A number of issues/concerns have surfaced that I wanted to respond to very briefly. I know I am combining a number of separate threads but this is the easiest way to respond. I also know that I may turn some people off with my brevity. I urge anyone that wishes to speak to me directly to please just call. I have always prefered speaking to typing. 1) The Women's World Cup post. This was actually my fault as I asked for it to be posted. I had wanted there to be a better explanation than appeared but again I take the blame for not being clear to our staff. I simply wanted to get this out to as many people as possible. I consider this forum to be made up of people who want (most of the time) to support DCU. While offereing the ticket info was meant to be a service it also benefits the team if those interested in buying use our code. I'm not thrilled at how US Soccer has set this up (I've received about 50 e-mails about it myself) but we are trying to work with it. Again, my fault for having it posted. We will go through the mods before doing anything similar in the future. 2) Barcelona vs. AC Milan. I know some people are unhappy with the seat locations they received through this office. We were only given a certain number of seats and locations. We offered them to our fans as a service thinking that saving $11 in Ticketmaster fees was a worthwhile offer. While we did make it clear that we had only "best availalble seats" I suppose we should have been more clear that if location was more important than price that people should call Ticketmaster directly. Again, we did not know how quickly these seats would sell and thought we were offering a service to our fans. We will be more careful in the future to be clear on our inventory and your options. 3) T-Shirt sling shot. The slingshot is meant to be completed prior to the start of the second half of play. There are times when our halftime activities run long so that they are finishing up as the game restarts. We will endeavor to keep this from happening in the future. I know many of you dislike the practice but it brings in sponsor dollars and is liked by our youth/family audience. Whether you feel we should be catering to this audience or not is a whole other issue which I will not address here at this time. 4) DCU vs El Salvador. I know this is a very hot topic and I know that little I say here is likely to appease many of you. I simply offer a few details related to our decision. Feel free to flame away but if you really wish to discuss it further with me, please call. In a nutshell, in scheduling our extra matches we take in to account a number of factors such as available dates, available teams, costs, fan interest etc. I had hoped that the fact that we had scheduled two very good matches against premiership teams this year might offset some of the displeasure with this game. In this case, we had a very reasonable proposition to host this game. Believe it or not, their are still a number of hispanic season ticket holders of D.C. United who are pleased about this game and there are a clearly a number of community members who will be excited about this game as well. Obviously there is the opportunity for the team to make some money on such a game (something we need to do after being rained on so many games already this year). I am well aware of our issues with the El Salvadoran community from the past. I believe that there has been progress made in that area and will not write them off (an unpopular opinion on these boards I know). For those that do not wish to attend the game please know that your tickets are exchangeable through our season ticket exchange program for extra tickets to other matches later in the year. Again, if you would like to discuss further, please call. 5) The Team. As much as I would like to respond to your many comments I think everyone realizes that this is not possible in this forum. I mention it only because I would have been remiss not to acknowledge your concerns. We are endeavoring to improve the team at all times. As always I thank you for your support and passion. Stephen
Thanks for your response, however I still have zero hope this team will do anything other than flail and cry about "poor officiating" and unlucky bounces. All the while treating its fans like they should be thankful to come sit in a delapidated stadium with poor security to watch a team that cannnot score. Again, thanks for your response. To be quite honest, I am thankful we actually have a team to flame about.
Mr. Zack, Thanks for taking the time to address these issues. Addressing them collectively makes a lot of sense. Rev I encourage anyone that wishes to discuss these statements in greater detail to call Mr. Zack as many details should not be addressed on an open fan board.
Thanks for the explanation. What about this idea?: I've noticed that the slingshot 'crew' goes clockwise around the stadium (from my POV, meaning from the family section to quiet-side to endzone to supporter's groups side). How about switching this so that the slingshotting starts on the supporter's groups side and ends at the family section? That way if it runs over into the second half, it'll most likely only intrude on the 'target' audience for the slingshot in the first place. -Rob
Steven, if only the players would show an inkling of the professionalism and care about the fans that you have done here, a lot of our concerns would simply disappear. Thanks
To everyone who whines and moans about the organization that runs this club, on the field stuff notwithstanding... This is what makes DC United such a different and better club than much of MLS. I deal with and witness the workings of other organizations within this league (not going to say who, but if you look at my profile... it's rather evident) and it is this kind of openness and honesty that sets United apart. Almost every single issue that is raised respectfully by the fans is responded to... that is credit both to the supporters of this club and to the administration. Too often, I have seen clubs ignore and even belittle their hardcore (for lack of a better term) support, sometimes sometimes covertly, sometimes straight to their faces. That stuff belongs in the other sports. The fact is, that to do what every single poster in these forums (except maybe that Bulgarian guy) wants to with regards to this sport, it requires this level of discourse and honesty above and beyond what the other sports do. This is what had and continues to make DC one of the best organizations in Major League Soccer and it should not be forgotten how lucky we are to have an executive such as Zack, and not like some of the other ones who either currently work in the league, or have worked in the league in the past.
