US Soccer, thanks for screwing West Coast fans

Discussion in 'USA Men: Fans & Travel' started by jetdog9, Feb 11, 2009.

  1. blazindw

    blazindw Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jul 30, 2007
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My money was spent on USA-Argentina (the previous weekend), and I had just started a temporary job, so there was no going to LA for me.
     
  2. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Two western time zones? :rolleyes:

    The point is 25-1.

    The point is that if I lived in DC I could have easily attended 17 games over the last 3 cycles. But on the west coast only 1.

    The point is of all the games of the last three cycle -

    Oct 14 09 Costa Rica Washington, DC, USA (WCQ 10)
    Sep 05 09 El Salvador Salt Lake City, UT, USA (WCQ 10)
    Jun 06 09 Honduras Chicago, IL, USA (WCQ 10)
    Apr 01 09 TnT Nashville, TN, USA (WCQ 10)
    Feb 11 09 W 2-0 Mexico 24,000 Columbus, OH, USA (WCQ 10)
    Oct 11 08 W 6-1 Cuba 20,293 Washington, DC, USA (WCQ 10)
    Nov 19 08 W 2-0 Guatemala 9,303 Commerce City, CO, USA (WCQ?10)
    Sep 10 08 W 3-0 TnT 11,452 Bridgetown, IL, USA (WCQ?10)
    Jun 15 08 W 8-0 Barbados 11,476 Carson, CA, USA (WCQ?10)
    Oct 12 05 W 2-0 Panama 9,192 Foxboro, MA, USA (WCQ?06)
    Sep 03 05 W 2-0 Mexico 24,685 Columbus, OH, USA (WCQ?06)
    Aug 17 05 W 1-0 Trinidad & Tobago 25,488 East Hartford, CT, USA (WCQ?06)
    Jun 04 05 W 3-0 Costa Rica 40,586 Salt Lake City, UT, USA (WCQ?06)
    Mar 30 05 W 2-0 Guatemala 31,465 Birmingham, AL, USA (WCQ?06)
    Nov 17 04 D 1-1 Jamaica 9,088 Columbus, OH, USA (WCQ?06)
    Oct 13 04 W 6-0 Panama 19,793 Washington, DC, USA (WCQ?06)
    Sep 04 04 W 2-0 El Salvador 25,266 Foxboro, MA, USA (WCQ?06)
    Jun 13 04 W 3-0 Grenada 9,137 Columbus, OH, USA (WCQ?06)
    Oct 07 01 W 2-1 Jamaica 40,483 Foxboro, MA, USA (WCQ '02)
    Sep 01 01 L 2-3 Honduras 54,282 Washington, DC, USA (WCQ '02)
    Jun 20 01 W 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago 31,211 Foxboro, MA, USA (WCQ '02)
    Apr 25 01 W 1-0 Costa Rica 37,391 Kansas City, MO, USA (WCQ '02)
    Feb 28 01 W 2-0 Mexico 24,624 Columbus, OH, USA (WCQ '02)
    Oct 11 00 D 0-0 Costa Rica 24,330 Columbus, OH, USA (WCQ '02)
    Sep 03 00 W 1-0 Guatemala 51,556 Washington, DC, USA (WCQ '02)
    Aug 16 00 W 7-0 Barbados 18,334 Foxboro, MA, USA (WCQ '02)

    Only one, a crappy first rounder against Barbados, was on the west coast, or even in the western timezone.

    The point is - the title of this thread - US Soccer, thanks for screwing West Coast fans

    Somebody kiss me! I liked to be kissed while I'm getting f*cked!
     
