Somewhat true. I would consider myself part of this group of people, (Upper Middle Class of Russians), and have been watching Euro (at my dads house) with alot of soccer supporters and fans. Now, while watching the opening game, my dad and I switched back and forth between US/Grenada, and started talking about the Earthquakes. There were about 20 people in that room, all software engineers or top-level executives of corporations in this area, and 15 said, "Who?!" They didn't know the US had a professional soccer league and had no clue our city had a team. They thought watching the crappy Russian national team was as good as soccer they could get here. Honestly, from what i've experianced, the people from where my family comes from (Republic of Georgia) to be exact, are just as soccer crazy as these hispanics. Sure they outnumber us, but the passion is still there just the same, exept they have already said no, yet we keep going after them.
Do you have a link to such a document in which the entire Latino community of the Bay Area said they reject MLS? To suggest that the ubiquitous "they" have said "no" is far too simplistic an explanation for a complex issue. Each ethnic enclave in each individual MLS market needs to be approached in such a way as to take into account all the variables that affect them as consumers. You can't approach the Mexican market in Dallas the same way you do the LA or Chicago or the burgeoning NYC market, as there are numerous invariables that affect their consumption (stadium issues, transportation, social class [Texas and LA have a higher rate of middle class Mexicans than the Bay Area, and SJ outpaces SF in this regard], marketable ethnic players, etc.) It would behoove any company to analyze what "they" have said "no" to, not just blanket dissatisfaction in one or 2 areas as overall rejection of the product.
I'd like to hear a Georgian announcements at the Spartam. Or even better, announcements in Russian with thick Georgian accent
Back on topic. Oh well, when I was buying beer in a liquor store two blocks away from the stadium, I saw a young (in his 20s) Latino guy (buying beer as well) in Eatrhquakes jersey, who was also going to the game, as we exchanged a short conversation. And I never seen this guy on any CQ tailgates, etc. So, there ARE involved Latino fans already... Just need to thrash a few Central American teams at Spartan stadium to gain more respect ...
From the LARiotSquad boards: Goodbye What I mean is the majority of these hundred thousand potential fans you are talking about have refused to accept the Earthquakes as their team, yet we keep trying to force it upon them. Even that, the number of potential fans (you think ALL hispanics love football), is way lower than the actual population. Do the BIG South American clubs draw that well here in SJ? Don't think so.
It figures that a post about race would be polluted by uclacarlos and his "chip on the shoulder" crap We already pander to the hispanic community with bi-lingual ballots, bi-lingual driving tests, bi-lingual phone systems, bi-lingual PG&E bills(Oh, for God's sake!) and every other thing under the f***ing sun. If you come to this country, LEARN THE DAMNED LANGUAGE OR LIVE IN IGNORANCE! If I went to mexico to live(not even at gunpoint) you better believe I'd learn spanish before I went as they wouldn't be bothered to put anything in english for my benefit. Screw spanish announcements at Spartan, those corner kick adds are bad enough in english.
That's true.. I, for instance, spent about a year back in Lipetsk, Russia, learning English intensively (even though I've been already somewhat learning the language since middle school) before getting my ass on a Moscow-San Francisco flight ...
How is it a contradiction to advertise to the Spanish speaking community and then to not have Spanish PA announcements? They come to the game to watch football, not to listen to Spanish PA announcements. The advertisements would advertise football, not the PA. How is that a contradiction? I was born in Southern California and grew up in the central valley. I play football with a largely Mexican crowd. I'm the last person you need to be telling there are a lot of hispanics in California. Fact of the matter is that hispanics are not the largest minority in the bay area like most of California. Asians, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are. You can tell just by walking down the street that this is true. I'm not saying that we couldn't attract more Spanish speaking fans to the games, WITH ADVERTISEMENT. However, we could have a larger hispanic base to begin with though if we were located in Sacramento or Modesto or San Diego or Fresno. Tell me that isn't true? Tell me that the galaxy don't attract more hispanic fans because almost 50% of Los Angeles' population is hispanic. You'd be lying to yourself. I was born in L.A. County. It's not the same as the bay area in terms of ethnic make-up.
Really? I must just not be paying attention when everyone tells me what I need to know in English in France. I must have missed all those English TGV announcements as well. That also explains why they always have second announcements in Hindu and Bengali in England. That line that most of the world speaks two languages is such a line of bull-jive. Yes English is the official language of commerce much like French once was and there is a core group of educated and business oriented people that speak English in addition to their native language. But most everywhere I've been, most people don't know any English outside of "How are you?" etc etc. That goes for France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece... Germany was probably the most English friendly place, but even hardly everyone speaks English as well as German. Same goes for Mexico. Yeah a lot of the natives speak English in Tijuana and Tecate and the resort towns, but get into inland Mexico and you better be ready to speak Spanish.
