Ann Killion on KFOG 9/6/07 in the AM

Discussion in 'San Jose Earthquakes' started by shasta, Sep 6, 2007.

  1. shasta

    shasta New Member

    Mar 8, 2004
    AEG SVCKS
    Thought I would see something on this (maybe being discussed elsewhere?) by now. After the last caller asked what she thought about Lew Wolff's new plan, she went on to say she just had a lengthy interview with him. Although she was "un-impressed by the product" (MLS), she wished him luck.
     
  2. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If her kid played soccer, would she not watch becaue the product is "unimpressive"?
     
  3. DougO

    DougO Member

    Jan 2, 2001
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That was my question to Ann Killion. She also said that she thought well of his efforts, that he was intent upon doing it right, but she did admit she was somewhat unimpressed with MLS.

    DougO
     
  4. bsman

    bsman Member+

    May 30, 2001
    MadCity
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Yeah - unlike WUSA (of whom Ann was a huge fan). Now that was REAL soccer! [​IMG]
     
  5. asdf2

    asdf2 Member+

    Oct 11, 2004
    San Francisco
    She wouldn't know Ronaldinho from the back of her buttt.
     
  6. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have no problem if a casual soccer fan doesn't want to watch MLS, but when "true" fans of the game refuse because of its "quality" (or lack thereof?) I laugh. You always, always, always should support your home side. You love the game, no matter what the quality. I watch Div. III soccer, but I don't care.
     
  7. Earthshaker

    Earthshaker BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 12, 2005
    The hills above town
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The old, "it's not EPL, La Liga, or Serie A" excuse. Geez, I am just surprised soccer gets any coverage outside of those countries, since the product obviously doesn't measure up to what is found in England, Italy, or Spain.:rolleyes:
     
  8. Tifoso

    Tifoso Moderator
    Staff Member

    Juventus
    Italy
    Feb 24, 2007
    northern California
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy

    It doesn't, though (and I would add France, Germany, some places in Africa, and South America). No shame in that, though. We are still new at this. :)

    I am sure the above powerhouses weren't 30 years into it, either (I know Italia wasn't)
     
  9. JazzyJ

    JazzyJ BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 25, 2003
    I guess now that she's attended a youth soccer tournament in Europe with her daughter's team (she wrote a feature on that a few weeks ago), she feels entitled to become a "Eurosnob". I think if she had actually watched the 2005 Quakes with an open mind, and a real knowledge of the game, and no post-WUSA collapse baggage, she'd think that the team played good soccer. I'd say the product was quite good. Yes, the team was moved - bad! But the quality of soccer was good.
     
  10. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    I'm not impressed with the product at the Mercury News, but I wish them luck.
     
  11. due time

    due time Member+

    Mar 1, 1999
    Santa Clara
    Good one.
     
  12. markmcf8

    markmcf8 Member+

    Oct 18, 1999
    Vancouver, WA, USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ann is not now, nor has she ever been, a fan of MLS. She has always been critical of the league, the Quakes (and Clash before), the quality of play, the organization of the league, you name it.

    She was fun when she ripped on AEG, but she's never really been our friend.

    She loved the WUSA and that's fine by me. But it also takes the sting out of all her criticisms of MLS. It exposes her as not being a soccer fan. What soccer team or league did she ever like besides WUSA? Her kid's team and league? So what?! That's not being a soccer fan, or even a fan of the women's game. There was a USL-W team in Redwood City for a while, she never covered them. She never waxes poetic of the women's teams of SCU, Stanfurd, SJSU, Cal, or even any of the local community colleges.

    When our team comes back, we will need to pound, and I mean pound, on the Murky News to give us decent coverage. It will help that Wolff is already a big advertiser in their rag, but we will need to light a fire under their asses, because no one who writes for their sports page now is a friend to the Quakes or MLS.

    GOOOOOO QUAAAAAAAAKES!!! :D :D :D

    - Mark
     
  13. UrawaRed

    UrawaRed New Member

    Dec 19, 2000
    Kiyose, Tokyo
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    I know this is going to be anathema to many of you, but when the Quakes start up again, it might be a good thing to subscribe to the Merky. That way when you call up or send them an email, you can reinforce your comments by saying, "Dammit, I subscribe to your rag. Now, do it!" Just a thought.
     
  14. Mglnbea

    Mglnbea Member

    Jun 26, 2001
    Northern California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Besides, if you don't have a subscription, you won't be able send them a cancellation notice (for failure to properly cover the Quakes) later on!
     
  15. bsman

    bsman Member+

    May 30, 2001
    MadCity
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
  16. Bajoro

    Bajoro Member+

    Sep 10, 2000
    The Inland Empire
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ooooh! Ooooooooooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh!!!

    You beat me to it!!

    :D

    HEY ANN -- THOSE IN GLASS HOUSES....
     