Thank you for addressing the various issues/concerns Mr. Zack. On a more important note: Can you do something about DC United's goalscoring?
Re: Re: An attempt to address some of your issues This is a solid idea. I believe someone got a reply from Jamie O'Connor on the slingshot crew, you should email this to him directly or call DCU. K
Re: Re: An attempt to address some of your issues This idea occurred to me earlier, but I was too lazy to post it. So you get the credit if it happens! But seriously, I think this makes all the sense in the world, and the only reason I can come up with why it might not work is this: If the slingshot runs behind schedule (and it always does), going the opposite way round the field means that they might be shooting t-shirts in and around the same area where the players, officials, and coaches come out and prepare for the 2nd half on the sidelines. I imagine that they wouldn't want any chance of the slingshot interfering with the official business of the game at hand.... But ALSO, thank you Mr. Zack for posting, it's always good to hear from you. As frustrated as we are as fans, I do believe that that frustration runs through the front office and staff as well. No-one is happy when the team's not winnin'.
Thanks Zack for responding to our concerns and addressing them to the best of your ability. I think that one thing the front office has to realize is that minor issues with the front office have been a focus of fans attention as the team continues to struggle. It is obvious that our on field problems and personel decisions are not going to be easily fixed. The fustration with the on field performance has translated into a lot of talk and bitching by the fans. That gets old after 3 years and cotmplaining about the front office is a good way to rid oneself of some angst at at least a related party. I am guilty of it myself. However, despite the onfield struggles of the team it is a fact that the number of season ticket holders continues to grow. The supporters clubs, the front office, and the team itself should be proud of this. There are some great things that the front office has done with the cooperation of the team that should be recognized. 1) Small intimate meet the players/coach events 2) The honest reporting and stories on the web page. Posting opinions critical of the team and stories that are beyond dry game reports is a great move. 3) Equipment sales 4) The large meet the team day 5) Open practice 6) The responsiveness of the front office on these boards. The front office should take it to heart that the fans are interested enough to want responses to their various concerns and that the issues, as a whole, are not larger.
Smashed with the coffee pots, sorry buddy. Thanks for your response, Mr. Zack. As everyone else has stated, complete class.
If anyone still has any doubts as to how great we have it dealing with our organization, I strongly encourage you to check out the NE Board, specifically the thread entitled, "Where have all the fans gone?". As much as I dislike the t-shirt slinging, I completely understand the reasoning behind it. My main concern was that it ALWAYS seems to run into the 2nd half, right in front of me. Also, I didn't have a problem with the team scheduling the El Salvador game, but I'm still not going to go.
I'll be there. Anytime I can get to a DCU match I will be there, against anyone. Thanks Stephen robert
SZ--kudos to you and the business/operational side of the house. 1. I commend you for taking the time to post on Big Soccer and address some issues (and to do so in a way I certainly don't regard as arrogant but as open and disclosing and encouraging dialogue). Good for you. 2. I continue to see growth and progress in the operational and business side of operations. All-time high for season ticket sales, lead MLS I believe in that category (despite the team record the past 3.5 years). I often wonder what you could do with a soccer specific stadium and (dare I say it--be still my beating heart) a strong team. 3. I actually think the ES match is a good one. Not b/c it appeals to the majority of DCU fans (though it will certainly appeal to some). And not b/c it will make a lot of money (maybe yes, maybe no). And not b/c it will appease some of those offended by the departure of RDA (probably never happen). But if DCU will be a true team of the community, it will serve and reflect the community (which means bringing in sides that people in DC want to see, even if some of them aren't always supportive of DCU in the way we'd like). Keep up the good work and keep sharing/interacting with the fans.
I certainly don't hold that against you, I just had two very bad experiences at "Angry Salvadorean Night", and I won't have another one.
I agree. Like I've said, this kind of access to a professional organization is truly special. It's one of those where you tell yourself "if I was in charge I'd be different I'd care about the fans" in which case Zack and the DC org IS different w/their extraordinary access. Very much appreciated!!
Re: Re: Re: An attempt to address some of your issues I'm pretty sure I thought of it about a 5 minutes before you did, but like you I also was too lazy to post it.
I truly belive DC United is here to stay and will support the team in all that they do. Mr. Zack, your doing one hell of a good job, keep up the good work and thanks for posting.
In Comparison Trust me on this one, DCU does a phenom job addressing fan concerns compared to their counterparts over at the Bullets/Capitals. Even when the product is lousy, or some of the marketing moves are questionable ( EL SALVADOR!!! AGAIN!!!! ), they do more to respond to fans than any other organization I've ever dealt with. All I can say is Thank God Abe Pollin isn't a soccer fan. Class post by Zack, class organization. Thanks.
I just read your post, Stephen. I had to take a breather for a couple of days after the Cowlumbus debacle. Thanks for showing the fans that you care. Good luck with the difficult issues lying ahead. GM
We may be disturbed by minor details this season, but the front office leadership will ensure that we have many more future seasons.