I hate to be negative nelly here, but... Why the hell would AEG care how you get to the HDC,or even IF you get the the HDC, so long as you bought a ticket..? It would be nice if they were green and all that, but the only green AEG is interested in is EDIT: Only $99,999,999 more to go until you make your sales objective, eh Alexi?
A few comments... Its probably more like $10,000 until Alexi reaches his objectives. Im sure having Beckham on the team has really helped AEG financially. Remember, we didnt really pay Becks $250 mill. Also, That photo of the dollar is interesting. Is that some sort of Kabbalah or Masonic "Star of David" above the American Eagle? Is that even an eagle or is it a Phoenix rising up to create a "New World Order". After all, that what it says under the all seeing eye here: And whats with all the spider webs? Could it be somehow linked to the secretive society called Bohemian Grove that uses the Shakespearian motto "weaving spiders come not here"? The mascot for Bohemian Grove is an owl, which most of us can see on the front of the one dollar bill in the top right corner.
Steve, Thanks for all the hard work. Would love some insight from the FO about how our injured players are progressing especially Landon and Jazic. I would love to see the HDC become a fortress for the G's and anything to stimulate singing, flag waving, streamers etc will liven the atmosphere and actually bring nonhardcore fans the the stadium so finally we can be the 12th man for the team. Thanks and cheers, Marty
Re: The Galaxy Stars Program Barry, Sorry that I took so long to pass the response along on this question! The FO staffer that I asked (back on Feb 29, again I am sorry!) gave me a response back within about 10 minutes of my email to her. She also knew who you are (by name and the names of both of your kids!) she says that she hopes all is well with you and your family. Her response: "The Galaxy Stars program is being restructured and the Galaxy does plan to have information available at Fan Fest on March 22, and in the meantime, prospects can email galaxystars@lagalaxy.com as we are collecting names and info and will communicate details to these new prospects as well as to past members when we are ready to go." Steve L.
Tommy, Thanks for all of your support! Question for you: Steves™ Does the ™ stand for Trade Mark or Tommy Macked? Great Stuff! Steve L.
The E in AEG stands for Entertainment. It is important (read return $s) if you as a fan/customer have a great experience at an AEG event and your "experience" starts before the game and ends well after the final whistle, In fact first and last impressions are very, very important. The ease in which you travel and arrive/depart to/from the HDC will make a difference in your decision to return (and spend more $s) for the next game, if you are going to buy Galaxy gear ($s) in between the games, and it makes a big difference in whether or not you make a recomendation to your friends that they go to the next Galaxy game. Steve L.
Report on the Ambassador's March Meeting with the FO: The first item that we discussed was various ways to promote public transportation to and from the HDC. The talk ranged from simple shuttle bus(s) from the Blue Line stop (near the Crystal Casino?), shuttle bus(s) from the parking lot at the shopping center on Avalon by the 405, to my grand(iose) idea of petitioning the City to build a Light rail spur from the Blue line to the HDC. Should have been done in the first place. We came to no resolution with this discussion and changes here are likely to be slow in coming. Not saying that they won't happen, just going to be slow. Communication: Reviewed a draft of the first issue of the STH newsletter: nice info no advertisements! Reviewed the STH emails and Web page. Tailgating: There is significant work being done to have an official designated Tailgating area. I was told that I can make NO OFFICIAL announcement on this at this time. UNTIL I CAN make an official announcement I have a question: Have any of you been cited or ticketed for tailgating at the HDC or have you just been told "NO" so many times by the FO that you just think that you can't do it? If it was ME I would just go ahead and tailgate. Disclaimer on the above: YMMV, you may get a ticket, and should you take advice from the only (as far as I know) person, me, to ever get arrested for ticket "scalping" at the HDC... Streamers and Flags I can't make any announcement yet, Tommy can you? I can tell you all that Tim is working really hard with the HDC boss, Rod, to get these back for the Supporters groups at the very least. BWHD We spoke about these, food in general and line control. We are meeting with the Manager of the HDC Rod, shortly and will report back. Official announcement that I can make: Each STH will receive a FREE GALAXY SCARF (one for each seat!) prior to opening day. Please bring to the match and use them to show your support for the team! Steve R. - What did I leave out? It was a good meeting. There is a lot to go over and Tommy's analogy of a big ship needing a lot of effort and time to change direction is a very good one. The biggest positive is that this IS a ship that wants to change direction for the betterment of the Fan experience. That is all that I have for now; please keep the suggestions and questions coming! Thank you for your support of OUR LA GALAXY! Steve Lesse Ambassador LA Galaxy
Thank you, Steve, for your efforts and your report. I have tailgated several times at the back of my car without incident.
