The Rebrand (keep your naming ideas to yourself please)

KCW website has an RH interview in two parts up. Not shockingly I found a few things to be problematic.

The text of the interview clearly states the name change decision has been made, not news. Other statements have info that I read to be indicative of the decision being "floated" as per normal with RH and OnGoal, the backlash seemed surprising at the least, and now the tactic is, as always, to devise the best way to sell a new name to those who are and will be unhappy. The main goal being midwestern domination of an as yet etherial today sports brand. OK, there's the plan.

I'm not crazy about KCW being merely a lever for financial domination or for that matter anything less than a Championship first priority. Nowhere in the text was that "want to win" confirmed by a plan. 100% lipservice. All noted plans were for growth unrelated to the soccer team on the field, yet many hours have been devoted/wasted to the rebrand and OnGoal (read :not Wizards) expansion to follow.

I'm not in the room, I don't know the full plan obviously. I have no objection to a field being used more than 17-20 dates per year. It should be. I like lacross, rugby, and almost all sports. Angles are angles after all. Attracting other teams to KC with synergy in mind is a Cerner, business, and sports building standard.

Again, the issue is throwing the baby (KCW's historical name) out with the bathwater. A name change isn't for the benefit of the soccer team, but the sole and only benefit of Owner's pocketbooks...and even benefit that is just theory at this point. An incorrect theory disproved often in practice locally and nationally.

Increasingly KCW is looking as if the purchase of the team was sole and only for the leverage of other maketing and tax dollar capture opportunities. I've stated this before and nobody cared. Well, here's a whole interview that says KCW isn't the priority of the head man.

How much losing has to happen before it becomes imporant to other fans?

Whatever your view of RH's statements, Championship teams are not run in this manor ever.

There isn't much evidence that RH has as his priority becoming proficient at helping the team currently called the KC Wizards - progress into a winner on the field. His priority is to make money, period. So far, it's inarguable that the 3+ seasons of actual results have been a losing team.

I didn't know if RH is gaining coaching licenses, learning launguages, digesting tape, rating players, or otherwise being a sponge in on-field matters. Some of this is inevitable, but enough to matter? Whatever is happening, it's tough to see it from a fan view. It may even be arguable that a Team President's involvement doesn't help but rather harms.

I'm OK with that, but then don't change the team's name or colors or offer opionions on the team on the field. Be a guy who's job it is to make money and remain stoic on other matters. But that isn't RH, is it? Cynically adn probaly in reality, it creates the suituation where two things are being done at less than acceptable proficiencies and time is wasted.


Further, I'm bothered by RH's reference of his time in the D-League. It wasn't that he referenced it as that is his sole and only experience base within sport, so it naturally forms RH's frame of reference, but rather waht bother's me is how he mentioned it. The context was that a learning event happened in the DBL, so that knowledge directly transfers to MLS. This as if the equation is the same. Science argues differently, but that aside, there may be a soccer league in the US comparable to MLS, but it isn't MLS. No government is writing $100M checks for DBL teams...I don't think so anyway. Nobody really wants to be in the D-League. That is never the end goal. The D-league isn't ever consulted when determining where the FIBA World Championships will be played. www.bigdleague.com isn't a widely follow site. Etc.

In total over 3+ seasons now a patern has emerged. That being READY, FIRE!!!, aim philosophy. If an idea is flotaed and it bombs, the strategy isn't to abandon the idea as flawed, but rather to do damage control, because we're so heavily invested in the idea and how could we possibly be wrong?!? We're only not understood. We will convert them...we know everything important adn hard work is enough.

Hard work isn't ever enough in sports. It never has been and never will be. It's required, but rarely if ever the catalyst. Everyone works. Most work hard.

The line been very consistent over OnGoal's line on everything. Good ideas remain good. Bad ones are merely sold until proven bad. The list is long and consistent.

I mentioned long ago that mistakes will be made by rookies in everything. Rookies coaches, Owners, Players, Marketers...everyone. It's to be expected. You are better at your job today than when you started, etc. To continue to be willing to make mistakes is part of learning to be a Champion. To not learn from them or willingly make mistakes again having better knowledge is just the stuff of losing and therefore losers.

