On the thread about the Seattle Sounders we are talking about uniforms and such. Lets get real, and I am not trying to put anyone down, but if/when we get a team that will be something for the team to decide and it will go through a lot of changes. While all of those ideas seemed great we need to concentrate on the real picture. There for a while, there was a new thread about every other day on Big Soccer about St. Louis. Now, things are slowing down it seems. And we are playing with fantasy by talking about uniforms. What about going to events. We need to make news in the MLS world and let it be known we are more serious than we are. I have checked the St. Louis City Supports Club website every so often and it seems as though whoever is running it doesn't do anything with it anymore, nor are there an scheduled events. I feel bad, I'd love to organize but I'm a college student, student teaching, and taking 2 courses all to graduate this May. But I, like many people, would def go to events. All I am saying is, that whoever is running that site, whoever is in charge of events and such, lets get a move on it. MLS just started back up, lets make news!
I completely agree. Im checking all the sites daily hoping to see something new, some piece of information to give me hope that we may get a team some day. I think some people may be losing hope. We need to get the buzz going again and organize and try to do as much as we can to show the league that MLS is missing out on our great soccer city.
The GCSC is currently reorganizing and we plan to make an announcment soon and following that, make a big effort to be vocal in our support for an MLS team in St. Louis. Be patient for a little longer.
Can't help but being a little amused by this. St. Louis MLS fans get told by everyone else "you'll get a team, be patient a little longer." Then someone asks about the *supporters group*, and gets told "Be patient for a little longer."
That's what I said before in some other post, we, as an organization, should try to attend big soccer events in St. Louis and take banners to let people know about this. BTW, I got a St. Louis soccer magazine, I cant remember the name of it. But it had a huge picture of the St. Louis future MLS shield in the back page.
It's not that the GCSC is inactive. There has been alot of work done that you can't post about on bs. Look for something big soon though. Most of the work I've been doing has been trying to maintain the city's commitment to the project. The mayor's death has the potential of severly damaging the entire plan. May 11th is still the next event. PM me if you are planning on going.
Why don't you guys get a big group together and come to KC for a game?? The Wizards have a guy that's from the St. Louis area working for them in sales. I'm sure he'd love to see a lot from the area attend a game.
Have there been any meetings at all within the GCSC? This might be the reason we never go take trips like suggested above. We should go to KC but first, we might want a meet and greet kind of thing that way we can get a little more solid of a group and coordinate things better. This could be something to add to the GCSC website?
Fact is, MLS is going to jerk StL around and use them as a cattle prod for cities where there is a lot higher ceiling. Most of the biggest moves on the expansion front have been the result of fans turning the tables and telling the league what THEY, the paying customer want instead of the league telling them "You'll have what we tell you to have and you'll like it." - Soccer Silicon Valley's efforts kept hope for a team alive in San Jose. - The Sons of Ben set a new model in showing that the potential for MLS existed in Philadelphia. - Seattle supporters gave the big one-fingered salute to MLS brass with their write-in campaign that ultimately paid off through the Seattle Sounders FC moniker. - Even Miami supporters are already there at USL-1 games rallying support, and like it or not, they are StL's competition. I don't see the same level of organization...or even enthusiasm for a St. Louis MLS team outside of these boards. I'm not trying to knock it, as a St. Louis resident, I would love to have a team here, but the lack of organization and public enthusiasm has me worried that not only is it in danger of not happening, but there I'm not even sure it would be as successful as some die-hards think. I hear a lot of talk about how St. Louis DESERVES a team, but the fact is, you have to EARN a team, and that's not just with shovels in the ground and wealthy investors. It's with fan interest and demand. When the reason of why StL should have a team comes up, what do you hear more often? That there's an active supporters' group with X hundred members traveling to Chicago and KC games just to boo the other team (As the SoBs did, and as the Quakes fans did when Houston played at LA), showing up at live soccer events in StL and making their voices heard? (Again, Seattle, Philadelphia, Toronto, San Jose) Or do you hear references to a World Cup win 60 years ago, SLU has a good college team, or that x number of players in MLS are either from StL or went to school here? I know StL is supposedly a big soccer town, but when I call up a reputed "soccer pub" and they tell me they DON'T have the MLS Direct Kick package, that doesn't seem like it. StL MLS supporters NEED to be more public. If you want a team, being public and vocal is not an option anymore. It is a requirement. Active supporter groups before the team comes into being have changed the model. Chicago and Dallas learned the hard way that "Build it and they will come" is not the program anymore. TFC, Philly, Seattle, and San Jose have shifted it to "We're already here, just build it already!"
You might be overestimating the amount of influence a supporters club can have in terms of getting a team. TFC had no support before they were awarded a team. Seattle drew paltry crowds for a team that likely could have played in MLS. Philly is the one real exception. They are not the rule though. The real reason for a city to get a team is still huge stacks of cash. Outside of BS, StL is having a hard time getting excited about MLS because MLS is not getting excited about St. Louis. There is a strong sense of resentment towards the league. Why do "soccer" pubs not carry the MLS direct kick? Because there isn't any reason to. St. Louis doesn't have a reason to care about the league. You could argue, "Hey, it is the domestic league." Alot of people would say, "Whoop de do, they don't care about us, why should we care about them?" St. Louis doesn't need to prove that we love soccer. We already support the sport better than most of the cities expanded to before us. We just don't support MLS, nor do most of us feel any compulsion to support it either.
