Don't think of this as a troll post, but who's to blame for such a Dallas-like attendance figure? Was the match not publicized enough? Not a big enough fan base? C'mon guys, its the champs!
The game had just about no marketing. And it most definitely had none that made any difference. The only thing I ever saw/heard was a radio add that they had LAST season. It was pathetic. That and the fact that there was a Sharks game at what noon(?). And I guess there were other games today too. What do I know, I'm really only a Quake fan. And it's Easter weekend too. And it was in the middle of the day. This all sounds like excuses, but I make no excuse for the office dropping the ball on marketing this game. NO EXCUSE!
The problem is what I call the "Montreal Manic" syndrome. For those of you too young to remember, the NASL had an expansion franchise called the Montreal Manic in 1981 that averaged 23,704 fans per game and had playoff crowds in excess of 50,000. The next year, 1982, the team averaged 21,348, and continued to be a big hit. But heading into the 1983 season, the geniuses who ran the club and league announced that after the 1983 season, the "Manic" would be no more and the team would change its name to "Team Canada!" Montreal fans hated the idea and voted with their feet. The team only averaged 9,910 fans per game in 1983 and the franchise folded after the season ended. All this talk of Club America taking over and changing the name of the San Jose franchise has poisoned the well. How could MLS be so friggin' stupid??!! The Earthquakes are a name that has a 30-year history in this market and the team has won two championships in the past three years and the morons in charge are tinkering with success. It is time for Alexi Lalas to step forward and explain to the San Jose market that the Earthquakes are going to remain the Earthquakes forever and a day. He needs to state in no uncertain terms that Club America will not be permitted to take this successful team away from San Jose and change it into a minor-league farm club of the Mexican League. And if Alexi is unable to make that statement to the public, then he gets what he deserves -- an empty stadium abandoned by a screwed-over, three-decade-old fan base. I call on Alexi to make this statement or turn in a letter of resignation. STOP THE COLONIZATION OF AMERICAN SOCCER!
You're ignoring the fact that the bottom dwelling San Jose Clash's 4 years saw the team with an average attendance of about 5,000 higher than the 2 time champion San Jose Earthquakes' 4 years.
I think there is a problem when the appearance of advertising in your local newspaper merits postings in this board like it is news. Is revenue so low that there is no advertising budget? To make money needs money. Sinking some initial investment on a SSS where you can collect all revenues, have a playing surface where the touch lines don't disappear below a wall would be a start (I know it is actually a giant leap). It is frustrating to see a champanionship team so poorly supported in a big market.
Gosh, so how many seasons has CA talked about taking over? Complete, utter BS. It may have alienated a couple of hundred "fans", but the franchise has little presence in the entire Bay Area. It's a San Jose team, not a Bay Area team. It's got major, major issues. Don't kid yourself that CA is to blame for 8K.
Yeah, even sitting there, I would have thought we pulled in at LEAST 10,500K. Seriously, something doesn't sound right with this number...anyone else have that take?
The reason for 8,230 is simple. My family hadda move , otherwise it wouldda been 8,234. In all seriousness - we suck , I heard all the excuses , but they are nothing more than that - excuses........ A/We had crap for advertising in Laurie's and Lothar's years , yet we drew hellabetter , could Bridgewater - seasoned pro - been the reason ? B/If all the excuses are correct , than the first game that Sharks aren't competing wij , and is at night we should draw 16,000? C/ We'll drive 500 miles coupla times this year for a game , not to mention a few away ones , if we want to save the team , everyone needs to come out with their family , neighbors and enemies , although , frankly I think it is too late , and AEG is setting us up for a move.
You know in Metterparel years , they wouldda called this crowd 13,000 , when Krapts were trying to sell the team to Dentsu and John the Baptist. Methinks that AEG's current agenda is SJ Sucks - new stadium or Houston ( or Aguascalientes ) so the number is different.
