Ok. But on the few occasions when the joint is full and there is something on the line the place does come alive. Maybe not Timbers alive but its a blast when it does happen. Probably a handful of games over the years. Been to a few but my memory recedes since I've been gone 4 years. One of the Beckham games iirc.
This has been discussed to death. We call them out as much as possible on here, social media, at the game, etc. I wrote Dan Hunt a letter (as a long time season ticket holder) and didn't even get a "thanks for your feedback" reply from anyone at the organization. They don't care or if they do, it's not a big enough concern to them to do anything. Something is working in their silly business model and the people they're willing to pay to run this organization typically don't know what they're doing. Your suggestion is to just stop going to games. I understand this strategy in theory but what good would that do? People are still going to go to game and the Hunts are still going to Hunt. So I would just be denying myself the joy of watching the club I've been following for 25 seasons now to try and leverage the Hunts to...sell the club? Spend more money? Neither will happen. It is what it is. I have big club hopes for Liverpool. I have small club hopes for FCD.
I would be very willing to bet that the Hunts are actively holding this entire league back. The CBA negotiations have been going on for a long time now. The players want more money. Many of the owners would be willing to spend quite a bit more on player salaries, because they know it will bring in more paying customers, more TV revenue, etc. From long experience with the Hunts, that is absolutely NOT their theory of how to run an MLS team. And thus, their voice on the management side is holding back the growth of the league as a whole. For many, many years, the Hunts' strategy (and like-minded owners) was the only thing keeping this league afloat. That time has passed. The Seattles, Torontos, Atlantas, etc., are paving the way forward.
All this time, people have been calling the Hunts ambitionless, and yet, here they are, able to thwart the desires of 25 other team owners.
Oh, I'm sure they're not alone. The Hunts are linked arm-in-arm with the Krafts and Kroenke, at least.
Yeah, but this ain't 2002, when HSG owned 30% of the league. Sure, add in Kraft and Kroenke and that gets you to, what, three out of 26? And in any case, this "Hunts R cheep" narrative has a strong aroma of bullshit anyway, because 1. FCD is often -- maybe even usually -- right in the middle of the league of payroll, according to the numbers that MLSPA puts out twice a year. (Although they have had years when they've been near the bottom.) 2. It requires one to ignore the money that they've invested into building the best youth development system in the league. So while I can level a number of complaints at the Hunts -- and Peet and others can level a few more -- "holding the league back" ain't one of them.
Several things here. Firstly Runhard is a regular poster on the US youth boards and doesn't like FCD and seems to be a Solar fan. I agree about attendance but have realized if it was full I'd have to pay 3 to 4 times more so that it bothers me and yet doesn't (Hitmans if the Hunts don't care...) Then the dig about the product on the field. Well FCD is probably a top 5 team over the last five years and have played some pretty decent soccer other than finishing in that time. They had four guys called up to the full national team camp that is still going on. This dig is way off base especially considering the Hunts just finally signed a guy who can score.
So, usually mediocre, but occasionally cheap. Gotcha. Leading the charge, then. Agreed here. FCD has tons of former players throughout the league who are solid, and sometimes top-notch, talent. That has resulted in (drum roll please...) three major trophies in 24 years (and that only if you count the Supporters' Shield, which I do). Oh, and most of the youth leagues who use those fields are pay-to-play leagues, so the Hunts are getting paid for that. So they've created a really pretty world-class youth system, but they haven't figured out how to translate that to success with the senior team. I don't track youth soccer; maybe they're selling players enough to make that a success in and of itself, financially?