FireFanInPackerLand - If you "don't see the same level of organization...or even enthusiasm for a St. Louis MLS team outside of these boards," I think you are looking in the wrong places. 1. Cooper got a community of 25,000 people to vote to float $30 mil in bonds. 2. Rapids reserve team played SIUE when it was 104 degrees and got 3600 people (more than their field holds) 3. A club team (Scott-Gallagher) played Brazil U-20 in front of 2500 at a turf field where you have to bring lawn chairs to sit. 4. Three youth clubs have looked beyond their past dislike for each other and are merging in to a united team with plans to play under the future mLS team's badge. Cooper is no fool, he knew MLS wanted Seattle's money and Philly's market more than they want St. Louis. He was not going to build up our chances knowing we were most likely going to lose out to those cities. St. Louis is a very fickel town. If the average St. Louisian was aware of Garber's comments, and the MLS's treatment of St. Louis, the city would have turned their backs on MLS long ago. I also think you are over valuing the importance of the supporters' club regarding its influence with getting a team. Supporters had absolutely nothing to do with Salt Lake, Toronto, San Jose, or Seattle getting teams. As much as I respect Sons of Ben, their situation is different than ours. Sons of Ben were important to Philly's effort only in that they let the state legislature know there was an interest. I think they made a few representatives comfortable with a yes vote. We don't need that. IMO, the SoB did not have an affect on MLS as MLS has always wanted to be in Philly. Also, I hope that the MLS is making decisions based on what's good for the league and not based on a few hundred vocal supporters. As far as Seattle's write-in campaign - I personally don't think any "name the team" vote is legitimate. I cannot believe anyone would put something in which they have invested millions into the hands of fans to determine branding. While I have great respect for the efforts of the Seattle fans. I still think that Seattle would have been fools not to continue with "Sounders." The owners know this also. I think they were going with "Sounders" all along, and the vote was a great marketing scheme to get the fans involved and passionate. Anyway, efforts are being made with the supporters group. It should be more active very soon. That being said, MLS is aware that St. Louis is passionate about the sport and will have no problem supporting a team. The only thing MLS wants to be convinced of, and this should come as no surprise, is that the investors have lots of cash.
True - I was just going through some old issues of Soccer America in my basement and found a quote from Garber from 2001 about how Philadelphia was the league's #1 expansion priority.
Here's the statements from prior State of the League Addresss: 2000 "Expansion is also an important priority for a variety of reasons. First, we believe that there are a number of markets that have a great tradition of professional soccer and strong grass roots support and deserve an MLS team. Secondly, we need to expand our national footprint for television and media support. We will expand by two teams by 2002. We are targeting a second team in the New York Tri-state area as well as a second team, likely in either Philadelphia or Atlanta." 2001 "We are currently engaged in discussions with interested groups in New York, the Philadelphia area, Houston, Rochester, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Seattle, Atlanta, Louisville and the Carolinas" 2006 (not direct quote) The league has an option agreement with the owners of Major League Baseball's Oakland A's to bring MLS back to the Bay Area by 2010, and Garber said he believes a team will be in the Philadelphia market within a couple of years. On a side note: I'm guessing the 2000 comment that "we believe that there are a number of markets that have a great tradition of professional soccer and strong grass roots support and deserve an MLS team" is no longer a belief of MLS.
Look at the historical context. In 2000/2001, the league would have gone anywhere. That's why Milwaukee, Rochester, and Louisville are even mentioned and have not been heard of much since. MLS was very much in a "beggars can't be choosers" situation. The contraction of the Florida teams was more about financial survival than anything else. I have no doubt that StL CAN get an MLS team, but I don't think any city DESERVES an MLS team.
Not at all - if you see, I was responding to Jason's comment on Philly and demonstrating that they were being talked about by MLS 8 years ago and that MLS really wanted them in the league way before the SoB got involved. I'm not saying anyone deserves a team or doesn't desrve a team. But I think it's funny when people complain about others saying they deserve a team when it is MLS that keepes using the word. IIRC, Garber just said St. Louis "desrves a team" about a week ago - I'll look for the quote.
Ohhhhhhhhh OK. Thanks for the clarification. I was way confused. Hope to hear something good out of the GCSC and SLSU soon.
On my way home from work today I noticed Bill McDermott was hosting the (recently vacated) afternoon drivetime show on 590 AM. I only heard the last 10 minutes of the program, but one of the earlier guests he thanked at the end of the show was Jeff Cooper. Anybody happen to catch that interview?
I didn't catch the interview either, but did any of you listen to the Saturday Soccer Report this past weekend? Host Tony Hubert said "It has been a BIG week and Jeff Cooper is VERY VERY close. It's more like 2nd and inches instead of 4th and Goal." Hubert didn't go into details. However, I've heard from that Cooper has been very close now for a month or two. Any idea what this means? I haven't seen any NEW articles in the STL Post Dispatch, but that doesn't mean something didn't happen.