Yeah, and I have a feeling it's not just the fans that are feeling the fall out of this. The threats that we need a new stadium or we're gone, the poor attendance. I really think the guys feel it. I mean, who wants to work for an employer who doesn't give a crap about you. These guys work their butts off and all they get is it's not good enough, no stadium no team, blah, fishin' blah, blah blah. I'm sorry but the way this team is being run SUCKS! I love my boys. But Lala is an idiot. He's the point of contact for the fans and he can't tell us fish about what we can do to get that stadium that will decide our future. WTF? That's bullfish. He has a whole attitude of "avoidance" about him. He comes to the tailgate and talks and cracks jokes but never listens. Hello! Wake up people! That's his way of making sure there's no time for you to get questions in edgewise. Lala has got a ton to learn about running a team. He needs to go to some management and public speaking classes ASAP. But really, what does all this matter? There's no time for that. And AEG knows it. They've got their yesman in there. So they can just sit back until this team fails and then point the finger at us. They've passed the responsibility on to us, therefore, when this team fails, it won't have anything to do with them. It will all be on us. FISH THAT!
I think its time to bust out the "FIRE ALEXI" or "Alexi Sucks!" shirts ala Dean Lombardi/San Jose Sharks. Who's with me?
What good will it do ? Here's a crazy idea - schedule a constructive Q+A session in regards to Quakes future with Lalas , Lieweke , Dom and few hundred serious fans. No BS - black and white questions , black and white answers - come up with fans agenda to keep the team. There's just too much BS floating from LA for my liking.
You know, how can we blame Alexi? Look at the situation logically. He just a guy who wants a job. And he has it. What does he care how long he has it? He's still got his face all over the media. Everyone still knows his name. It's like he's still a player, just without all the physical stuff. And when this team goes down, he has something to put on his resume. It won't look bad on him that the team goes under under his leadership. Remember folks, it's all our fault as fans. Nah, I don't blame this on Alexi. He's just a guy who wants a job. Nothing wrong with that. The people to blame are the people who hired him, or the people who SHOULD be running things and aren't. AEG. FISH AEG!
In absolutely no way has Lala ever demonstrated that he has the ability to do all this. Constructive answers to our questions in a situation like this. No fishin' way is that gonna happen. Sure, he's great at giving little written up statements when there's time to address what he wants to address how he wants to address it (or however whoever is doing these little statements that are coming from "Lala"). But you present an honest question to him (how can we help?) and you won't get an answer.
Nobody's happy about 8,230 but there's more happening here than meets the eye. I attended a regional economic forum in January where an economist from UCLA, Dr. Christopher Thornberg, noted the exceptional number of jobs lost from the San Jose area in the previous three years. It's almost 19 percent -- one job in five, gone. Here's a quote from Dr. Thornberg: “How bad is San Jose? I had to go through 50 years of data to come up with four cities that were even roughly similar to San Jose, and San Jose has lost more jobs faster than any of those three cities. They would be Detroit in ’78, Portland in 1980, and Los Angeles in 1990.” In other words, San Jose (specifically, the San Jose Metropolitan Statistical Area) has lost more jobs over the last three years than any other city in the U.S. since the 1950s. Considering that most families have two working parents, I'd guess that at least a third of San Jose households have been affected. The epicenter of the dot com boom was San Jose and it's the center of the bust as well. Add that to the revolving door at the management level, lack of consistent marketing, etc., and it's a wonder that the Quakes are doing as well as they are. (In case anyone's wondering, yes, I have passed those figures on to Mr. Lalas.)
So you're suggesting that the team needs to win back fans in the "disguised as empty seat" demographic?
112 looked to be full of comps. 111 was unusually crowded too. We all agree that management doesn't know what it's doing. Perhaps it's time to organize as fans and put together a viable plan. It's not as if we lack for models. For starters, we need to find a way to procure local funding, something a little more substantial than banner ads.
