Wow glad you guys feel so good about yourselves. It's so much harder to build something than it is to tear it down. To everyone who built something this year, we had the fun times, amazing memories. And together we have celebration and, new friendships and memories to last a lifetime. But you have your "we told you so" to keep you happy. Congrats!!!
Considering the abuse we received in this thread and others for voicing a reality that turned out to be 100% true (no matter how much the ill-informed wanted to believe otherwise), we are indeed feeling pretty damn well vindicated.
What Knave said. Your tech bro misadventure died a painfully predictable death. Cry me a freaking river. Maybe next time someone will actually do some market research before trying to start a minor league franchise in SF rather than wasting your, and about 15 other people's, time.
Sadly, I'm one of those who wished I was wrong for predicting failure. I for one think its a shame and terrible for players, coaches , fans and the game in general that a team and/or league fold. I've been through it through the old NASL, APSL and MLS and don't wish that on anyone.
Decent article... but the author glosses over one of the Deltas key issues... The aren't in the city that sells out the MLS Earthquakes and USL Republic regularly... and there in was one of the issues the Deltas owners never understood... their market. San Francisco proper is it's own mostly independent soccer loving market. And the vast majority of that soccer loving market, don't travel to Sacramento or San Jose. But that said, they're still a top level front runner market, and one that doesn't particularly like how the "tech bros" have infested their fair city in recent years. If you're not bringing a top level team with an amazing traditional game day experience to bear... you're wasting your money and everyone's time. The lame Deltas branding, the choice of Kezar even as a short term venue (nevermind their permanent home), even before their vast over reliance on technology as a silver bullet became apparent, were the indicators they were doomed from the get go.
Deltas season ticket holder here who lives about 1.5 miles from Kezar. I went to about 3 or 4 games this season, but found better things to do once I learned how terrible the atmosphere was at these games. Mostly distracted kids and their moms who will give you a dirty look if you use a curse word. And then a bunch of folks who received comped tickets. The utter failure of the team to create a solid atmosphere, and try and connect with the actual soccer community in SF, which is sizable, spelled doom.
And there's the key, boys and girls, and it's what the Deltas didn't understand and what prawns don't understand. It's not winning that makes people "flock" to games. It's not the ability to win enough to be promoted to a higher league that makes people buy tickets. It's not the high-wire act of the thrill of a relegation escape that makes people come to games and watch on television. It's mattering to those who want a club that matters and it's attracting enough of the people who just like soccer or sportainment. There's little "magic" in a market - it's work. You can be as successful (if not more) in Indianapolis with a crap team than in San Francisco with a championship team if you have an idea, hire people who understand how it works and bust your ass. That's how sports works in this country at this level and with this game. Too many people think it just happens, and if it doesn't, there's something wrong with the fans there or if they just put out a winning team they'll be fine or if there's another team within a few hours' drive, they'll be fine. It's why many people here want to design scarves and badges and come up with names for rivalry cups and talk about away support and supporters' trusts and how many games teams will play against other teams in their division to make a season schedule: because they don't know what it takes and would be aghast at the level of work and financial commitment it takes to do it well. That's why teams fold. Not because they can't get promoted or because they don't have to live with the Sword of Damocles of relegation over their heads. Not because they didn't sign the right players or didn't get a local TV deal that meets with fanboys' approval. It's because they don't connect with their communities and don't matter enough to people who would buy tickets.
Reading the history of this thread, I'm pretty pissed to learn that they were essentially giving away tickets to games (or charging $5/seat) for tickets that I paid for at full price as a season ticket holder.
You paid for minor league soccer tickets in San Francisco? Why? You had to know they'd be practically giving them away before long.
To show support to the club, it was a quixotic purchase and the Delta's FO proved itself unworthy of this money.
My sock puppet did okay responding: mostly to support the club and soccer in SF. And to be fair all soccer in the US is relatively mediocre. The money wasn’t a huge outlay for me; I’m more pissed about the principle of the thing.
To be fair, I can’t really bring myself to say, “You should support your local club (unless it’s obvious from the jump or early on that it is going to be a train wreck).” I, personally, largely gave up on Phoenix FC and then Arizona United because they didn’t put forth a worthwhile product. (Phoenix Rising has.) But I would not make that call for someone else.
Well, this was the first season, so there was no way for me to know how it would turn out. Realize I live 1.5 miles away from Kezar so its pretty much in my back yard. And I'm very involved with AO and other fan groups in SF. This was pretty much in my wheel-house. But if they returned, I certainly would not buy season tickets. I will say that the best part of the Deltas was the Kezar pub was a pretty fun place to hang out before and after the game.
I disagree. There was no way to know for sure exactly how the game-day experience would be until you actually check it out. I'm fortunate that 500/bucks or whatever it costed isn't a huge outlay for me.
argumentative much? whether it was destined to fail or not has little to do with whether the games themselves are fun. i'm surprised that a guy with "FC tampa bay rowdies" as his club would question why I'd want to attend soccer games occurring within walking distance of my house.