Robb Heineman seems convinced that running a playbook is the course and that playbook has been determined from his experiences running a financial concern and a D-League team.

Times are easy now. The new stadium we all like if not love and it's abundant cash flows in the short term will hide many issues that will become more tangible and increasingly more costly later.

RH needs help from someone better connected to the minds of fans of sports in general and specifically soccer. Absence of that acknowledgement and change is to accept that Peter Vermes is the answer and guru to all things. PV is the de facto Team President this point. RH is actually OnGoal's Team President, not your Team President. There is nothing else. That is how the on-field team is structured at this moment. RH seems fairly irrelevant to that dynamic except in killing the team's history. I could be wrong, but it doesn't feel like it. For the record, I'd happily to be wrong.

With that, real growth will be difficult to impossible until RH either allows himself to be helpful to KCW on field or gets someone else in there who can and will. That looks wholly unlikely and I truly hate that I'm typing this.

[Craig Furguson]I look forward to your letters.[/CF]

 

I've post many times in response to your post that a sports team operates as two different entities. There is the front office which covers the business side of things and there is the technical staff who controls the coaching staff and player personnel. I am glad you finally understand that. However, you are insinuating that it is wrong for the team to operate in this fashion which is incorrect. This is how most sports teams operate. So, basically you read the article and finally figure out how sports teams operate and use it as a way to slam OnGoal when that is how things should be.

PV is the technical director and head coach. So, he is basically the president of the actual team.

RH is an entrepreneur. He hasnt played professional soccer nor does he have the ability to evaluate or coach players. Do you really want him make personnel decisions? His job is to handle business matters and do things that lead this team to earn a profit. They have hired PV to build a team to win championships.

Rob's job is to handle the business side of matters. That is how it should work. So, you slamming him for focusing on the business side of things in an interview is a little ridiculous when that is his role.

Do you really want this team to turn into the Oakland Raiders where you have Rob acting like Al Davis and screwing the team up? Owners getting too involved in player personnel decisions rarely works. All you have to do is look at the current state of the Cowboys and Raiders to see how well that works.

OnGoal has only owned this team for 4 years. That isnt very long for someone. The learning curve is much longer than that. Yes, they make mistakes. I am sure you make mistakes in your job too. I dont know what you do for a living but I am sure it involves some kind of job that helps a company generate profit. Most people work towards the goal of helping a company generate revenue, it isnt wrong, it is called capitalism and the basic principle of business. Like it or not, the Kansas City Wizards and OnGoal are businesses. If they dont make a profit eventually, we no longer have a team.

 

Exactly. Building a championship team is not exact science. Ask the Pink Cows about that. All you can do is make an effort and there is evidence of OG doing that whether WC wants to admit it or not. The adjustments made to the techical side of things in the last year is a strong effort. It hasnt worked out yet but I think it will. It also isnt cheap to send an entire coaching staff to Portugal to scout players. If the bottom line were the only thing, they would be doing the minimum which means staying in the states to scout players.

 

I would assume his connection is Dave Borchardt who use to work with them at 810.

 

I hope this is correct. I just want to get it over with. I hope they can get all they can out of the news cycle. Hype - hype - HYPE.

 

Hillcrest Road states big announcement tomorrow (followed by a pub crawl). I'm guessing you'll know then.

 

Thinking of the Portland logo unveiling right about now.

 

Me too, now to make sure I can get off work in time.

 

It's now directing to the Facebook event.

 

Fark .... I almost hope its Sporting right now ... imagine how bad it could be if they really tried.

Logos and imagery better be good or I am gonna have to boo.

 

they are probably just announcing watch parties for the FIFA Club World Cup...

 

I'm not sure if I'll laugh or boo, I doubt we'll get the full reaction that Portland got, but it could certainly be bad.

 

Interesting.

They just posted this on the facebook page: Greetings supporters, bignewsforKC.com will redirect here to the Facebook event. Look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday at Power & Light!

 

You probably need to clear your DNS cache

At the command prompt:

ipconfig /flushdns

 

At least OnGoal isn't hiding from us. They could have very well just made it press only.

I don't think there's going to be a Portland incident. I imagine if it's horrible we'll be hearing crickets, faint boos, and the interns clapping a little too loudly.