So you're suggesting that the actions of the Ligues, et al hasn't, in any way, shape or form, stopped people from coming to games, either out of embarassment or fear for their safety? White Sox fan with a degree from Boston College...Well, this explains why you have a fascination with fixed games.
But Tom said it. So it's true. Like DePaul's football dominance and the prevelance of varsity rugby players with no interest in rugby applying for law clerk jobs.
Nancyb, with all due respect, I beg to differ. Much as I liked Beadling Boy's posts-and enthusiastic support at games-I am getting at a bigger problem. We are not growing our fan base due to two obvious reasons: We are not attracting enough new fans and we are not retaining enough of the existing fans. Anecdote. Shortly after I found Bigsoccer I stumbled onto a thread where 2 or 3 Moderators were really tormenting a poster. I thought at first it was some kind of skit, albeit a rough one, because the stuff was really personal and vicious (it was not in this forum-the moderators here, nancyb, Dark Night and so on are pretty good and rarely antagonize anyone). Finally the poster said he was through with going to games and good luck to everyone. I made a mental note of his screen name. A couple of years later, I asked fans if they knew this poster. They said something like he used to come to lots of games but hasn't been seen in awhile.
I don't remember if I said it in this thread or another one, but it bears repeating. WHAT GOES ON ON BIGSOCCER IS IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REAL WORLD. Period. End of discussion. One guy getting run out on a rail via BigSoccer does not exemplify some sort of mass exodus from soccer fandom. Later, COZ
I'm curious as to how you're quantifying this. Not a flame at all, just a question. How do you know our fan base isn't growing, how do you know we're not attracting enough new fans, and how do you know we're losing fans due to attrition? I'm curious to know. And therefore.....worldwide trend. See that leap there, boys and girls? I'm sure somewhere, someone got pissed off and left Bigsoccer, someone eavesdropped on a team of young women who didn't discuss soccer, someone went out for a sport they've never played before, and someone's grandmother got a boxing scholarship. That don't make it Cause for Alarm.
Anecdote: Midway through the 2001 MLS season, I left BigSoccer for many of the same reasons as the person you described. Yet I never stopped watching or going to games. Eventually I came back. I believe that Kenn has done the same on numerous occasions, too.
Hah! you want to know nasty? try usenet, bs is a breeze after that. Also, many times soccer players and their parents attend tournaments on weekends and thus cannot attend MLS or NATS matches. Every once in a great while they can attend if all the stars are in alignment, like a few weeks ago when one of our local premier teams played in Chicago and some of the families were able to attend a Fire home match on Sat. night.
This is an oversimplistic idea, but here goes: Americans are used to being the best at everything. As a result, when a wealthy American who is used to unquestioned respect has to see his team from his 'superior' country tie or lose, this is hard on both his ego and identity. Compound the poor performance against an 'inferior' nation with a situation in which the symbol of his manhood - his girl, his favorite MLS team, or his favorite player - is threatened, and the results are not pretty. The result: any insecurity or mean-spirited feeling he has is easily projected onto another BigSoccer poster who has different philosophies than him on who should be on the Bruce's squad, starting for his MLS team, leading the polls for the upcoming election, etc. Americans are competitive and BigSoccer posters are anonymous, a little banter is inevitable.
Anecdote #2 I know this guy who has become an even bigger fan of the USMNT because of Big Soccer. He meets new people when he goes to games, and enjoys the occasional argument. On top of that, he's had someone build a web page for him who he met on BigSoccer, got some advice on buying a new mobile phone and found out about a couple new music groups. He's more knowledgeable about politics in the U.S. and has even scored a few recipes. I made a note of his screen name, and he keeps coming back even though every once in a while someone calls him an idiot.
NO. IT'S NOT TRUE. THERE IS NO OTHER REALITY. [rocking back and forth, holding knees to chest] Mommy, make them stop... [/rocking back and forth, holding knees to chest] US Fans are not Nasty. Except in bed, where that's a good thing. Didn't anyone see my other thread?
See now, you're confusing me. Because if all anecdotes are true and universal, and there are two anecdotes that are contradictory, what is a person to believe?
Well, all I know is I've corresponded with him via email off and on and he told me why he left BS and it did not include things like nasty fans or BS posters. He's still around now and then and has provided the occasional translation. Sometimes ones he's posted himself, others he's me to post for him.
You bring up a good point. I often think about it, too. "A Season with Verona," has a part where the author meets up with a group of Romans who support Hellas Verona. He finds out that most of them also support a small minority political party, and other things/ideas that are viewed as underdogs. He conclude that these people support Hellas Verona because they like to be unique and fight uphill battles. I pair that anecdote with the thought that as a teenager in Southern California, I used to be a hockey fan. That makes me think sometimes, though I don't believe it, when soccer gets big in America, will many of us start trying to bring cricket to the mainstream?
I only contacted him because my recollectuon was diffferent than Tommy's, and I don't think BB would appreciate being the poster child for something he's not involved with. he said he had some problems with admins (not posters or mods) and that combined with a busy schedule convinced him to curtail his BS time. He said he'd be back around with WCQ gearing up. And to totally tear up Thomas' theory, here's part of what he said. So we now have Beadling Boy giving up following soccer alongside DePaul football, the rugby-playing law clerk from Bowdoin (and an unnamed Big 10 school the second time he spun the yarn) and the USMNT qualifier in Alaska. So which segment of the fan base is nasty - the one that might argue once in a while or the one that spreads lies about fellow fans?
Well, I'd say that what monster wrote is exactly what I'd understood from BB. On a "Where Are They Now?" FFA thread someone once asked what'd happened to BB. I said he left to have a life. One of these days, I'll do the same.
I did not bring up Beadling Boy. Someone else did. I know what he has said to me in emails. The last thing I would do is post one of his emails on a billboard, or claim to know what his reasons are. Whatever his reasons are, I enjoyed his posts and I appreciate the effort he made to go to so many qualifiers and help others enjoy the experience. In closing I think there is a reason he had nancyb post some of his translations instead of posting them himself. What is the reason? Only Beadling Boy knows. For the umpteenth time, this thread is not directed towards Bigsoccer per se. The fans would be the same even if Big Soccer stopped operation. I remember what the fans were like before there was a Big Soccer. Who is mad at who on a billboard is a trivial part of this, as Coz alluded.
holy jeebus. . . I just got a negative reputation point because of this thread from someone who's last post (of which they only have 11) was in 2002!!!!! Man, I guess they are nasty.
I was going to say something smart-alecky here, but I've been warned, so I'll just ask my question again of the person who stated it: How do we know our fan base is not growing/shrinking?