  3. blazindw

    blazindw Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jul 30, 2007
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I understand what the title of the thread is. But, you and some other posters have presented varying arguments. First, you say that the Bay Area should get more WCQs and not just friendlies against Wales. You then say that the East Coast gets more of the good games. You say that East Coast people can get to Chicago to see Mexico easier than you and other West Coasters can get to Phoenix to see the same team. You then bring in friendlies, but when people cite all the friendlies that have been out west, you say that you only are talking about WCQs. Columbus is grouped as an "East Coast" city while SLC--equidistant from the West Coast as Columbus is from many spots on the East Coast--is deemed too far for West Coast fans. Then you say that East Coast fans have an easier time getting to SLC and to LA than you do from the Bay Area. That doesn't make any sense. If you believe that, then under that logic, you should have no problem getting to Chicago or DC if we can "easily" get to LA and SLC or SF.

    No one got screwed. The West Coast, the Mountain states, they all get games over the years - friendlies, WCQs, Gold Cup games, Olympic qualifiers, whatever they may be. Gulati puts the games where he thinks they will be best. You may not agree with it, but that's the way it is. He didn't screw you. He didn't screw the West Coast. USSF does all it can to make sure that the MNT plays in different parts of the country for different things. In the end, they felt comfortable with the sites that were selected.

    Again, the East Coasters aren't spoiled. Just because something's within 1000 miles of you doesn't 1) make it East Coast and 2) make it reasonably more accessible to those fans. WCQs can't be everywhere. Certain cities will undoubtedly get games more often. We're UNDEFEATED at Columbus, and we own Mexico in Columbus, so games will be scheduled there. We're UNDEFEATED at Foxboro, so we will schedule games there. And, DC is our nation's capital, so there will likely be a lot of games here. Yes, I consider myself fortunate that I live in DC right now and will have a couple of games in my backyard, but I will not apologize for it. I also will not have someone tell me what games I should have reasonably gone to when I've never lived in a city that hosted a U.S. Soccer match while I lived there, outside of Detroit and Dallas, until I moved to DC a year and a half ago (I was on vacation during the World Cup so could not get to the games in Detroit, where I was from, or Dallas, where I had just moved to). If I was far enough away to have to fly to one of those games, West Coasters could have flown to those very same games. And, believe it or not, I definitely went through hell and back--literally--to make it to Columbus by driving. Some people who flew definitely had an easier trip than I and were home before I was.

    Cities all over the place get games. LA gets a ton of games because of the HDC and the fact that many of USSF's facilities are in LA. Phoenix has gotten a couple friendlies. Houston has hosted a couple friendlies. Miami has hosted some games. Denver has hosted many games. SLC will undoubtedly host more in the future because of the new stadium, and NYC will probably get more games when Red Bull Arena opens.

    There are cities that are much further away from a game so far than any city on the West Coast, including all the major Florida cities, all the major Texas cities. Cities like Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, Seattle or Raleigh/Durham would probably be happy to host a game against the Galapagos Islands. But, since they didn't get a game, they're just as happy to travel to one or more of the other games that are on the schedule.

    You guys need to keep in mind that the Gold Cup locations haven't been announced yet, so those could all be on the West Coast. The West Coast has hosted 2 World Cup finals...you don't hear us complaining about getting more World Cup finals on the East Coast.

    My point has simply been this: games are placed where they are for numerous reasons, including some that we probably haven't thought of but USSF considered. They considered some West Coast cities, but in the end, they chose the cities they did. Support that decision and get to the games that you can. If you can't get to any, then you wait until one comes along that you can get to. But, no one gets screwed by a game not being hosted in your city or even in your state. Just do what everyone else does and travel however you can to one or more of the matches.
     
  4. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Dude. Focus.

    The west coast is being screwed out of WCQs. Of the 26 games in the last 3-cycles we've only gotten one and it was a first rounder against Barbados.

    That's the issue. - 1 out of 26.

    We want WCQs.
     
  5. Trav-Man

    Trav-Man Member

    Jun 7, 2007
    Dallas, TX
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Houston might be 3.5 hours at 2 am in the morning with no cops or traffic. But that is at LEAST a 4 hour drive for most people. And so yes...it's about WQC, how many areas of the country aren't getting a game? You're not being singled out here. And as far as qualifiers go, why would the want to play a qualifier in the same region that they have multiple games every year? You're claim is that the USSF is screwing over the west coast fans when there is a game that's an hour and a half flight away. If anybody has a complaint it's the central region but you know what? There will be plenty of fans flying out to see games. Take the pacifier out of your mouth, book your flight soon so it'll be cheaper, and get out and support your team.
     
