2009 season ideas...

we could do a lot better in the song and chant department. We printed up song sheets once or twice and have had mixed results. I think a couple people switching off leading the chants would help organize the larger mass.

plans for a new scarf for 2009 and hopefully we will continue to grow our numbers (bring a friend to each game, wear your gear outside of game days, do some guerilla marketing with stickers, and such)

I also still plan on having a couple banner making parties before the begining of the season in addition to the always adding more flags

Hopefully we'll have alot to cheer about in 2009. It looked good the first half of the season, now we jsut need to translate that into an entire season.

Mikey

 

The best times in E10 were always when everyone arrived to the parking lot an hour or so early. Nothing like getting a few quick pints into your system before kick off... a good group of nicely buzzed people standing and chanting makes for a good time.

I know it sounds pretty low class to suggest that getting drunk is the solution to having a better time but a few quick one's to relax and get amped is just what the doctor ordered.

We also need a supporter website again... not to say that the Regiment website and efforts aren't well done because they are wicked on all fronts. However, a place where some of the more lively supporters can go and read or sound off about the club & usl is perfect in getting people to convert or stay involved. That old underground website used to get a ton of hits throughout the season and it helped in getting the younger guys out to the pitch when they saw a drunken supporter or too having a good time at the pitch.

 

you'll be happy to know that that tradition is still going strong!

We have expanded the regulars, added some fresh faces and quite a few younger faces (although I know we lost a couple who left for college) to the crowd but I think we are just missing that someone to lead chants and the like.

 

No need to be polite, the website is, at best, an administrative website. I've never done a website but when you run across a good one, it's not hard to see that it takes a TON of work and attention. I've often joked that you have to be a single person to be a webmaster. No mate would ever put up with a webmaster as a significant other!!

 

We need to get more supporters in e10.

 

#1 - We should all join ONE fan club, the Regiment. 3-4 years ago I would have said different, but we need to be unified. Maybe have off-shoots of the Regiment though (Disney wine & cheese squad : insane Rated R section) .

#2 - Find SOMETHING to rally the troops around. When I mean "troops" I don't just mean the Charleston area, but THE WHOLE STATE and beyond. You might not think that people from outside the metro area won't come but I beg to differ. I now live in Florence (2hrs 15mins away) and will find a way to bring as many people to go and see the Battery. We just need to find a way to incorporate them into this theme. I have said this before and still think it can work: try to create "brigades" around, not only the city, but the state as well. Have each brigade create its own flag to bring to the tailgates and game. Remember, the Battery is the highest professional sports program in the state.

#3 - NO MORE E-10. That is until we get so big we have to fill it. We need to start out right in the middle of the visitor stands. I know that there are some who have season tickets on the homeside, GOOD, they can help spread the cheers we learn with the wine and cheese crowd . Keep the Disney atmosphere over there and the whack-jobs in "The Brig" on the away side. The E-10 section I felt was just too far away from the front and center.

#4 - AMERICANIZE THE GAME OR IT WILL DIE HERE! If I could I would say football instead of soccer, match instead of game, pint instead of just . . . beer, but I'm not in Great Britain. I want to "convert" people not turn them away from this sport and in the American South . . . we need all the help we can get.

#5 - We need A PLAN before the battle. I'm not talking just chants, I'm talking having things ready to roll before the season: how much would it be to charter a bus to away games, parking spaces for tailgating here and away, outside recuiting for the Regiment, BEER, forming brigades and figuring out when we can get them to the Baud, which brings me to my final idea . . .

#6 - COMMUNICATION. We don't need to make a site if we are already communicating on this forum. If we can get the owners to throw some dough to the Regiment to start up a site, cool, but until then we should just use this.

 

good post sandlapper and I agree with most of what you say.

1. This season the Regiment had around 67 paid members, that doesnt include alot of guys who were at E10 every match and others that are vocal behind the goal. This year we are having some new items to pick from if you join, including a supporter scarf or a t-shirt and I hope we can hit 100 members

2. the Brigades are a great idea. Banners in general are also great. We have a good number of flags but one of the things we are going to do this off season is make a few banners.

3. E-10 "works" for now. As much as I would love the center line, that area is where alot of season ticket holders are that might not appreciated the noise and it would be tough just to carve out a section now. The bleacher areas are not season ticket holder areas and E10 is "secluded' so if people are offended by language or drinking they have pleanty of other options. I think if we can bring back the noise, we can be noticed once again.

4. As long as your not talking about changing the game (larger goals, three points for a goal etc), I have no complaints here. but in E10 there are a few Brits, some Irish, a German that comes through once in awhile, some mexicans and hearing pint or football arent that uncommon. but I still call it soccer when trying to pimp it at work or ammonst my freinds.

5 and 6. The Regiment has monthly meetings where a majority of the organization behind the scenes goes on. this year we had our annual road trip to ATL, a car pool to Cary and the bus trip to DC for the USOC final. Not to mention the Regiment player appreciation picnic, tailgates, the Carolina Challenge Cup T-shirt and a few other items. I guess we need to get that word out better and earlier.

