Guess my sarcasm didn't make it across my crap IT connection (*cough*COMCAST*cough*) but that was a kind of tongue-in-cheek comment towards the guy/gal/hermaphrodite who thinks that the posts on here have a direct effect on U.S soccer performance and/or policy and/or hiring. This board is entertaining, no doubt, but I really doubt Ricardo Clark and Robbie Findley are hanging out on here wondering what we all think of him right now.
Anyone wonder who certain posters are who claim to be important...for instance, UKScouts, who said he's and has connections. Here's one of his posts about Ellis McLoughlin...which doesn't seem so spot on, at least not yet lol
There are enough "important in american soccer" readers/participants on these boards to get various factions around possible candidates for the USMNT position [for an example] to come here and try to spin the "story" in their guy's direction. It would be pathetic beyond belief if such spin actually played any objective role in the choice for such a position. But it is only marginally less pathetic that some of the candidates for such positions [or members of their cohort] judge BS spin a useful measure.
And in case anyone is curious: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/member.php?u=26346 Edit: Tim, after going back and reading through the few posts that that account put up... was that really him?
I can see BS as a resource to some. If you had a team (USMNT) and you wanted to get a feel for how your die hard fan base took to something, BS would be a great way to hear from your target market. Whether you are a coach or a marketing person, if you are not too full of yourself, there are some interesting ideas floating around on BS that you could use to your advantage. BS also give those us who would like to communicate with Bob Bradley, Sunil Gulati and others a chance to indirectly drop them a note.
Rudi should post on Big Soccer. Tell him I loved him as a player but was indifferent about him as a coach. Peter Wilt, a long time GM of the Chicago Fire, used to have his own "Ask Peter" page/thread. And, if you read MLS N&A, when something major - or majorly stupid - happened with MLS or its site - its management members made an occasional post to clear up the public perception of the problem. Additionally, a bunch of people who write for the various soccer sites or, in some cases, even newspapers and/or magazines, post here as well.
ESPN, Fox and a few others have soccer forums. There are lots of foreign based soccer internet forums - though most seem to be linked to some publication or media. However, in my assessment, BS has become the "home field" for U.S. soccer fans. After many, many years of following soccer on the internet (in English, Spanish and Portuguese), I decided about a year and half ago to pretty focus primarily on BS and treat everything else as supplemental resources. I have participated on some great threads here on BS to the point that I dedicated a few posts to just thanking folks for their participation. I have also been pretty turned off as some threads have deteriorated. My experience has been that the latter are the clear minority. Considering that participation is free, the quality of the dialogue here is better than average. If you are interested in, communicate with, cater to or simply appreciate American soccer fans, BS is a good place to be.
Do you know if any other players lurk here? Can't imagine they'd actually make an account. That'd be crazy!
Might not be the best thing for their mental health! I'm sure it's already challenging to be a professional athlete without reading fanfare.
I'm not sure he qualifies as important but I think that @iad_22201 is Brian Straus or affiliated with him. I'm guessing it's more of a Bryan/Barbara Colangelo situation as it would be a bit undignified if he went out of his way to praise himself as iad_22201 has done towards Straus. I could be wrong but I've asked him a couple of times and he hasn't responded. He can clarify if he wants.