  6. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Take that up with google. Did you know that to get to Carson from SF you have to drive accross LA? You've heard about LA traffic haven't you?
    Interesting opinions. Let's look at the facts. Here are the games in Central Region:
    Jun 06 09 Honduras Chicago, IL, USA (WCQ 10)
    Sep 10 08 W 3-0 TnT 11,452 Bridgetown, IL, USA (WCQ?10)
    Apr 01 09 TnT Nashville, TN, USA (WCQ 10)
    Mar 30 05 W 2-0 Guatemala 31,465 Birmingham, AL, USA (WCQ?06)
    Apr 25 01 W 1-0 Costa Rica 37,391 Kansas City, MO, USA (WCQ '02)

    Central Region is doing alright. They have 3 games in this cycle alone. Central region is doing much better than the west coast.

    Obviously if we had had that many WCQs on the west coast this thread wouldn't exist.

    Great so they could easily fly out to the west coast. I pointed out to the BlueDevil that it's cheaper and easier for him to fly to the HDC from DC than for me to fly from SJ to Rio Tinto.
     
  7. WarrenWallace

    WarrenWallace Member

    Mar 12, 1999
    Beer and Cheese
    And I just plugged in Houston, TX to Frisco, TX in google maps and it said that drive time was about 4 hrs and 17 minutes. And up to 5 hrs and 10 minutes in traffic.

    And btw, there has never been a WCQ in Bridgetown.
     
  8. metroflip73

    metroflip73 Member

    Mar 3, 2000
    NYC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're welcome.
     
  9. WarrenWallace

    WarrenWallace Member

    Mar 12, 1999
    Beer and Cheese
    Fri 9-4 thru Sun 9-6
    From Travelocity

    Oakland to SLC $202/person
    SF to SLC $212
    SJ to SLC $258

    Baltimore to LA $218/person
    DC to LA $277
    Dulles to LA $286

    And more expensive to fly to Long Beach or Orange County airports than LA (all $300+)
     
  10. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Plug in SF to Carson. It's longer.
    BullSh*t!

    I'll bet you $100 that there was a Men's Senior US National Soccer Team World Cup 2010 qualifier in Bridgetown just last year. Interested Smart Guy? - yes or no.

    But, But, But ....Didn't think so .....
     
  11. metroflip73

    metroflip73 Member

    Mar 3, 2000
    NYC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    BridgeVIEW - yes
    BridgeTOWN - no

    It's not a bad stadium at all. Pretty far from where I live, but I made the effort.
     
  12. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You are correct. The US played a WCQ in Bridgetown, Barbados, last year. But you are confusing Bridgetown with Bridgeview, IL.
     
  13. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks for posting that. It makes the point. Flying to SJ to SLC is about the same and can cost more than flying DC to HDC. Plus you could have done a day trip - no hotel - for the Barbados game at the HDC if you red eye back to DC. I'd have to overnight in SLC because the connection is too tight and it's a night game.

    The notion that I should go to SLC because it's geographically closer is bogus when you factor in what it really takes to get there. Going from DC to the HDC is easier than going from San Jose to Rio Tinto. And going to DC or Chicago may be easier for me.
     
  14. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're ruining all my fun. That was an easy $100 there. :mad:

    I cited the source of the data several pages back. He had the error in the original
    data. Bridgetown IL/Bridgeview IL I don't really care. But it would have been a fun bet. :)

    Looks like I could have taken Metroflip's money:
     
  15. metroflip73

    metroflip73 Member

    Mar 3, 2000
    NYC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    you'd have to leave the cozy confines of the Bay Area to get it.

    :p
     
  16. Prime Time

    Prime Time Member

    May 1, 2004
    South Florida
    Not so much but yet there is still that issue and I'm sure it played a role in their decision.

