Hadn't seen a good "twatwaffle" post from BA since this whole saga started. Glad we are going back to the good old days.
That is the first step to recovery. But for someone who post Lion King memes there probably is no recovery.
I finally had a chance to watch the press conference when I got home last night. As much as I enjoyed reading the play-by-play on these boards, the event as I saw it was pretty solid, top to bottom. Though my wife couldn't stop laughing at Porter's speech patterns. I thought Garber did pretty well. He didn't say that he was wrong, which I needed him to say, but knew he wouldn't. But he did reference the local fanbase (more than once, I think) and his call-out to Fischer was really nice and seemed heartfelt. He implied that his opinion of this situation changed dramatically over time, and how hard it had been. He chose his words very carefully, as he almost always does. The only time I felt like punching the TV was when he talked about parallel paths. The stills of him with folded arms were bad looking, but still images can always make people look like idiots/assholes (Bez looked bored to death, and Porter stoned, in the photo I saw). In the live feed, he came across to me as being a bit more relaxed - at one point, he patted Porter on the back - but also really happy to have this situation behind him. Alex Fischer is pretty amazing. He's so damned good at this, and the simple honestly and professionalism with which he talks about this process, the wry glances back at Garber when he mentioned the difficulty of that initial meeting (and Garber's knowing reaction), again, the references to community, bi-partisanship, the fans. The dude's just a rockstar, IMHO. And the manner in which he talked about what a struggle it was to win this thing made the end result feel even better and, for me, helped me get out some or of the pent-up negativity that I still feel about it. He's a big man, and what certainly feels to me an honest man. So if someone like Fischer, who's physically been at the table during these hard meetings, can sustain a sense of optimism throughout, and express sincere feelings of gratitude (for forgiveness, without using the word) to people who could easily be seen as foes, well, I'm impressed. He's a better man than me. Ginther looked as though he hadn't seen his speech until he walked to the podium. Still, as Fischer (of course) noted, he's been directly engaged in this since day one. I'll give him a pass for his sometimes plodding delivery. Dee Haslam, like Fischer, is just so much better at this than the others at the podium. I know there's been some "she could beat the shit out of Garber" talk in here about her, and it may be accurate (as others have said, I highly appreciate that the Crew have achieved another first in having a woman on the MLS BoG). But, you know, to me she just seems like a highly competent, smart, attentive, creative and talented senior executive. No one bothers pointing out that Arthur Blank could beat Don Garber in arm wrestling, because it doesn't matter. No more so than does Dee Haslam's supposed ability to bust balls. She'll represent us in these meetings and negotiations better than we've ever been represented before because she seems to be really, really good at this and cares about this organization and the community. And, yeah, as others have said, I loved how she noted the loyal staff and the role they've played over the past 1+ year. Speaking of caring, goodness, Doc Edwards. I knew next to nothing about him before October. Now everything I hear makes me love the guy more. You guys read Sirk's post last night by Brian Dunseth? You really don't need anymore proof why former players remain so connected to this team and city. I'll leave Bez and Porter (who, based on his speech patterns, I want to call "Coach K?") for later conversations, since they've been here for such a short amount of time. Though I will note that I just love the local/Ohio connections that they bring to the team, too. And I was thankful that Porter called out Berhalter for his achievements here (no one else did). I'll end with Twellman, who is, shall we say, not the world's most talented MC. TT is paid to analyze and talk about his opinion. In that job, there are obvious limits to his skill set. He sometimes says stupid shit, and he had some awkward moments yesterday. But he did seem sincerely excited about what's happened here, and was pretty hyperbolic in describing how "massive" and unprecedented this all has been. I appreciated that sentiment.
No I did not expect that, my comment was both facetious and rhetorical. Sorry that does not come through in my post. Next time I will add a disclaimer.....You are probably correct that Dong told the Haslams that Columbus did not support the team, per his definition of support.
Salty snacks > candy cheese plate > dessert And I am only comparing their burgers, I prefer the salty, rich meatiness of Culver's to the sweetened mix found in Swenson's. I do like the custard at Culver's too, but the milkshake I had at Swenson's was very good, especially for the price. I'm hungry now.
Pseudoscience Ticket Sales Update: Section 103 and the Nordecke has completely sold out, as has section 124. Section 104 has 25 seats left Section 105-108 has 200 seats left (a section just released the last row and opened up a bunch of seats) Section 123-129 has 80 seats left My thoughts on this are...we have talked a lot about attendance and ticket sales over the last year. At one point someone had the attendance/STM sales by year...there was a clear line between high STM and higher overall attendance. If we come in strong on season ticket sales taking out large chunks of the lower bowl (ideally all Nordecke, sections 104-108, and 123-129) then we will set ourselves up for a solid year. Currently, we are only 305 seats away from having sold the lower east and west sides of the stadium along with the Nordecke.
Is there an expected rebrand (dropping the "SC" or to "Crew96") in this shortened off season for the new owners or is that expected for the stadium opening? I want to get new gear, but I am willing to wait if truly new gear is imminent.
If they are going to rebrand at all it will be when they make the kit announcement for 2019. I personally don't see a big rebrand happening this year...maybe they drop the SC or something but a big rebrand will take time and effort. They have too many other issues on their plate right now. If they wanted a rebrand it would also make sense to do it when they open the new stadium.
To add to @JB-CBUS221, we're due for new home kits this season, so that's probably your best bet for new gear.
Love this, @mjlee22 Congrats from one founding club to another. See you in 2019. 🖤💛🖤💙 #SavedTheCrew pic.twitter.com/p0XXtgXRsC— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) January 10, 2019
How timely. Retail party at the @CrewSCshop Saturday 🛍Our store will be open from 10-3 to help you stock up on 🖤&💛 gear // #Crew96 #ForColumbus pic.twitter.com/LVglPnDgbQ— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) January 10, 2019
Liam Ridgewell and the Timbers have parted ways. Here's to hoping that Bez curbs Porter's awful instincts and longing for an old flame.