signed former Portland Timber draft pick Chris Taylor, and re-signed team captain Daniel Wasson and midfielder Corey Albertson. Season opener is May 10th. From A's Coach Joey Ryan: "We had a good group of guys out. The quality of players was the highest its been over the previous two years. We're looking forward to a great 2015 season and new faces playing for us." In a sane soccer world, there shouldn't be an issue with "poaching" at this level because the USL Roughnecks staff can attend any of the Athletics NPSL games and make a suitable offer to the particular Schmoker brother who's no longer a student at NSU or to a graduating Johnny Chavez or others... no harm, no foul, and everybody on the A's staff would be happy to see players go professional, like they did in the off-season, when Tony Rocha and our director of operations, Matt Boullt, moved onward to the new USL club in Austin. If the Tulsa Roughnecks want to have a cordial relationship with the Tulsa Athletics (as they claim), they certainly have an odd way of showing it.
It's a dick move, but I think it is what it is and as the Athletic's organization, you should want your players to move up and on, so you should somewhat welcome it. But I also think the Rnecks should be a little more curtious and ask and work on that relationship (although that ship has sailed a while ago).
No "buts." It's either a dick move or it's not. Unless you'd like to blame the victim for being too attractive... Who are you arguing with? I don't recall ever saying the Athletics FO were opposed to their players moving up to the next level and getting paid reasonably for what they do. You certainly don't think USL coaches should be "somewhat welcome" to arbitrarily show up without proper notice or permission to a closed practice a matter of days after their neighboring local NPSL club has held their tryouts... or do you? The "ship" (aka USL territorial rights to Tulsa) was purchased by Funk Jr./McLaughlin and sold to the minor league baseball club here while the OKC group retains a minority interest... and they don't seem too intent on selling that remaining minority interest to any local Tulsans anytime soon. The Tulsa Drillers don't necessarily have a detailed knowledge of what's occurred between Funk Jr/McLaughlin and Brad Lund. And R-necks coach David Irving, if anything, seems more intent on "poaching" former PDL players from lower level Scandinavian clubs than signing/paying local talent, which makes what happened Tuesday night even more of a head scratcher... unless they're trying to complete their roster by spotting locals to play for them for charity or less money than they make at their current day jobs. I mean, c'mon. At the D-3 level, this Unlimited Stupid Lawyers' league's version of a "signing bonus" is a coupon for a free toaster oven. And even if they're not there to "poach," there's still probably close to a 50/50 chance the Roughnecks and the Athletics will meet up in a US Open Cup game in a couple of months. Next Tuesday's A's podcast promises to be the most "controversial" one yet... just sayin'
I was on way to meeting and microbrew drinking for The Armory supporters group for the A's.... had to duck into hotel due to tornado .... evacuated to basement, came back and who do I run into? David Irving within strangling distance.... Sonny convinced me he wasn't worth it. I meant to say "it" wasnt worth it.
Fever pitch In a crowded field, Tulsa’s love of soccer shows no signs of slowing By Matt Cauthron http://www.thetulsavoice.com/April-A-2015/Fever-pitch/