I've been doing my own thing in my corner of 138. It's spread a good bit on occasion and all I've ever heard from any capos is a compliment or two and even been asked to help start up some of the newer chants from time to time. Haven't really seen them "castigate" anyone except for the times where things go a little far.
Sincerely happy to hear that - but we've also heard a lot of bitching about it. Shouldn't there at least be a committee that decides what songs the capos will lead - or, for that matter, a greater fan voice in who gets to be a capo in the first place? Tryouts for the position could be hilarious/hella fun.
In a number of cases the Capos are people who just stepped up to the position. ChaCha and Smash did it for 139 and 140. My friend Steve (CallMeMed I think here?) has often stepped out to help bridge the gap between 138 and 139. Plus there are many people like me who just start things from mid section. To be a Capo, act like one. Be loud, be hyper. You may not wear a jersey with Capo on the back, but that doesn't mean you can't do the job.
A question of some importance, asked by a guy who really doesn't care what anyone thinks, put bluntly: Why didn't you just come out and say "I want my songs to be considered by the capos?" That's what this ultimately boils down to. We all appreciate the effort, we really do. However, 90 percent of the songs posted have no shot of getting put into rotation because 45 percent of the River End could care less about vindaloo, let alone the complicated stuff that gets suggested. You can wrap this up in whatever way you want, but this to me is clearly based on songs that don't get sung and not whether or not Bryan James is in power.
This times a million! Pointing at someone building a house & saying you don't like the way they're hammering is just wasted negative energy. If you have a better way to build, then pick up a damn hammer & get to work! That said, Chris, a while back I offered help with the membership stuff, but you never got back to me (and at this point, thank Jah you didn't. I'm building a horrendous database at work, so I don't want to see anything excel or Filemaker related outside the office). I digress, the point is, I can't speak for anyone else, but I've reached out to help with the admin side of SoB & never got a response (not just the time described above). I just wrote it off that they are OK handling it on their own, so I helped other ways (tailgates mostly).
Shoot me a PM with what you guys are thinking. I'm so-so with Access but I've done web databases before. I'd need to know what sort of stuff you want to track. Please speak for yourself. I may have problems with elders here and there (communication as others have agreed) but overall I think they are doing a great job considering how much this has exploded under them. I don't think it is "very much in question" that they should always have a say in what is going on as long as they want to. So please, don't generalize and act like it is a problem for everyone. BUT I LOVE VINDALOO!!!!
I'm pretty sure the capos are open to anything good. At the galaxy match I approached Corey with 'spice up your life, cheat on your wife!' He said AWESOME. He spread it, I even went over to the people I know in 138 and told them what was going on. And next thing you know....oh wow, it was going on and beckham lowered his head. Do us a favor and get yours out off your ass, you're causing drama that doesn't need to be started.
Fellas, I'm just going to throw this out there from my own perspective as an Elder: None of us were really complaining about not having volunteers during the season. It wasn't because we wanted tight, self-serving control (as has been hinted to in some of these threads). Our primary area of volunteer need was for the tailgates and the people who stepped up each week did an AMAZING job of running the show and keeping things on track. I myself put out a call for help with the website and I did get people who responded back. Some are active in posting stories, etc. (Sully, Medici, etc.) and it's helped my job a lot. But, I know I didn't get back to everyone and can improve it even more. A volunteer area of the site is a great suggestion. Just before you go bashing our lack of outreach or communication keep in mind that during the season we were all jammed up with DOING the job and organizing everything. I'd love to be able to tell you I could have taken the time to properly lay out the needs, etc. but there just wasn't enough time. We had to a lot of things on the fly and make quick decisions. Now that we're in the offseason, we can work to be better organized and will be. I think once everyone has a better picture of how things are done, and how many things need to be done, you'll understand where we're coming from and we'll be able to identify the opportunities to get more people involved, make improvements, and ensure everyone has a voice in how things are done.