I agree with all of you. Job market, Easter weekend, Sharks, advertising, 1:00 game time, CA, AEG, no stadium deal, and Lalas contributed to the 8,230. I was actually pleasantly surprised at those numbers! It felt like a good crowd (a little quiet) who enjoyed a slow game. I am not sure what the answer is to cure our problems. It is a shame that after two MLS Cup wins we enter into a period of instant turmoil over were the team is going to be or who will own it the following year. If as a season ticket holder I feel a negative vibe, I can only wonder what the casual fan feels like. AEG and Lalas can't put the blame on us the fans. I personally feel that Johnny Moore was getting the ball rolling in the right direction, and our parent company derailed his efforts. I believe in giving Lalas a chance, but he needs to put his money where his mouth is and starting communicating with the current fan base. Give us some answers!!!!!!! However.......Alexi is no Johnny and the relationship between the fans and Johnny was something (still is) special. Whether we have 8,000 or 800 I am still a Quakes fan and not embarrassed to tell everyone. I will continue to do my personal best to spread the word, but in the end it is the team who can do that the best. Go Quakes!
Torpedo, that has been tried. And it was nothing but BS. Club Quake organized a meeting with Alexi. He talked for roughly an hour, yet he really said nothing of consequence. We had some very precise questions for him, yet he could give no precise answers. Now, with some questions, you can understand that he is going to avoid answering them because it is sensitive info. But that was the vibe during the whole meeting. Someone asked,"I know you can't give us specific cities where the team is looking, but what can I do to help the stadium situation? Can I write someone? A councilman? Someone?" He himmed and hawed and basically said,"the higher ups are handling that...I can't give specifics...You're doing everything you could be doing by showing up to this meeting." Later, someone else asked,"What are your goals for this season as far as ticket sales." Alexi's answer: "We want to sell out every game." Doh! The guy then rephrased his question:"Going from 9,000 a game to 27,000 a game is a big leap, what are your targets." Alexi would not reveal their goals (something that every other administration he been forthright with). So, if he does not know, why the hell not? This would be my first question if I were GM. If he does know, then why the big secret? Next, I brought up an issue. My issue has been mentioned in this thread. Namely, that the team has shown absolutely zero commitment to this area. In 8 seasons, we've had 5 GMs & 5 coaches, we've been managed by the league, the Krafts, the Sharks and AEG; we were supposedly going to be bought by Alan Rothenberg, possibly by the Sharks, possibly by the Krafts, possibly by AEG, possibly by America. All the while, those in power have made no bones about the fact that Spartan is a crap arrangement that costs them a fortune and that they need to find new digs. Meanwhile, no one has ever put any significant dollars into promoting the team, attendance has dwindled from 17,000/game the first year to barely over 10,000, etc. The only thing that has been stable about this franchise is its instability, that and the fact that no administration has allowed this team to operate on more than a shoestring. To this, Alexi replies that a statement of commitment from them isn't going to make people suddenly want to come to a Quakes game. He completely missed the point. The instability has caused people to drift away. The continued instability isn't going to bring them back. As if I was not dismayed enough by his inability to see the big picture, the next question sealed the deal for me. On the heels of my point, someone asked the insightful question:"When you and AEG look at what the problems are in San Jose, what do you think needs to be done to fix it?" His answer was something to the effect of,"If we had the answer to that, we wouldn't have the problems that we have." Following that, he admitted that he does not know what the problem is, nor have ideas on how to fix it. Alexi was direct in exactly zero of his answers. My general feeling coming out of the meeting was that either he is a bumbling fool who has absolutely no clue, and if the Quakes succeed, it will be despite Alexi; or that he is a talking head who is AEG's out when they leave the area. If my latter guess is true, I predict that the press releases announcing the Quakes impending move will say something to the effect of,"We brought in the most recognizable face of American soccer. If he can't illicit support for this team, then no one can." So, like in Miami, the fans will be blamed and accused of having no passion, even though it was the years of ineptitue of ownership/management that brought about low attendance numbers. At this point, I'm not sure what fans can do. The last I heard, there were some rumblings about trying to meet directly with AEG. I don't know what has come of the idea. Darrin If you want to read the whole of what I wrote about the meeting, it can be found here: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sanjose-mls/message/6231
So you're saying that San Jose attendance has always been crap - and has never been legitimately above 10-11k?