  17. markmcf8

    markmcf8 Member+

    Oct 18, 1999
    Vancouver, WA, USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks (I think) for the link. Just sent Ann and her editors a love note.

    Ann -

    Just read your article on the Women's World Cup. I love you when you rip into AEG, but this article was weak. You're right that US Soccer is doing a crappy job of promoting it. As for the media, hello? Isn't part of that your responsibility?

    And speaking of the media ignoring stories they should be reporting, why have I seen so little reporting, and most of that negative, about the impending return of the Earthquakes to San José? That's a big soccer story in your town you are a soccer . . . oh wait. You are not. You're just a poser. You love the women's game (some of the time), but you think that MLS is somehow beneath you.

    I thought that this:

    "Falling into the just plain stupid category is the timing. I know FIFA considers itself arbiter of all things football, but soccer's governing body needs to take off the blinders and recognize the other football. Opening its World Cup in the same week as the NFL season is the height of foolishness. Yes, the NFL is an American sport. But Americans are the prime growth market for the women's game and made the Women's World Cup a premier event in 1999. You would think Visa and Coca-Cola - two of FIFA's main partners - might have alerted Sepp Blatter to the whole NFL schedule thing."

    Was just incredibly parochial of you. The NFL season is starting. So what? There are a lot more issues than timing in a non-host country. Let's start with weather, OK? And FIFA *are* the Official Arbiter's of all things Football. Really.

    Grow up. If you think you are a soccer fan, then get out and support your local teams. Do you support any of the local college sides? I never see you write about them. I never saw you write about the USL Women's team that used to be in Redwood City. Have you written anything about the California Victory in SF? The Murky News seems to love to cover sports team in SF, to the detriment of sports teams in San José. Why not cover the Victory?

    (For the record, I now live in Vancouver, WA, near Portland. I support the local USL side, and have gone to a match or two of the local community college. I'll get down to San José when the Quakes come back too.)

    And WUSA is suppose to start up again in '09. Are you going to give them lots of ink and love, while ignoring the Earthquakes? Again?

    disappointed,

    - Mark
    Vancouver, WA 98660
    - - -

    I have an electronic account with the Murk. Does that count as subscribing? I don't think I pay them any money.

    GOOOOO QUAKES!!!!! :D :D :D

    - Mark
     
  18. Ringo

    Ringo Member

    Jun 10, 2002
    Rough and Ready
    Club:
    Yeovil Town FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    At first I thought it said she was umimpressed with his plan for the stadium, so I'm glad I got that wrong.

    but there's been a lot of times when I've been unimpressed with MLS too. But I love American soccer and that's the best American soccer, so I stick with it. but if the biggest complaint is that it's not top-flight Euro balll -- well, that's right. you have to be able to appreciate Mls for what it is and what it can be, not slag on it for what it's not.
    just my opinion.
    :)
     
  19. masoo

    masoo Member

    May 31, 2000
    Berkeley, CA
    I realize we have this discussion on a semi-regular basis, but, no, it is not the media's responsibility to promote things. That doesn't stop them from doing so when they think it's worth their while, but what you are describing is P.R., not journalism.
     
  20. UrawaRed

    UrawaRed New Member

    Dec 19, 2000
    Kiyose, Tokyo
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Maybe. But when sports pages give tons of coverage to some baseball star and his farts, I would call that promotion. It may not be promoting the player (see one Bonds, Barry), but it sure as hell is promoting the game and the team.
     
  21. Ringo

    Ringo Member

    Jun 10, 2002
    Rough and Ready
    Club:
    Yeovil Town FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    it's getting the name out there ... but they're doing it because people want to read it, not out of a sense of obligation to promote the team.
     
  22. JazzyJ

    JazzyJ BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 25, 2003
    Well "responsibility" to whom? I'd say as employees of the company that owns the newspaper, they have a responsibility to provide quality reporting on things that people want to read about. That's what sells newspapers. You can make the argument that there isn't enough interest in something like Women's World Cup to warrant any more coverage. But I think personal bias of the editors and writers sometimes prevents them from doing the right thing, just from a strictly business point of view, not from a "public service" point of view.

    And that's where I think it's helpful to make noise about lack of coverage for things that you care about. Tim Kawakami dismisses soccer, writing that no one is watching soccer, and then is blown away by all the emails and comments from what he calls the "socceristas". Well, what does that tell you Tim? Maybe some people do care about soccer after all. But they would never know if we didn't make noise about it.
     
  23. Quakes05

    Quakes05 Member+

    Oct 1, 2005
    birthplace of MLS
    amen to that...
     
  24. bigdumbgod

    bigdumbgod Member+

    Jun 25, 2005
    San Jose, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The more questions I get from many random people around town just from wearing Quakes gear (the "Return" shirt, especially), the more I'm convinced people do want to know what's going on with the team/stadium stuff. Empirical, unsolicited evidence, Mercistas. Deal with it. Do your job.
     

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