Brothers and sisters!! Tears hath streamed from my eyes today! My father has accepted MLS as his savior! This is a man who refused to watch soccer 6 years ago! One day I received a call, "That Ante Razov is pretty good." he said! Now he's watching every televised Fire game, going to a few games a year and watches national team occassionally. Recently subscribed to DISHNetwork, he e-mailed me today and informed me of his intention to subscribe to the shootout package next year! AMEN!! Post your conversion stories here!
Rapids/Fire 10/18 I can't say with total certainty that this was a conversion story, but it sure looked that way from my angle... The game was magnificent. 4-3 the final score, with the Rapids bravely fighting back from a 3-1 deficit, only to have Armas score the winner in stoppage time. 28,000 in attendance, noisy as I've every heard a soccer crowd live. Anyway, on the way out, I saw these two dads, both wearing Packers regalia, both seemingly having been dragged there by the soccer-playing 10-year-olds they had in tow. But the looks on their faces wasn't those of dads indulging their kids, they looked across at each other just stunned... one of them said, "Did you SEE that?" The other just nodded. Maybe these guys were previous converts... but it sure didn't seem that way. One of the best moments of the evening.
Took my wife to a World Cup Qualifier 2 years ago and it changed her outlook. Until she saw it in person she didn't realize just how fast they're moving. She'll watch USA games on TV and loves to watch them in person. She will sometimes watch MLS on TV, particulary if it is a "big" game. I still test her patience with big tournaments where there's a ton of games (WC, Confed Cup, Gold Cup, etc.), but the progress has been huge.
Well recently I got my mom watching MLS. I also got a few non-soccer friends in Boston tuning into US Nat's games and they will occasionally follow the revs.. This isnt by shoving it down their throats or dragging them along, but just by acting interested, I have found that my enthusiasm in contagious overtime... When they see plan my afternoons around the games, wake up early for EPL, etc, it strikes their curiousity... Then once they start asking me questions about players, trades, championsleagu, etc I know I hooked 'em on it so far I have about 7 victims!
Re: Something If by 'show him the light' you mean 'run him down in my 4-runner with the high beams on,' then I am all for it.
Took my ex-girlfriend to the USA-Honduras WCQ at RFK in 2001. I wouldn't say I "converted" her, but she gained respect for the game that day. Took a Turkish guy from work to see USA-Uruguay at RFK...already a soccer fan, but I think that he gained some respect for the US that day. My MO is to take non-fans to big games, with big crowds...they won't come away disappointed.
I took my sister, her son and daughter and her grandson to the Galaxy-Crew on 8/9 at the HDC. We were right behind the south end zone when Ruiz hits his bicycle kick. They could not stop talking about that incredible goal on the ride home. Several weeks later, I went over to her house for a BBQ. Surprise, surprise, she was watching the Galaxy game on KCAL 9. She has been back to the HDC a couple of times since and she wants to go to MLS Cup. I have also successfully converted my sister and her family up in San Jose as well. My neice was willing to forgo playing for her AYSO team in a tournament final just to go with me to watch the Quakes-DC United game in August. I am working on the rest of the family. One sibling at a time...
A cautionary tale: My wife has been watching MLS matches with me for many years now -- and has gone with me to several matches. She has watched World Cup matches and the USNT (men, not much interest in the women). When FSW became available on Time Warner Cable she suddenly noticed the EPL matches -- and compared them with MLS. "Oh," she said, "this is different. This is REALLY different." I created a Eurosnob.
The Wife I echo Brownswan. My wife will go to any Fire game if the weather is half decent & the schedule is convenient. She will watch a Fire game (and sometimes other MLS teams) if she feels like watching TV. She dropped EVERYTHING to watch Man U's Tour of America games and would happily have driven for several hours to attend on of those games, had they actually scheduled a game within several hours of Chicago. She says, "They don't play like the Fire. They're a lot better."
My father drank the Kool-Aid too. There is definitely credence for kids introducing the game to their parents. Frankly, I think that's the only way they'll become converted. Good job to all for bringing your friends, loved ones, co-workers over to the dark side.
It's amazing how often this happens. I've had that happen a couple of times, too. That broad, distant camera shot you need to show enough of a soccer field so that you can see as much as possible on a screen (and it still isn't enough) creates an illusion of slowness compared to other sports (not to mention a sense of distance from the players that you don't get in other sports telecasts). A trip to a real match dissipates that one, however. As far as Brownswan's point goes: I remember coming home from an A-League match with my wife and setting up a video of a Premiership match I'd taped... she made a similar comment. Of course, going from an A-League match on a substandard high school football field to the Premiership is a tad unfair. Luckily, she realizes that and still follows the Fire and the Riverhounds more than anything we watch on TV.
I took Philip Anschutz to some games during WC '94 and got him to like the sport. Now someone do the same will Bill Gates please.
Something If we had Bill Gates, we could afford to build a huge SSS for each team and hire 50,000 fans to come to each game. And we could get on prime time TV, and hire people who know what they're doing when if comes to marketing (no more MPF). And it would all end when the NFL had him assinated because MLS had taken all their popularily. ... or something like that.
Re: Something Yeah, but if we had Bill Gates, the game would come to a halt about three times for no real reason. And everytime you wanted to upgrade the stadium, you'd have to demolish it and then rebuild it. Sachin
Re: The Wife oh well, what can you do? A fan of the game is a fan of the game.. Just let her know that MLS is 8 years old, and rome wasnt built in a day and to have patience..
I must agree with bostonsoccermdl about the enthusiasm thing. A lot of my friends and family are more into soccer now because they see me taping games, playing, staying up to watch games, etc. They wonder, "Why is he so into this?" then they watch, or we go to a University of Michigan soccer game and "boom!" they're hooked.