just curious as to when we were going to get notificatio of renewing season tickets any time soon? Or have some people already gotten them? I forget when I got the stuff last year, so I thought Id ask just to be sure, and if for some reason everyone has theirs, and I dont, Ill have to call my buddy ol pal Maynard and see whats going on!
I haven't received anything. Not like there's any hurry yet. Didn't someone say on another thread that they got a call from their ticket person already?
I've been called twice already. (Which is funny, because my tickets have always been comped -- wonder if my free ride is ending??) I was told your seats are guaranteed until December 1. After that, they'll be released. If you put a $75 deposit per seat down before then, you have until January 15th to pay in full. I'm still on the fence...
Egad. Buy some tickets [*] or watch the team go bye-bye. They'll try to do better than a 12-1-1 home record next year. [*] assuming you are financially able
The women's team has already sent out notifications for 2003 season ticket renewals. I'm going to expect the Quakes are going to do the same very soon. If they don't call, I would suspect a letter and form to be mailed. Stay tuned.
If I don't renew, it's not like they're going to lose any money from me, except in what I spend on merchandise, etc. etc. I'm waiting to see if MLS responds to the referee issues that are being discussed in many other threads. I refuse to support a league where fair play is a sham. If I'm satisfied by what MLS says/does, I'll renew (and even pay); if not, I won't. My support for this league is not unconditional.
i'm actually thinking of switching jobs so that I can buy season tickets (I work evenings, tuesday-saturday). I saw four quakes games this year, and it isn't enough. I asked to be added to their mailing list for season ticket info .... but keep me posted when you receive yours so I can bug them again.
I received a call today and told the caller that I was not interested in season tickets due to the horrible TV coverage of the playoffs. I think this must be the worst year for regular TV coverage on the playoffs. How does MLS expect to grow their fan base when the playoff games are not even televised for casual fans? How long before the regular season games require dishes and a soccer package? I have lost total interest in the MLS at this point. Maybe the MLS should consider ending the season in late August or early September so the competition from baseball and football is not so strong. At least give the fans a chance to see playoff games on regular TV.
I saw every playoff game on TV. EVERY SINGLE GAME. The playoff coverage is much better this year than last year or any prior year. It's called the Shootout Package, and it's available if you are willing to pony up for it. Last year, not all of the playoff games were available even on the Shootout Package. Competition from football and baseball is not an issue. The playoff games are scheduled in the space of about three days after the regular season ends. Every channel that is going to show MLS games already has their schedule set and cannot preempt stuff that very few people watch with three days notice. If soccer was popular, sure, they'd find a way, but if you're not willing to stick with MLS, then it's never going to become popular enough to warrant the coverage that you think they deserve. Edited to add -- ok, I'm foaming at the mouth here. Your point is about the casual fans, which I am not and I'm assuming that most people who take the time to register on BigSoccer are not either. I believe we foamers need to stick with this league until it succeeds to the point where "casual fans" will be aware of it the same way they are aware of baseball and football -- at which point the TV ratings will be worthwhile for the local TV stations to pre-empt whatever they have scheduled for playoff soccer.
I called and got my playoff ticket money refunded back to my credit card. The Quakes can't be beat for entertainment value for your dollar. A season ticket in the Casbah section through Club Quake comes to $7 per game and will cost you about $100 total. Heck, taking someone to a single Sharks game costs more than that! And you're more likely to leave Compaq Center with that losing feeling... As much as I like to complain about the ways in which the league is falling short of perfection, there's little doubt I will renew my season tickets for next year. (By the way, one little benefit to having season tickets is that you can get in the friends you drag along to Spartan for the same low price. I've scored dozens of $7 tickets for friends at the Season Ticket Services window on the east side.)
I used to be in a group of diehard fans who bought season tickets. I am the only one left who really follows the quakes and reads BigSoccer. I could be considered a casual fan now, if that is going to 3 games this year. None of my friends are currently following the MLS playoffs, except for maybe reading about it in the paper. We cannot talk about games because there is nothing to see UNLESS you have a soccer package. This is no way to build up fans. If your cable company does not offer a package or you are required to now have a dish, that is NOT an improvement in the TV coverage. I remember seeing plenty of games on TV in the past years, including playoff games. The soccer package is not better than being on ESPN2 or Telemundo or Fox. Too bad there had to be a last minute rush to go to the Brit to see the away game against Columbus. Look at the world cup coverage. Every game was televised. It got people who knew nothing about soccer talking about it at my workplace. I have heard no one at work talk about the MLS playoffs. As usual the only sports talk is about Baseball, Football and Hockey. It is all good, but it just too bad that MLS soccer coverage is going downhill.
