With the signing of Blanco, some speculated that we would become the most hated team. Contrary to that theory, everywhere the Fire play now the Blanco fans come out. Typically a few thousand. So next to the Galaxy, the Fire will probably have one of the better road attendances. So will the Fire become the most beloved team in MLS?
The bolded text makes me learn more toward the negative rather than the affirmative. That said, it is up to the Fire organization to make a concerted effort to transform as many of these fans as possible into fans of the Fire rather than just fans of a person.
There's ever so much Guppy and attempt to do. They still believe Mexican soccer is better then the MLS. They're there to root on God. But from what I've seen, they've seen how devoted most Fire fans are and especially the support section, they turn. I have a bunch of co-workers that are fellow America fans that never gave a sh*t bout the Fire till Mr. White was signed. They went to a few games but it wasn't till they sat in 117 that they started to see that and now are Fire fans. Gone out to buy jerseys and have tickets to the rest of the season. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it takes two to tango.
Even though I consider myself a big fan of the Fire, I don't know if there's a real way to measure something like that. You can maybe use attendance, TV ratings, or actual game atmosphere, which is more subjective. In the end, I guess all that matters for us is that we continue to support and follow the team.
I think the cool thing about the Blanco signing is that it will raise the number of people who love us and raise -- even more perhaps -- the number of people who hate us. If we start winning like we can, we could very well become the most hated team in the league.
There are two sides to every coin. For every rabid Chivas or America fan, there is a rabid Chivas or America hater. We've seen the love that many Mexicans have for Cuauh on the road, but come the 29th, when the Fire take on the She-Goats USA in Carson, we'll see the *hate*.
Yeah, there are still people posting on other boards complaining that we even brought Blanco into the league, like we're killing the MLS with him being here. Dey is just jealous.
The MLS isn't big enough or even popular enough to have deep rivalries, most hated/beloved team etc. I say wait a few more years and then you will see real hatred of teams once bigger stars sign and once the attendance grows, But If I had to guess which teams are the most beloved and most hated IMO it would be something like this: Most hated - LA Galaxy, everyone makes fun of this team for the lack of Beckham playing time and other MLS fans are just jealous that they got Beckham and Donovan. Most Beloved - LA Galaxy, As hated by most true MLS fans this team is the #1 draw for the casual fan. Beckham is a superstar and tons of people show up just to see a glimpse of the guy. 2-5 years down the road it will probably be like this Most hated- Toronto FC- Playing this team at their stadium is an experience and they have a true home field advantage, you absolutely hate losing to this team at their home. I hate this team even now, after losing at Toronto I could never ever see myself ever liking this team. Most Beloved- If Jozy Altidore stays and becomes the superstar that most people think he will be and NY keeps signing guys like JPA, this team will be the Media darlings of the MLS. The only way I ever see Chicago Fire being the most beloved team is if they sign Ronaldinho.