Yea, that looks like me, but it's weird, if it is it must be an early game from The Stadium Previously Known As Pizza Hut Park. I haven't stood with the SGs there in a while now. But I used to be right in the middle of them the first couple of trips, like in the picture.
Drunken stupidity happens at American sporting events as well. But then you don't have cool buzzwords like "hooligans" to put in your article headline. Not proud to say, but I got drunk at the last Rockets game I attended. "It's so quiet. I can't even see the players from here. I could get good seats at a Dynamo game for what I paid for these tickets. Screw it, I'll get another beer." I didn't cause any problems, but still.
Soccer is weird because it's the only sport I know of where blocks of seats are sold to traveling away fans as a matter of course. There are positives to this practice, but the problems arising from this are manyfold. Putting together a group of visiting fans together just seems to increase the animosity level. We're thankfully not at the point where the visiting fan section needs to be cordoned off with fences or riot police to prevent an "incident," but overall I'm ambivalent about the practice. In many places in Europe, it's dangerous to one's health to wear a visiting team jersey to a game. On the other hand, except for a handful of places populated by subhuman troglodytes (Oakland, Philly), wearing a visiting team jersey in the US is pretty much unremarkable. There is unfortunately a minority of soccer fans in the US that seem to want to adopt the worst practices of fans in Europe or Latin America. It's something MLS is going to have to keep an eye on.
I assumed he was joking. I hope he was joking otherwise that was some pretty horrible racial stereotyping right there.
Were we called racists? I never knew a supporters section full of Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, and Caucasians could be racist. That person that goes to 4 games a season is either lying or doesn't even know what goes on in the SG section. Stuff was thrown during the MLS Cup Final, I'll grant the poster that, but other than streamers I don't recall other moments of trash throwing. I cannot even say in all honesty that SG members threw the trash at Beckham and Landycakes. They probably threw the smoke bombs, but I cannot be 100% sure about the other things. I am also disgusted and ********ing annoyed by the posters on this thread, that have betrayed their own friends and have thrown them under the bus by saying the SG section is out of control. Smoke bombs have been set off, but y'all know some of us better than to say we have taken part in racist chants or have caused harm to any individual. If you think I am capable of a racist chant or of causing harm to any individual, then you have clearly never met me or have some kind of twisted view of me. I know that nobody has called me out personally, but the fact that my fellow SG section members have been called out is something I take offense to.
Offebacher, you can't deny that clubs and MLS are trying to use supporter groups to their (marketing) advantage. The videos and ads are there for all to see. Those MLS ads include flares and smoke bombs, which is quite WTF.
I merely expanded on a post by a member who didn't like how their daughter was heckled at a Gold Cup game by Mexican fans and just wanted to give an explanation as to why they should be excused for their conduct
I'm not denying that one bit and I totally agree that it sends a mixed message when you see a League use promotional materials that show the very thing that they on the other hand want to restrict. What you can't deny is the fact that any local ordinances from say a Fire Marshall or other governing entity are the actual rules that apply not what a League chooses to use as promotional material. If your stance is that because a League, Club, Group etc. uses images of something that was done while breaking whatever rules, laws, restrictions etc. were put in place by a person or entity that can actually make those then that is certainly a position you are free to take. I would say good luck trying to use that position in a setting when you are trying to defend yourself from whatever punishment those Non League entities are trying to hand out. I can give you a general example of something that happened just up the road a bit a few years back, whatever MLS or it's Teams did as far as sanctions was the least of that persons worries. I'm sure when he went in front of the authorities what he should have said was the following: "Your Honor, in my defense I would like to state that during the broadcast of said MLS Game I was actually in the SG section where things like that tend to happen sometimes. With that you clearly have no way of holding myself legally responsible for the actions I am accused of as the League's widespread use of SG images clearly indicate that doing whatever anyone feels like doing in those sections is permitted even though it violates the local ordinances, laws etc. that exist here". Now I doubt this particular person would have said this but clearly whatever was actually said was not found to be sufficient nor was the fact that what did happen and the particular environment in which it happened found to be a mitigating factor in the actual punishment handed out. Anyway, what I am really saying is: Choices + Decisions = Situations. Situations + Actions = Results Unless someone has a Gun to your Head those are up to you, when you make or don't make them and the Result is something you find "not fair" then may I recommend looking in the mirror first before blaming everyone and everything? My bottom line is this: If you want to talk about an effective, equal and just way to punish people and/or the groups they belong to for the choices that they make as individuals or collectives that's great. A debate like that certainly needs to be had with the people that can make those decisions to ensure that happens from here on out. In order to have that you also need to have the ability and willingness to take responsibility for your own actions or those of your group and accept the punishment(s) for breaking the rule(s). Unfortunately we get new episodes of Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theories such as Joe Ordinary Fan was setting off Smoke Bombs and deliberately targeted those times that the SG's were actually present on the road so that he could infiltrate and implicate them in his devious plot to achieve Supreme (yet anonymous) MLS Ultra of the Year status. That's a fascinating episode which unfortunately has some flaws that I can't and won't get into here. If you seriously want to suggest that doing something wrong on whatever level is fine and justified because someone, somewhere, sometime did something similar or worse then that is great as well, however if you just can't or won't see the flaw in that line of reasoning then don't expect me to agree with you.
The more time that goes by, the less I care about these sanctions. Our geographic isolation and the fact that we don't have a game in Dallas this year means that these sanctions are designed to send a symbolic message, not to fundamentally punish the way we support our team throughout the season. Don't get me wrong. I'd prefer our fans were not barred from bringing drums, flags, my helmet to away games but I'm really not fired up over the issue anymore. I hope this brings and end to stuff being thrown on the field across the league and that is all.
The smoke bombs and flares are pretty cool, but throwing objects at opposing players is stupid. People who throw things at players should be arrested and banned for life, but MLS shouldn't sanction everyone.
Will Kuhns, Dir. of Communications of MLS, is on the podcast, "The Best Soccer Show", answering a lot of questions on this matter. I found his tone at the beginning of the interview condescending. His answers also wouldn't exactly do well under scrutiny. That being said, he gives the league's official answers to questions like the hypocrisy of using these images for promotions. So, listen if you want to hear their answers to those questions, but just be prepared for some very annoying parts.
Lot of misinformation in that interview. No mention of Frisco and KC incidents prior to MLS Cup. Kuhn's reason for MLS publishing the letter conflicts with what I was told ( that it was because it had been posted online).
I've noticed in life that some people will be the most strict promoter of not running yellow lights but then know very well that they and everyone else always do. I mean who hasn't. Thus, on various levels in life, people gravitate to wrong actions. Even when it is a health risk. Just sayin'. Also, an appeals process must be available for all.
And so long as they do it like NFL...right and the call is overturned. Wrong and you're punished. Somehow. I still wish they would make it a 3 game suspension for reckless tackle redcards a la England.