In LA, it's soccer vs. futbol

Discussion in 'LA Galaxy' started by bigdoug, Sep 1, 2007.

  1. Senor Limones

    Senor Limones New Member

    Jul 29, 2007
    Long Beach, CA
    I think the article is a little out of touch. I sit in General Admission for most Galaxy home games and it's predominantly Latino, and if not, it's extremely multi-ethnic. Furthermore, the writer seems to assume that being Latino makes you a default Chivas fan. He ignores all the Central Americans in LA who are completely turned off by Chivas' Mexican-born only roster; not to mention the Club America group who show up at the Home Depot Center because they hate Chivas as much the drunks in Section 138.
    Instead of being divisive, the writer should spend some time at the Home Depot Center and see how people get along. He should've been there during the Gold Cup when thousands of Guatemalan-Americans put down thier blue and white flags after their game against El Salvador so they could wave the Stars and Stripes and chant "USA" for the US game that followed. He should have been there when thousands of Pachuca fans took their hats off and whistled and cheered, not booed, during the US National anthem. Those same Pachuca fans lined up to shake my hand and sincerely say, "Great game, you'll win next time."
    I say leave LA alone, we all get along fine; we just want a taste of the derby atmoshpere enjoyed by fans all over the globe. Rivary, yes. Racial tensions no. By the way, I'm white y yo amo el futbol.
     
  2. Going Mobile

    Going Mobile Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 15, 2004
    Club:
    CD Chivas USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    agreed. I am even sure there more mexicans on Chivas roster as this point. I wonder if the writer has been to a game since the first year of ChivasUSA.
     
  3. bigdoug

    bigdoug New Member

    Apr 8, 2005
    I agree with Senor Limones. Seems like the Galaxy has significant Latino support. The Chivas marketing effort of "us vs. the gringos" always seemed like a narrow marketing niche and just plain bizarre at times. Their inaugural game was against DC, which had Freddy Adu and Jaime Moreno. Gringos? OK, Ben Olsen...definitely. But, look at the lineup in DC (and elsewhere) over the years, you see a lot of diversity.

    United tends to bring very diverse groups of fans together. Aside from the Salvadorans who went ape-youknowwhat when the team traded away Raul Diaz Arce, it's been largely a unifying force in the community. Speaking at least for myself and my fellow gringo fans, I can say that race and ethnicity never much mattered to us. Just win, baby! Just win!
     
  4. BeHereNow

    BeHereNow Member

    Sep 1, 2007
    California
    I think the writer got it wrong.

    I used to really follow the galaxy their very first year in 1996. Cinfuegos, Campos and the rest of the crew. From the regular season unbeaton streak all the way to the final loss against DC United. I remember the dissapointment i felt when they lost in extra time.

    But then I lost interest (just like I lost interest in my beloved Raiders when they lost the big one in 02)

    So when I wanted to support again I found myself in a bind.

    With Chivas USA does that make the LA Galaxy the defacto US club and Chivas the defacto Mexican club?

    So i didnt care for either. seriously if Chivas USA were named anything other than Chivas I would support MLS here in LA most likely the galaxy.

    Now I realize that nationality or ethnicity doesnt really make the derby what it is.
    I dont like Chivas USA for being Chivas. I definetly dont like the Galaxy for their image over substance, Alexi Lalas, their espn nut riders, and their soccer mom appeal.

    So now I support the Chicago fire. Ive never been a huge C. Blanco fan, but the contrasts between the galaxy and the Fire have made me a long distance supporter of the fire. Working class, low hype a lot of work fire, vs. upper class, a lot of hype pretty boys galaxy.
     
  5. NestT

    NestT New Member

    Jul 19, 2007
    Carson,CA
    Club America bad boy super-star Temo is now the face of USA's working class club? That is freaking hillarious. Did he become that working class star before he bought his Rolex Master Piece or after he purchased his Panerai 8 Days?

    In Europe and Latin America fan bases are largely determined by ethnic/sectarian/class identifications.

    It simply does not exist in MLS with the exception of Chivas/Galaxy derby.
     
  6. Beakmon FC

    Beakmon FC Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Jan 10, 2002
    The OC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hmmm...I didn't know anyone still read the LA Times...:D
     
  7. proxyone

    proxyone New Member

    Apr 25, 2007
    Los Angeles
    That's because Soccer itself has been cast in an ethinic/class conflict against other US sports. But the reality is it does bring together (and sometimes in conflict) two different classes- workingclass immigrants and suburbanites.

    Though the Galaxy has many hispanic/latino supporters, Chivas does not. And, as the guy sitting next to me put it at the Superclassico last week- "I have a galaxy hat at home- but my dad is from Guadelajara so I have to root for Chivas."

    No one who is a fan of Galaxy is going to have that conflict of loyalties.
     
  8. Cyclonis

    Cyclonis Forza Juve

    Jul 12, 2007
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    This is only a problem from an ownership standpoint. They want more white families to get into soccer and I'm fine with that. Bringing in Beckham will help.
    However i think the Galaxy has lost it's identity in doing so. The reason i became a galaxy fan was because of Mauricio Cienfuegos. My mom is from El Salvador, and let me tell you, they don't have a lot to cheer for when it comes to soccer down there. I miss the days when we had him, Machon and Ruiz from Guatemala.
    They are trying to convert Americans to soccer, but soccer is already here, just not in the demographics they are looking for. They need to go down to C.A. (Central America not California) a region not generally know for raising superstars and find the best young talent from there. There are tons of fabulous players who toil for peanuts. Most have second jobs. Many would bite your hand off if you offered them a chance to play in the states.
    It's a little harder to try to impress white Americans though. There are just too many sports here to choose from. People want to support others like them, from their ethnic group, social standing, religion or whatever. It's not racism, it's reality. Donovan is the best we've got, but he isn't exactly setting the world stage on fire. If they want it to work, they are going to have to find some more 'name' British players. I heard Teddy Sheringham's son was playing at Crystal Palace USA. Anyone contact him?

