Thoughts on tonight in the stands?

As for what we should chant instead of YSA, I think 'oooooo SUPPORT THE FORT!' will get the message across, both this season as a protest against Kraft (general term) and also, it's like a cool thing to yell.

 

Kind of a lazy article, since it really misses the point. The whole "free speech" issue is about as much of a rookie mistake as any journalist could possibly make. I don't see Govermnent getting involved in telling people what they can say here. Maybe next week he can interview a cop and axe him what his views are on motherhood and apple pie (only communists like cherry pie).

Still, I guess some kind of article is better than none, but I can't help but think what a better job Kyle McCarthy would have done with it.

 

Not to sound all tinfoil-hat, but the lack of coverage from McCarthy and FDA makes me think word has gone out that coverage would lead to lack of credentials.

 

Has anyone tried asking them?

 

I don't think that is too big of a stretch.

 

Actually look at the comments too - they are funny. Especially the one that asks why they have a picture of 2 Toronto players when we didn't even play Toronto on Saturday.

 

whoever thought of the idea of turning backs to the field and watching on big screen in silence is dead on.......maybe a giant sign to hold up that just says "closed"

 

Actually, it's the definition of a big stretch. If the Pats didn't pull Will McDonough's credentials back in the day, the same organization sure as hell isn't going to pull someone's credentials for asking questions about this issue.

 

This would presuppose that the organization treats the Patriots the same as the Revs, which we know isn't true.

 

Yes, even when I was a credentialed media guy, I would sometimes write things that were not what the club wanted to hear, but I never got an inkling of a threat that I'd lose my credentials. Maybe because only a small number of people read my stuff, but I simply can not imagine what kind of an uproar it would be if this kind of threat were made to any media member, especially someone at a large, daily newspaper. If anything, making such a threat would pretty much ensure that the threat to another media member would become the big story and get a lot of play in every media source except perhaps the one poor slob who was threatened to begin with.

So while the Revs are generally not that savvy about thinking things through (as evidenced by this entire fiasco), they are at least savvy enough not to abridge the sacred cow of "Freedom of the Press" to write about anything they want to.

The interesting question isn't so much that Frank and Kyle have been quiet on this topic, but whether their bosses feel that this is actually newsworthy. The guy who wrote the Herald article missed it by a Khano Smith mile, and he would have been much better served by doing some online research to get the backstory. It isn't about people wanting to obnoxiously swear at a public event held in a private stadium. It is about a deliberate, pre-meditated action, taken by the club. People who were there knew something was going down well before it actually did. The other angle is Brian Bilello getting caught in a blatant lie about the whole thing, and the mistreatment of fans by cops (which sadly isn't really "news" anymore).

 

What about a large banner (tifo style) held for the entirety of the game that has "$000000" (whatever the total amount of the season ticket revenue from the fort is) and "We're just a number".

Ex: We're Just a Number:
$5,000

 

If John Tomase did not have his press credentials revoked for his story of the Pats taping the Ram walkthrough the day before the Super Bowl. I can not imagine that this would get a press guy revoked for this story.

 

That's fine. But why would the Krafts try to play the heavy with the two most prominent beat writers covering a team that's desperate for media coverage? The Revs need the Globe and Herald much more than the Globe and Herald need the Revs.

Whereas the Patriots are a prominent part of one of the most lucrative leagues in the world and could afford to take a hard stance against unfriendly media if they so chose.

 

I have ordered our Support the Fort shirts. We could do a large banner across the front of the fort "We're not singing over here".

 

Yeah, that's the issue, Tom. And given the amount of space the Herald story got, it's fair to say that they didn't feel it was that newsworthy. Also, while McDonough was all over the Krafts for the Pats' over-the-top security measures in the weeks/months before he died, I don't think the newspapers have devoted all that much time or space to Patriots ticket-holders' concerns since then. And if they're not going to write much about Pats fans, they're certainly not going to expend much energy on Revs fans.

 

Here's the problem with only going the "silent treatment/morgue" route: it has already been done... on our behalf.... by supporters groups from other markets. That being the case, we need to kick-it-up a notch when it comes to protesting. In fact, we need to kick-it-up a LOT, because we need to make a FAR STRONGER statement on our own behalf. Otherwise, it looks like we're willing to let supporters groups from other franchises carry our water for us.

I say go with complete silence while sitting down for the first 16 minutes of the game (symbolizing the 16 years of sub-par stewardship the Krafts have provided the Revolution franchise). Then, to take it to a whole new level, get the hardcore supporters - and whoever else in The Fort will support us - to rise and walk out of the stadium in unison. While doing so, we raise our voices in non-profane chants that pointedly lambaste the Krafts' stewardship of the Revs ("Six states! One Team! Zero Kraft commitment!"... "Hey! Ho! The Krafts must go!").

We need to prove that we our willing to make a SIGNIFICANT sacrifice to communicate our frustration with the piss-poor manner in which the Krafts and their employees have managed every aspect of the Revolution, including relations with the supporters groups. Nothing, short of opting not to continue purchasing tickets, represents as great a sacrifice for die-hard fans than literally choosing to forego watching their favorite side in order to send a message.

Sitting through games, albeit quietly, sends the message that the Krafts have us between a rock and a hard place, we know it, and we're not willing to call their bluff. It sends the message that when push comes to shove, "we want to have our cake and eat it to". It sends the message that we're not willing to make anything close to the ultimate sacrifice in order to serve notice to the Krafts.

The time for half-measures has long since passed. We can either send the Krafts and their moronic management team an unequivocal message that their piss-poor management of the Revolution has pushed us to the point where we're willing to make SIGNIFICANT sacrifices, or we can half-ass it and - by doing so - let our favorite side's investor/operators know that "we're all hat, no cattle".

 

These people won't make significant sacrifices, because they have "too much fun" at the games and think the team survives because they show up. How self-entitled is this fanbase?

 

I'm just going by what all the Revs supporters have told me. They aren't willing to sacrifice anything. They have made that clear.

 

I don't see what a lock-out accomplishes. It's a cost/benefit thing. The message needs to be spent. I like to watch soccer. Given those to Facts, how does a lock-out accomplish more than our seated protest would

 

Why do you say that? Who made it clear? I am willing to do a lot. I mentioned yesterday we start a petition to the Krafts that if Bilello does not leave we do not renew and sign the bottom. I have ordered my shirt. I will sit if that is what is agreed upon. I will walk out if that is agreed upon. Your blanket statements don't cover everyone. Do you even have season tickets?

 

Obviously my post was sarcastic hyperbole directed at a few recent contributors to this and other threads. I know there are fans willing to make real sacrifices. I know there are fans who don't just want to have their cake and eat it, too.

I don't have season tickets anymore. I gave them up this year after having them since day 1.

 

Walking out sends a much clearer visual and emotional message to anyone than sitting in silence. Obviously I'm never going to convince you of that. You guys have done the silent treatment before, and what did it accomplish? Nothing.

This nonsense about liking to watch soccer is such a joke. No one has told you to stop watching the games. No one has told you to stop being a fan. No one has told you to do anything. I've just suggested boycotting/protesting/walking-out on games until the franchise gets the message.

 

The problem is, he is correct. A lot of supporters who stand in the Fort will not do a thing on 7/17. I saw this a few years ago during the protest when people where saying stuff to people protesting. I am also afraid that since it will be almost exactly a month between MLS home games that a lot of what people are saying now will change. Does it matter that he has season tickets? I do not have season tickets any more but have been to all but 2 home games this year.

I am worried that when it comes to taking action people are going to back down.