If it gets people into the game, I'll take that tradeoff. Free scarves for STH's is rad but I hope they aren't of crappy design.
Maybe they only get part of a scarf? BTW: I trust that the STH scarves do not say "Beckham 23" on them....
I just convinced my family to purchase a partial-season package for the first time. We went to a few games last season and my parents and older siblings-- none of whom are "soccer fans"-- seemed to enjoy the intimate atmosphere at the HDC. One thing they noted was the less-than-enthusiastic staff throughout the stadium. Whether it was security personnel, people at the gate, or ushers, they didn't seem like they were too happy to work for the HDC/Galaxy. My parents compared it to the staff at Angels Stadium, where everyone is very friendly and seems to hold the "fan experience" as the most important aspect of their job. I don't know what can be done to improve this (as it's likely a third party hires these individuals), but it might be nice to SEE that every staff member is there to serve the fans and their gameday experience. I guess this also applies to the security force and their inability to crack down on harmful behavior (bottle throwing, verbal & sometimes physical harrassment). Anyways, I appreciate the work being done to improve the gameday experience.
Update on the report I posted yesterday: Scarves are for Full STHs only. Also I just got word that the shipment of Scarves received by the FO is short, more have been ordered, the FO will ship out as many as they have and the balance will be shipped as soon as they are received probably one or two games into the season. Steve L.
That's a shame. With the scarves, half the trick is getting people to bring them to the games which is why Toronto's idea of attaching the opening day ticket to them was such a great idea. Nice to see we're getting scarves at all this year. Perhaps filed away for next year would be the idea of attaching the opening day ticket to the scarf for maximum effect. I think if the scarf is cool enough (And I'm thinking just a basic scarf of our primary colors ) it would do well to make people without them say "how do I get those cool scarfs?" to which the answer is become a STH. That's a nice visible benefit to being a STH and I think it would intrigue some non STH's.
One thought for the FO- Can you ask them if they have anyplans to offer Galaxy gear in the team store in infant/toddler sizes? I haven't noticed much if anything in those sizes available at MLS matches...
Thanks Mike, We did talk about attaching the opening day ticket to the scarves could not do it for some technical reason (maybe we were too late with the idea ) There will still be a lot of scarves for the home opener just not enough for every one. I just sent an email telling the FO to short me for opening day, that will help a bit... Steve L.
Excellent question although for my needs I'd expand it to the online stuff as well. I have resorted to bootleg stuff on ebay. I did get the "game over" Landon onesie from shirtees site but I would love to spend some of my hard earned cash on some legit G's gear for my newborn son.
Steves, I realize this is an HDC thing but perhaps the FO would be willing to have a "stealth" fan or two per game (rotate it among the season ticket holders or send AEG employees undercover) who can give some sort of a redeemable token (good for a $25 gift certificate) to any staff member who provides exceptional service. Incentives work.
As to staff of HDC... I have always been greeted in a friendly fashion, and clearly remember the staff saying something nice as we exit. Sure, some of them are going through the motions, but at least some of the ones (most actually) that I encountered were pretty good. This does not include the yellow jackets.... As I recall, one of the deals with AEG getting the school and City's approval for the stadium was a commitment to hire locally and hire unemployed/inexperienced people to work the games. A lot of these employees are holding their very first jobs and are not experienced in dealing with the public. You have to cut them a little slack here - we all started out someplace and not all of us got drilled in basic politeness. If you realize that the staff is, at least in part, the result of a community outreach program, maybe you will have a better understanding of what's going on. And, like anything else, if you act friendly, chances are they will. If you act stupid and rowdy, chances are they will.
Here's my issue... merchandising. As a relatively new fan -- three years -- I've bought every Galaxy sweatshirt I can find in my size. Total number? Four. And only one in the new colors. I may be somewhat unique in SoCal, where sports merchandise is not nearly as popular for day-to-day wearing as Midwestern cities, but I live in my sports apparel. But with such a limited amount (one) in the new colors, I save it for matches only. Wearing team clothing around town gets people talking, and I've met several soccer fans by doing that. But if the merchandise is all but non-existent, it's hard to wear the clothing. I suppose I could just buy five of the same sweatshirt... but it's nice to change it up once in a while. The team is missing out on an opportunity for free advertising, and the fans feel more connected when they wear more team clothing. My advice -- get several types of sweatshirts, and t-shirts, promoting the team. Most of what I have I bought in 2005 -- since then, it's been all downhill. Jerseys are fine, but I'll buy one of those, it's all I need. Sweatshirts -- if you had 10 styles, I'd probably buy all 10!