    Take the young talent from C.A. (before they get famous or otherwise you'll be paying through the roof) mix them with Donovan, Beckham, and another British signing and you got the making of a good team, that almost anyone would be proud to support.
    They need stars from all over the soccer universe to take the galaxy into the future.


     
  9. bigdoug

    bigdoug New Member

    Apr 8, 2005
    The reigning mentality over the last few decades in the U.S. has been eliminate a lot of the factors you mention. It started in 1947 when the Brooklyn Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson up the majors. Then the Pirates acquire Roberto Clemente, the first Latino baseball superstar. And so on.

    I think by now most Americans have internalized the idea that you root a team, you judge the players on their merits as athletes and individuals, and you leave race, ethnicity, religion and nationality out of it. Overall, that's a GOOD thing for the country.

    Soccer is a bit different, I guess. The Salvadorans in DC were angry when the team traded Raul Diaz Arce in the late 90s. They boycotted games and would only show up to root for opposing teams with Salvadorans on them. The rest of us - who rooted for DC as a team and appreciated what they had done - had a hard time putting up with that behavior. It made no sense to us. I think a lot of that is gone now as the team started winning again and became more established as DC's soccer team.
     
  10. Cyclonis

    Cyclonis Forza Juve

    Jul 12, 2007
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    I agree with you up until a certain point. The best example i can was the homerun race in MLB. When Maguire broke the record, everyone in America was thrilled. When Bonds broke it a year later, people were less happy. I thought it was obvious they were both on steroids, Maguire even admitted it, or so i heard, so what is the difference?

    Another example is pro-hockey (Hate watching it on TV but watch it live and it kicks ass) How many fans of hockey are black? Not many. Is it cause hockey sucks. It it cause these people are all racist. NO. I think its because people want to see people like them excel and dream that that could be them. I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

    I'm not saying that i'll only cheer on Salvadoran or Italian athletes because thats what i am. I think soccer is supposed to be a multicultural game. Its played all over the world. However i did feel pride when Zola and Di Canio were ripping it up in England, and Cienfuegos here at the galaxy. Is that wrong? For me, the world cup is the biggest stage there is for soccer, and its basically divided by nationality. You don't have to root for the team from where you were born (I know many Italians who are not supporters of the national team, same for El Salvador) but the majority of people do? Is it because they are racist. No.

    I agree that soccer is different from other mainstream American sports for these reasons and many more, but i cannot count the times that I've heard it referred to as a Hispanic or immigrant sport... or all the times when some jerk has yelled 'FUT-BALL' at me in a stupid sounding Spanish accent. That in itself would prove you wrong, even if only partially. Yeah people accept a pro athlete for his skill, looking past his ethnicity, but what about a regular person like me?

    The galaxy doesn't have either an Italian or a Salvadoran player on their roster now, but i still consider myself a galaxy fanatic. You are correct, it's the team that's important. I would never STOP supporting them because the players on the team we're not from my ethnic background. But i have to admit that if they did sign a couple, it would make me extra happy, and i don't think there is anything wrong with that.
     
  11. bigdoug

    bigdoug New Member

    Apr 8, 2005
    I'm not sure steroid controversy was as strong when McGuire and Sammy Sosa were competing for that record. Both players had good relationships with the fans and the media. Bonds broke his record when the steroid issue was a much bigger concern and he had a much more difficult relationship with the press and public. There may well be racial elements in this, but there were other factors.

    As for hockey, I think it's mostly a demographic thing. African Americans and Canadians tend to gravitate toward other sports. And there are a lot of players in the league from Russia and northern Europe. Nothing racist there, but it's probably held hockey back in terms of popularity.

    I appreciate the rest of what you say. Bigotry and racism exist in the society, but I do think that sports is largely an area where we've put most of that behind us. And it makes sense that if you had players from your home country on the team it's a more fun experience. Perfectly understandable. DC has always had a lot of good Latino players and fan support.
     
  12. 562nation

    562nation Member

    May 10, 2004
    (562)areacode LA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lets face it Frank knew in january of 07 the type of circus that was going to come in the summer. He built a team of mediocre players w/ Lalas. traded away all the hispanic players on the team. (something ive had no answer for when hispanics that watched superliga asked when interested in the galaxy me. Its something ive been hearing on a recurring basis on Spanish sports radio to the tune of how can a team that represents LA not have more than one hispanic player on the team?) Pavon was brought in as soon as rumblings of his issue started appearing in the press. What a mistake honestly. What i dont get is teams around MLS scouted latin america and got great players. Toja, Emilio, Fred, blanco, schellotto. And what does frank do. he scouts colleges? Dont we have partnerships with Sao Paulo, dont we have connections in central america? does frank not like to scout down south? Ive heard stories he did this in san jose. and everyone will ague he built a championship team. im now in the camp of Kinnear had more to do with that than frank did. I want to see a championship team period regardless of who plays., but i just dont see it happening w/ franks tactics and style of play in LA.
     

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