Uh, they would if there was a financial benefit for them. I know. I've traveled extensively, and when there's an enclave of a language, local commerce figures out a way to sell to them. The Anglophones who came to Mexico's north b4 the Treaty of Hidalgo didn't learn the language? The US military around the globe doesn't pick up the host language? Chinese colonizers never picked up Vietnamese, Tagalog, Thai, etc. until extremely recent times. Should I go on or do you not want me to pollute this debate w/ historical linguistic facts? Beerking, you have zero idea about what you're talking about. You make these broad assertions based on ideals, but these ideals conflict w/ human linguistic tendencies. Sorry. The linguistic fact is that you would learn the language that you are surrounded by. If you were to go to an Anglophone enclave in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, or in Costa Rica or anywhere in the world, you wouldn't learn the host language as well. I've met literally dozens of Americans and Brits that haven't spent more than 2 summers in USA or UK and yet don't speak a lick of any other language. So if you get a significant number of language speakers in an area, the second language acquisition WILL BE SLOWED. This is empirical fact. So don't judge ppl b/c homo sapiens are programed a certain way. Blame God. Alexi: I respect the fact that you took it upon yourself to study the language prior, but you come from a country that, for the most part, has/had an incredible education system. It's totally different for an uneducated, unskilled labor force (which is what US business wants and needs, btw) to do the same. Why is this turning into a Columbus Crew thread?
This from somebody who can't tell the difference between Chinese and Asian... Seriously, where, where have I said this? Don't put words in my mouth. You seem to be eerily familiar w/ what I've said on these and other boards. So go look up what I've said about nations and regions and their primary and secondary sports. Hell, even on this thread I've insinuated that not all Latinos are footie lovers. another gem Minus Latinos, about 5.5 million Bay Area residents have rejected the Quakes. So why should we force them down their throats?
I was just going to say the same thing Goodsie. I never had a Russian friend 'till I lived in the bay area for three years.
Oh mon dieu!! They're not bilingual in a language that isn't spoken in their country, region, rather they speak 2-5 other languages native to the area. China: 1.3 billion ppl, truly about 175 mill speak Mandarin as their primary language. It is estimated that roughly 700mill speak it as a 2nd language. They speak Fukonese, Cantonese, etc. as well as a dialect of their primary language. India: 1 bill ppl, Hindu is the official language, many speak English as well, but they also speak Bengali, Punjabi, etc., in addition to the 2 aforementioned languages. Africa: don't recall population off hand, but most ppl in Sub-Saharan Africa speak a European language as well as 3-5 different languages. North of the Sahara ppl speak a total of 2, maybe 3 languages. I'd rather not go on and on about how the Americas are a linguistic anomaly, but seriously, I know what I'm talking about.
We're not talking about speaking a different local language. We're talking about speaking a foriegn language. Go around the world and you'll see most people don't speak a foriegn langauge. My example to you is France. Just try getting around there speaking English. GOOD LUCK. My girlfriend is French. Her father speaks ZERO English. Her mother and sisters speak minimal English. Most people there as well as in all of Southern Europe look at me with a confused face if I start talking to them in English. Even if I ask them in French if they speak English they tell me "non". Chinese speaking a dialect like Cantonese is not the same as a Frenchman speaking English. I've taken the same cultural geography classes you have 'uclacarlos'. lol. It doesn't change the fact that most people don't speak English enough for you to go around the world speaking English to everyone. Most people do not speak a foreign language either.
"Hey, y'all! That there goal was scored by that boy from up north in Tennessee, Richard Mulrooney. Yes, sir, and with that goal y'all get a free Moonpie at the A&P." Or did you meant the other Georgia?
Of course, since my school is 60% asian. Why are we debating anything with a LA GaySquad member/Galaxy fan? Sidenote - Im sure you enjoyed the festivities in SanFran this weekend. What I meant was why do you think we should keep targeting hispanics to come to the games? Why not put up a dozen billboards in Cupertino and try to attract the asian crowd?
Dude, I said, "Most of the world is bilingual or trilingual," a fact to which you erroneously objected. You made no mention of specifying a "foreign" language. And I would assert that in San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Modesto, San Diego, etc., that Spanish is no longer a "foreign" language, especially when the Spanish speakers in California alone would put the state in the top half of Spanish speaking countries around the globe.
Uh, b/c I represent key demographics for the Quakes: live btw 25-50 miles from San Jose, Latino, brings a lot of ppl to Spartan, talks up MLS to footie knowledgeable, international and national friends. I think what everybody's arguing is "why not put up billboards ANYWHERE"! Asi lo quisieras tu.
Spanish never has been a foreign language. If we want to continue to have a team in the northern half of the state we ought to do our best to welcome in all of the fans we can. The Spanish-language community is a larger potential market than the Asian community or, for that matter, the Russian-language community. Reading some of the xenophobic rubbish on this thread (and past threads) I am not encouraged.
Are Hispanics and Polacks both so dumb as to not be able to learn English for some reason? I came here in 74, and could speak English in a matter of months. Had to in order to be able to feed my family. Are we only allowing retarded immigrants in now? Really.
Getting on a more constructive note: if we think about making the Spartan stadium to be more Spanish-friendly place, then adding some signs in Spanish (directions to concessions, to restrooms, etc.) will be way more useful and helpful than any PA announcements.
"In the last quarter of a century, California's Latino population has grown markedly, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the total population. In 1970, California's 2.4 million Latinos represented less than one-eighth of the state's total population. The 7.5 million Latinos counted in the 1990 census represented a quarter of California's residents. By 2005, more than a third of all Californians are projected to be Latino." http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/new_web/ldb/ldbintro.html (I have no confidence that hard data can crack a skull as thick as yours) Spanish-language announcements on their own are certainly not sufficient. A concerted effort by the team AND BY THE FANS to expand the fan base is needed. Announcements in Spanish don't hurt, they can help. If only that the word gets out that the Quakes ARE making an effort, a gesture. P.S. The xenophobic (and on your part) homophobic crap written on this forum does nothing to help bring in new fans.