While the Hunts have floated between the bottom and mid-pack on salary budget (but it's been trending down the last few seasons after a high in 2017) where they are near/at the very bottom is transfer fee. I'm fairly certain there is a significant % of MLS clubs who have spent more in one or two transfer deals that exceed FCD's total transfer spend in the 10+ years the Hunts have owned the club. YMMV on the Jara addition, but let no one forget they've once again signed a player for their biggest position of need, without paying a transfer fee. Now, time will only tell if this time it worked (btw, Cobra did NOT work and don't try to tell me otherwise), and by "time" that means late this year at the earliest, tho next season is more likely (when he'll be 33). I was in Vegas last weekend while the youth Vegas Cup tournament was taking place. It was the first time I'd been around a youth soccer tournament outside the DFW area and there was one clear and striking takeaway: The Hunt family have built an utter juggernaut of a youth soccer brand. Watching kids from other clubs look at kids in FCD gear with a sense of jealously was rather unexpected. In five days in Las Vegas I saw more FCD branding worn by young and adult alike than I have in the last 15 years in DFW (outside an actual game). Walking down the Vegas Strip, seeing FCD jerseys, hats, backpacks, track suits, was really weird but it certainly did one thing: convinced me the level of success the Hunts have built is impressive. Khan is 100% correct. The Hunts have built a world class and renown soccer academy brand that just happens to have a MLS team that sits a top it. It is what differs this club from all the others in MLS. Some are known for star players, some are known for game day experiences, some are known for their fanatic community but when you ask someone about FC Dallas - more times than not, no matter if it's a North Texas resident or someone from Belgium, "great youth academy" is going to be the answer. Buzz tells a great story of how he's come to realize any time he's out and wearing something FCD, he's always asked, "...oh, you have a kid that plays for them?". Maybe this is a good thing. I dunno. But when 2020 concludes and the team ends up not winning MLS Cup, again, and other clubs that focus on their brand, game day experience, community building and winning a championship over everything else (including the bottom line) we can all turn to each other and be really proud of our youth club setup.
Honestly, I don’t think we all disagree on much here. Anyone who’s paid attention more than a few minutes knows that this ownership will gladly spend its money on the academy dominance rather than on transfer fees or marketing or the game-day experience. And I think that most of us would love for the Hunts to be in the conversation for the Chicharitos of the world. I personally would find it refreshing for a change. And this is what annoys me whenever the name “Ajax” comes out of anyone’s mouth, since Ajax is far and away the biggest spender in the Netherlands, in addition to having the best youth system. But fear not, FCD-curious fan, I think I have a much better analogy, a modest-spending club whose youth system stocks its first team, and ultimately, rival clubs and the national team. FC Dallas is America’s Southampton.
You think that product on the field is good? More power to you. Chaos, lack of control, poor shape, and boring soccer is good? FCD does things the cheap way and it shows. No one cares about the players they bring in and they barely make the playoffs in a league where you have to try to not make the playoffs. The sign a Cobra and expect any uptick in interest? Other clubs sign Nani, Zlatan, Rooney, Vela, etc etc . FCD signs Mosquera. Until they put some interesting players on the field and actually play an interesting brand of soccer, it won't get any better. I know I am right by looking at the stands. Being close to last in the league does help you get cheaper tickets, yes. If that is important you will probably be happy with the club for years.
The problem with that argument is that there have been years where FCD wasn't out of the playoffs or even mid pack, they were in Supporter Shield races and still didn't sell out. It hasn't happened every year of course but FCD has been a winner and not shown much of an uptick at all in ticket sales.
When Pomykal was healthy they were quite good. We've all bitched about the forward position since Blas left but odd that you are saying that now after they just signed Jara from Pachuca. You must be a somewhat recent fan or you'd know that KC had much worse attendance than FCD/Burn until the Hunts sold them and their new ownership made them relevant with their marketing etc. FC Dallas has more points than KC in the last five years but KC sells out every game and yet the stadium size and location of the stadium in the metro ares are very similar.
The year FCD "won the Double", they were dead last in attendance. (14,094 avg). It went up to a 15,722 avg in 2017, but were still - dead last.
I've been saying this on Twatter for quite some time now but I don't have proof I'm the first one to say it...
[Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles]It's twoo! It's twoo![/RIP Lili Von Shtupp] Maybe more like the Southampton of MLS?— Ryan Pirouznia (@RAPirouznia) December 27, 2019 I came up with this brilliance independently, but great minds and all that.
Damn, we missed the chance to go to red and white vertical stripes like Southampton on our new unis. I think most of us agree, you could put Barcelona's first team in FCD uniforms for a whole season with the player names changed to protect the innocent and they still wouldn't draw more fans than our current squad.
Wonder how they'd look practicing in 85-100 degree weather and dealing with all the different climate, travel and playing surfaces in MLS.
Consider yourself refreshed. Here is FCD's contribution to said conversation: Why pay for Chicharito when you can sell him for free on Twitter?
I don't get the sudden burst of outrage. Hunts have used this sales tactic every year they've owned the team. I suspect they do it because it "works", meaning compared to whatever miserable sales number they compare it to, they see an increase in sales from it.