So I've thought about my last post. I don't want to scare anyone away because they don't foam at the mouth as much as I do. Feel free to ignore the crazy guy in the corner. Yeah, it sucks that the playoff games weren't available on regular cable, and you're right, there were some on regular cable in the past. This is a problem that can only be solved with (a) more fans who watch it on TV (which would make it worthwhile for the TV stations to preempt their schedules at the last minute and broadcast the games), or (b) more money to buy up the time and get the TV stations to preempt what they were regularly going to show. It's a vicious circle -- if fans don't go to games, then MLS won't have the money to put games on TV, and if games aren't on TV, then people aren't going to be as interested in going to games or watching future games on TV. So I can't argue that point. I would ask for anyone who has gone to games for the past couple of years, think about how much fun you had at the games and how much time/effort/money it cost you. Think about if you got your entertainment value from the games. If so, I encourage you to go to more games next year.
What you said. I don't have and don't have a desire to get the shootout package, simply because I have better things to spend my money on. You know as well as I do that only hard-core soccer fans are going to go out of their way to spend the extra cash to get soccer on TV--especially in today's economy. Sorry, Bill, but not everybody has the Shootout Package. This is NOT an improvement in TV coverage. The playoffs have to be on Basic Cable at the very least for it to be considered an improvement in TV coverage. The playoffs should be on one of the Fox channels. Since Soccer Saturday already is, my guess is that the only way to do this is to end the season before baseball and football seasons ramp up. Doug.
I went out of my way to buy a TV, VCR, and get a dish for the World Cup. Used the savings I'm hoarding for my trip to Germany in 2006. But the TV coverage is not my issue. I'm sick of supporting this joke of a league. I'm sorry that the team has to suffer. But when the league addresses the issue I have with one of it's players and the issue with the refs, then I might consider renewing my tickets. The bullfish we put up with as Clash fans is still part of this too. And I blame alot of that on the league, not just the Krapts. I'm just sick of this joke of a league.
I'm starting to think that if core fans, people who stuck with the team through 1997-2000, can't stick around and come back after the the way the team has played the last two seasons, then maybe the critics are right and San Jose doesn't deserve a team. I don't give a crap about supporting the stupid league. The league proved to me that it doesn't care about the fans when it killed two teams. I don't support the league, I support the Earthquakes of San Jose, and I hope to continue to be able to do so, knowing full well that officiating will always suck and there will always be spoiled, petulant babies playing in the league. Whether or not Crew vs. Revs is on TV has no effect on my desire to be there in the stadium cheering on the boys.
Right, Noah, when you're buying a season ticket, you're supporting the SJ Quakes, not the league. I don't know anyone who is a fan of MLS, but I know a lot who are fans of the Earthquakes. If you don't buy a season ticket, you're not hurting Mr. Garber, you're hurting Joe, Richie, Ariel, Ronnie and all the other guys that are on that team. See ya at Spartan!!!
Season Ticket Maxim #2 (A58 said STM #1) If you get a ticket to a game elsewhere and the Quakes are not playing, then the support goes to the league.
I am a soccer fan, but not only the Earthquakes. Just because SJ is no longer in the playoffs, maybe some might not care, but I would like to see the other playoff games. I am sure we would have heard a lot more complaints if SJ was still in and SJ away games were still only being shown on the PACKAGE or at the Brit. Possibly the final will be shown on ESPN2? Or will that be a pay-per-view or some other nonsense?
I got a call from the Quakes front office telling me that they had credited my card for the balance of the playoff tickets. I am just as frustrated as the next person with the officiating in MLS and would love to see some changes made in the off-season. That being said, some of you know that I'm moving away from the Bay Area and up to Chico to regain my sanity and purify my soul. This is a three hour plus drive but I plan to renew my season tickets and help support the Quakes by driving all the way down for all of the home games. Now if I can make that trip some of you who are closer can probably manage to get to the games too. On a side note, Mike told me the ticket price structure is going to be revamped and some ticket prices are going to go up while others go down so if they ask you to pay more for your seats next year don't be too shocked.
Season ticket info is up on the Quakes site, including pricing. Interesting tidbit: You get a 2001 highlight video. About freakin time that came out. But it better be available outside of the season ticket package. Getting the 2001 highlight video for 2003 season tickets? Weirdness, but better late than never I guess.