I, personally, could give a s#!t if anyone sings our songs. Those of us behind the website do it for fun. If some of what we throw against the wall sticks, fantastic. Personally, we feel that a lot of what we post is better than the derivative crap that the capos promote, but that's just us. More to the point, how do you know we haven't volunteered? One of us has visited Chapka's house to help pack t-shirts. Everyone involved in the site comes to games - two from considerable distances - to tailgate and march and sing - because we care passionately about this and want to be involved. This isn't a power grab or mindless bitching - we've thought seriously about this and feel strongly that the SoBs could be better run if the process by which leadership were selected were open and the administration of the group was more transparent. In short, this isn't about songs: it's about appropriate governance. If Bryan and company want to keep it a closed fiefdom, I wish them luck. They have done a tremendous job so far: I'm sincere in my gratitude for their efforts to get MLS in Philadelphia and for all they've done thereafter. That said, as this progresses, a simple volunteer system is not the way to go - it needs to be systematized, better organized and open to outside voices. Failing to do so will impede the growth of the SoBs and, by extension, soccer in Philadelphia.
(Dear Mod, Please Don't Move) Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free... Section 133: The Illegitimates If people don't like the SoBs or the River END they can always move. Our Group has no problems with the SoB (most of us are members). We just like to mix it up with away support. We are always looking for dedicated supporters for our section and new chants.
I wish this thread would DIE! Elders are great, nice guys and they do so much thankless work I feel bad that you have to take even a half sec to defend yourselves.
Corey ignores me, too. The reason my sheets tend to match up with what the capos do is because I put down mostly what the capos do, not what I want them to do. I do try to include a few new options every time, but not all of them get used during the games. If you're not interested in helping with the administration, then you're not going to get much of a say in how the administration happens. Sorry, but that's how a volunteer organization works. You can vote a congressman out of office because there are lots of other people who want to be congressmen. If you want to vote an unpaid volunteer out of office, you have to be willing to step up and do the job yourself.
See prior comment: we have volunteered. Pure volunteerism isn't going to cut it in the long term if the group wants to grow. This isn't a co-op grocery.
That's F'd up. Food is good there. Looking at you, Mansbro. More on the stupid bullshat mentioned earlier after I eat.
I speak for myself, but the elders are awesome. I don't personally know all of them, but they do all of this on their own time. I'm sure they could all be spending time with their families or doing other stuff, but instead they invest their time in us. So, thanks. Keep up the good work and see you at HKH!
Gotta agree with this. Great job by the elders for a first year that seemed more like the third year. Already looking forward to next season's tailgates.
Why thank you sir...I may or may not be bringing the vegan chick to games next year with one season ticket to my name. Let it be known that because you didn't force her to eat meat, she ate mine. Well done, sir.
Don't get your panties in a bunch. I am just busting your balls. Maybe you are taking this just a little bit too serious? (In the future take any of my comments with a grain of salt, I enjoy stirring the pot) The reality is that the leadership makes all the decisions and they should. The decisions they make have consequences, they could lead to unity, they could lead to fracture or more likely something in the middle. I have no idea what is going to happen and to be honest, I don't really care. I am there to watch and support the Union. If we continue to have a well run supporters group, it would be great. If not, I will still go the games, support the team and life will go on.
A lot of you don't know me and I don't know you. I talk to you all on twitter, some at games, and tailgates. I love The SoB. I would do anything for the SoB. But First Off, How many of you Help out at Tailgates? How Many times does the dude in the Kilt ( haven't met you Sorry) get on the Mic saying there's trash they need help breaking down? 3 maybe 4 times? Still Garbage left everywhere, you guys line up 30 minutes before we walk over and Corey is still asking for people to help out. You all have a voice you just neglect to speak up. You guys complain about not having a voice if not for the elders we would never be here. The Elders are OUR history. Going to New York vs KC and Banging on a drum wishing KC would relocate to Philly. How many of you where there? I wasn't there I joined a year ago and I make sure that I help out everytime theres a game. They're there to have fun and enjoy life and yet they have to babysit and make sure we pick up after each others. If my Father taught me one thing it was respect your elders. Learn your history so you can pass it down so and so on and so forth.