I would love to see 100-200 fanatical Battery fans organized in a single section, I know they are there, we had 300 in DC and it we were louder than E10 ever has been. But if we get a good thing going, it will snowball. Timber army has done it, Columbus did it this year.

We have the support of the front office, and we have a good core of 12-15 people on line here plus another 20 or so that dont even post that would be involved. Add in a few others that wander in and out throughout the season and it could be like that hair shampoo commercial from years ago. "and here friend told her friend, and the told there friends, And so on, and so on and so on."

 

200 people in E10 would be fantastic. The atmosphere would be amazing. Our crowd in D.C. was awesome, I would like to see the same sort of thing in E10. Any ideas of how we can actually get this to happen?

 

Good reply Mickey.

Erik - Joking aside, we need the "E-10" / "Brig" to be VERY near the beer garden because that's where a lot of load fans are who don't want to walk all the way to E-10. I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here.

Another thing we need to do after we come up with some chants is to print off copies and hand them out to everyone that comes through the gates.

 

im pretty sure i will be living in columbia by the time the league starts. ill try to make it to some of the games. any advices?

 

Create a Columbia branch "Brigade" (una brigada de Columbia). Once you can get a group together, make a flag or banner and bring it down to the games. I'm trying to do the same thing in Florence and Myrtle Beach. Buena suerte!

 

I know there are a few others Battery fans up that way. Maybe you guys could car pool to matches?

I dig the Columbia Brigade Idea


this is a quick design based off the flag that the proshop sells online and at the stadium. Im sure a simple black or white banner with the words "Columbia Brigade" Or Florence, no offence to you Sandlapper

 

hahaha good idea, that flag looks like the german flag, and in fact one of my boys in columbia is german and we have been to a couple of games together. he is not really into soccer but we are boys.

another good game would be "irmo fanaticos" and yeah pretty much every single soccer player and coach knows who i am in the irmo dutch fork area, ill get a good crowd to go to the games. maybe a couuple of former irmo and chapin players, and latinos at usc.

cant wait to go to some of the games.

which are the games more intense? any big rivalries?

 

up to yesterday, ATL was probalby our biggest rival, but they have decided to sit out the 2009 season. there is history between Puerto Rico and Charleston and the game are always a chippy affair. Carolina is also a growing Rivalry but now that their coach was sacked, its kind of hard to hate them as their supporters are pretty cool.

 

We can't make every game so we need to see, when the scedule comes out, which weekend games will be the best to bring the other brigades. Then we need to start coming up with themes for the games (Mad haters: bring the craziest hat you can up with; Sun Fun: when you get off the beach go straight to the game; Podsphaira*: TOGA TOGA TOGA! *ancient greek for football). Maybe see if the front office can give a discount or something for those who show up in attire.

Mikey - why are we not in the marketing dept?

 

I like your enthusiasm Sandlapper, I hope you can make many games!

the only one I would have you think about is the Sun Fun idea. Being the most ardent of Battery fans, it is tough spending the day at the Beach, drained from the sun and then get up for a match later in the evening! could be im getting older and want to take a late afternoon nap most days.

Hopefully most of you will be able to come down for the Carolina Challenge Cup. should be around the end of March and will more than likely feature three MLS teams. I know Toronto wants to come back down, and if they do they will bring a large conginent (last year 15 stayed the whole week, and they all want to come back as well as dozens of others who heard there stories) There has been some talk of a Fan soccer tourney between the supporter groups, we could use all the help we can get im sure!

mike

 

i have been in 2 of those games. when dc brough freddy adu and cheyo quintanilla and i dont remember the other game.

i dont mind traveling to charleston for a soccer game, in fact i wouldnt mind going south africa if money wasnt in the way.

cant wait for the season to start, not many people is as cool as im when it comes to soccer im like the coolest kid in the block and my boys too.

 

I like the brigade idea.

 

We've just gotta make it work.

I say we rally around the Gadsden flag (Don't Tread On Me). It was created by a Charleston patriot and was one of the first American flags before the stars and stripes.

 

agreed

 

New scarf? Sweet! Count me in!

 

yep, working the designs right now but most people wont get a look at it until Jan.

going to included it as a option when you join up with the Regiment
http://www.charlestonbattery.com/Regiment/index.html

member can get additional scarves at a discounted price as well.

How about a Upstate Brigade flag GDS?

 

Guys, Florence is not my cup of tea so I'm trying to move back down to the Chuck. I'm in the restaurant business so if you see or hear of any openings (pref. mang.) for anything give me a "shout out." THANX!

Also, about the "Don't Tread On Me" flag, it has the same colors as the Battery. We can rally around this rattlesnake thing too by bringing your own custom shakers/rattles. I also LOVE that Jolly Roger w/ the cross cannons. I had it as my wallpapper for a while. Is the E-10 section called The Brig? The reason I asked is because we could market that brand as a place for the rowdy, wretched, and down-right-ornery fanatics go to cheer. The Rated-R, not for the faint of heart, "Billy, you're not allowed over there" section.