    It was MENTIONED. Nothing was confirmed. They probably thought about the following U.S. has there but realized that the negatives outweight the positives. It's simple really.

    Right before they have to travel to South Africa? Right. :rolleyes:
    Right. But I'm not complaining about the U.S. not playing a game in Florida.
     
  17. Prime Time

    Prime Time Member

    May 1, 2004
    South Florida
    That list is incorrect. Where did you get that?
     
  18. Artesian

    Artesian New Member

    Nov 8, 2008
    The Evergreen State
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You'd be wrong. There are hundreds of thousands of Mexicans in the Pacific North West.
     
  19. kebzach

    kebzach Member

    Dec 30, 2000
    Greenfield, WI
    wrong.
     
  20. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No. I think it's right. Tell us whats wrong about it then we can all google together! :)

    I posted the source way back on this thread somewhere.
     
  21. irish56

    irish56 Member+

    Oct 30, 2006
    indy
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If the USSF is screwing the West Coast, California must be some fine p*ssy. I mean they came back there 24 times in the last ten years.:eek:
    Date Location Opponent
    3/11/99 L.A. Guatemala
    3/13/99 San Diego Mexico
    1/16/00 Pasadena Iran
    10/25/00 L.A. Mexico
    01/27/01 Oakland China
    3/3/01 Pasadena Brazil
    1/19/02 Pasadena Korean Republic
    1/21/02 Pasadena Cuba
    1/27/02 Pasadena El Salvador
    1/30/02 Pasadena Canada
    2/2/02 Pasadena Costa Rica
    5/26/03 San Jose New Zealand
    1/18/04 LA Denmark
    3/9/05 Fullerton Colombia
    1/22/06 San Diego Canada
    1/29/06 LA Norway
    2/10/06 San Fransico Japan
    1/20/07 LA Denmark
    6/2/07 San Jose China
    6/7/07 LA Guatemala
    6/9/07 LA T&T
    1/19/08 LA Sweden
    6/15/08 LA Barbados
    1/24/09 LA Sweden
    Thats 2.4 matches per year for 1 state.
     
  22. OffMyLine

    OffMyLine Member

    Nov 30, 2007
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is about World Cup Qualifiers. The big games. Everything else is just practice.

    Personally I'd be happy to trade a US/China friendly for a US/Mexico qualifier. Give the fans in Columbus an opportunity to see the skills of Zhang Yaokun and Wang Peng.

    And you screwed up the 5/26/03 game. That was Wales, not New Zealand - like it even mattered.
     
  23. irish56

    irish56 Member+

    Oct 30, 2006
    indy
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I guess California is the USSF cheap whore.:p
     
  24. blazindw

    blazindw Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jul 30, 2007
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Man, I wish my home state got 24 "practice" matches in 10 years...I'd be a practice-watching fool. Although, some of those matches were Gold Cup matches, but that's just chopped liver anyway, right?:rolleyes:
     
  25. SCBozeman

    SCBozeman Member

    Jun 3, 2001
    St. Louis
    Unless of course someone in Chicago is complaining about the lack of qualifiers, in which case practices matter. See your post #56:

    "WTF?!?! Are you seriously complaining about this?

    US Nats Games in Chicago
    ====================
    Jun 06 09 Honduras Chicago, IL, USA (WCQ 10)
    Sep 10 08 W 3-0 TnT 11,452 Bridgetown, IL, USA (WCQ?10)
    Sep 09 07 L 2-4 Brazil 43,543 Chicago, IL
    Jun 24 07 W 2-1 Mexico 60,000 Chicago, IL (GC?07)
    Jun 21 07 W 2-1 Canada 50,760 Chicago, IL (GC?07)
    May 28 05 L 1-2 England 47,637 Chicago, IL, USA
    Jul 11 04 D 1-1 Poland 39,529 Chicago, IL, USA

    Two WCQ plus England, Mexico, Poland AND BRAZIL !?!?"
     

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