The part of this thread that irritates me is that instead of being elated by the fact that despite the failure of previous clubs in SF there are investors willing to take a chance and put their money into a new project that will enhance the growth of the game we have a bunch of nitpicking. When the Republic was being formed I was excited for the folks in Sacramento. I had no doubt it would be a successful club because there are a lot of passionate fans in the area. The part that saddens me is for all that hard work and the momentum they built in a short time, much like in Orlando MLS has decided to let them sit on the vine. If you look back to the past you can draw correlations to the Rhinos in the 90s, which at the time was the best Soccer Club in the USA that wasn't part of MLS, should give you reason to pause. At this point MLS feels they are in the position to pick the winners and losers when it comes to cities "that deserve" to be anointed with the privilege of paying a shitload of money for a franchise. So while a great young club like Sacramento Republic ripens on the vine in the USL waiting for the Golden Gates of MLS to open the SF Deltas with the lame name, strange logo, questionable backing with little to no soccer expertise and weird ass marketing schemes decides to start a club with a bit more capital required than USL and without doing anything significantly close to what has been done by the California Capital City's Republic, will already be at a higher level of visibility than them when they take the pitch in 2017.... God Bless America!
Are any of these owners even from here? The way the Deltas are approaching the notion of pro soccer in the city seems waaaaaay too ignorant of the soccer landscape in the city.
If these guys had a similar marketing to say Sac. Rep, Indy 11 or even Jax then I'd feel better about them. So far they've done very little to impress not only locals but outsiders as well and they shouldn't get a pass for having "good intentions" the soccer landscape in SF is littered with failed teams that started with "good intentions" I want there to be a team that connects with the fans and becomes a shining beacon to future west coast NASL teams and so far this team is doing nothing to make me feel they're that team.
What irritates me is when people who aren't from the Bay Area and who haven't lived in the Bay Area are completely dismissive and outright hostile to people who are from there and have lived there just because they are highly skeptical about this team's chances -- especially long term. It's not nitpicking to say they have no hopes for stadium and don't seem to understand the market. But some of you people just don't want to hear that. You just want unicorns and rainbows. Well, some of us know better. This is a warped understanding of what's going on now with SRFC, or what went on with Rochester years ago. The current sense, more or less suggested by SRFC itself, is that MLS is giving SRFC the green light this year. The bolded part is completely off the rails. I see zero evidence that this team will have much market penetration. The Bay Area is tough. The Quakes are sort of the best example here. They don't have much name beyond San Jose proper. Meanwhile, SRFC has spread far and wide across the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills. I'd be astonished if the Deltas had anywhere near either San Jose's or SRFC's market penetration when they launch.
Get upset much? The best part of the whole scenario is we get to sit back and see how it all plays out. I'm sure there will be more threads to follow.
Now that it's going to be official on Thursday, the next step for the Deltans would be signing up semi-markee name players to bolster their visibility in San Francisco proper. I'd say they look into the various European leagues first, especially the UK Premier League, for players in the lower half of the table or in danger of relegation. If the Deltans can somehow pull off getting a "real" Euro name player with a few years left (think Raul for NYCosmos) to come to The City, that might do it for starters.
Just for fun, let's assume the Deltans really mean what they promote on their website... the tiki-taka style of play, to create an identity. I'd say they go after the Spanish national Iniesta (31 y/o) who have a few years left, and can teach the younger players. That might be a good start with a recognizable name.
http://blog.sfgate.com/soccer/2016/...cking-nasl-pro-soccer-comes-to-san-francisco/ The List of Investors for the San Francisco Deltas: Adam Requarth – General Manager at Learfield Sports Bobby Jaros – Yahoo Brian Requarth – Bilingual Marketing Group, Z57 Internet Solutions Charles Hudson – Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures Danny Khatib – Co-Founder, President and COO – Livingly Media Emily Melton – Partner at DFJ Venture John Dukellis – Senior Director, Global Consumer Product – Head of Next Gen Wallet at PayPal Jonathan Gheller – Previosuly with Facebook and Mixtent Jonathan Peachey – CEO at Filip Technologies Josh McFarland – Senior Director, Product at Twitter Lewis Cheng – CEO at Polygroup Mac Harman – CEO at Balsam Brands Natalia Carvajal – Director of M&A Integration and Partner Management at Groupon Paulo Malzoni Filho Phelipe Spielmann – Katue Participações – Partner Renata Quintini – General Partner at Felicis Ventures Sonia Survanshi McFarland – Previously with Dropbox, Yelp.com, and Google Ymanol Valdes – WW Supply Demand Manager at Apple Computer
More insight into the Tech-oriented mindset of the team's ownership. (I for one am skeptical that incorporating virtual reality into training will be a game-changer). San Francisco Deltas: Silicon Valley's AI-enhanced take on soccer http://www.theguardian.com/football...cisco-deltas-nasl-soccer-team-virtual-reality Brian Andres Helmick, the CEO of the Deltas: “We are in the early adopter capital of the world, so if there’s ever going to be a place where you can try new things [in soccer] it’s going to be in San Francisco.” “I’m a startup guy, a technology guy,” Helmick said. “We’re in a city where multibillion dollar companies started in a college dorm room or a garage. And what I like about the NASL model compared to the other model [Major League Soccer] is that you spend according to where you are in your phase of development. We can focus more funds on getting the fanbase going and putting the team together – rather than spending it on a franchise space.” With a clean slate and many of the community that the club are looking to target being tech-savvy, the Deltas say they hope to use artificial intelligence to enhance the fan and player experiences. One of the ways the club hopes to do so is through smart ticketing: technology that allows fans to move seats from game to game, based, primarily, on their interests and backgrounds. For example, in one match a fan could sit with her family and children, in another, if alone, she could move to the louder, more energetic supporters’ section. In another match that same fan could use the technology to sit with those who support the same European club team as them, or sit by those of the same nationality. Fans will also be able to vote on the food trucks that they would like at each match, Helmick said. On the playing side, the club intend to experiment with virtual reality. They hope VR will improve goalkeepers’ reflexes, as it allows them to simulate more saves in a shorter space of time than on the training ground.
If they really want to use tech to change the way the game is played, go buy one of those crazy machines they use at Borussia Dortmund for training. That's a real game changer there
Clearly they need actual soccer leadership and probably an overall GM/president who has at least sports management experience. But it's no denying they have a large diverse group of investors. Hopefully it translates into success. They have until next season so there's time.
http://www.theguardian.com/football...cisco-deltas-nasl-soccer-team-virtual-reality (quote) "On the playing side, the club intend to experiment with virtual reality. They hope VR will improve goalkeepers’ reflexes, as it allows them to simulate more saves in a shorter space of time than on the training ground." San Francisco Deltas first players training session using VR technology....will it be Oculus Rift or some other VR company that might be a sponsor on their soccer jerseys? That would send a message.
Oculus Rift would not be a good choice in its current incarnation. It requires a tethered connection to a super powerful PC, and is kind of bulky. For soccer training it would be better to find one that is not tethered, and is slimmer on the face (hopefully meaning lighter also).
Their website (http://www.sfdeltas.com/) shows a preview sketch of external stadium improvements for Kezar Stadium. Wonder if that includes adding seating capacity?
If they think that's ever going to happen in a million years, they're delusional. But I'm pretty sure it's just a stock image.