As I recall, SSV was instrumental in finding the new owners (Wolff and Fisher) during the years 2006 & 2007 when MLS hijacked the original MLS Quakes franchise to Houston.
This "half-hour" show is about 25 minutes long; back in the day when commercials didn't take up much of the air time. It is a long way to go for a joke, but as an analogy sums up what an SSV return might look like. Goodsport keeps saying he is old... only the really old would have the time or patience to go through the whole thing. I looked for a meme or short clip that referred to this episode (which I have never forgotten) but I don't think one exists. I can imagine the look on Kaitlyn's face when she reads this!
Not sure about that, but I think involved in trying to find new owners, including SVS&E (Sharks owners) who were in last-minute negotiations with the city to keep the team in SJ, and SSV also fought to keep the Quakes brand / legacy in San Jose. And who knows, w/o that, Wolff and Fish might not have bought the team. There's a lot of value in attaching to an existing legacy brand rather than starting from scratch. That's why the A's want to take "the A's" with them. Wolff said it wasn’t his intent to use Wednesday’s development as leverage. “My intent,” he said, “was to get a team going so we could keep the Earthquakes alive.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/07/18/its-official-earthquakes-are-back/
WTF?! Dude, if it wasn't for SSV, we wouldn't have a team in San Jose. I will ALWAYS be in awe of what those folks pulled off!!
This stadium upgrade remark to me anyway, sounds like a cop out and an excuse. I've never heard or read anything from fans that the stadium needs anything else. Also because adding new and enticing amenities to the stadium won't do or change anything. What Fisher needs to worry about and invest in is the product on the field and this will change the club’s perception or vision. If he wants more fans to come out, buy season tickets, he must buy better players and maintain a perennial, winning team. If he doesn't want to buy superstars, then ok he can scout other types of players who maybe are doing well at their respective clubs and leagues but maybe don't have a big name. That is what the rest of MLS does so I don't see how it can't work here. Stadium upgrades can always be done after the team establishes a winning tradition. It’s no longer about building it and they will come, it’s about winning and they will come!
"He didn't actually say it, he didn't mean it like that, it wasn't serious, and it's not a big deal... but also it's completely correct!"
Um, I don't think there's a "it's not my fault", "I didn't mean it", or a "you deserved it" anywhere in what I wrote, which makes your "Narcissist's Prayer" meme unapplicable. And what I wrote was an "or", not an "and", which also makes your caption unapplicable, though I mean to write "if he said it, he's right after all". But it's not a stretch to infer that from the context, if you apply a little emotional intelligence and you're not just trying to play a "gotcha" game. I stand by my point - any way you slice it, it's lots of knickers all in a bunch over nothing much.
As opposed to sharing the Raiders stadium which is clearly too big, couldn’t the A’s new indoor ballpark in Vegas also be used for MLS soccer?
I hope they move the Colorado Rapids to Las Vegas, then I have a reason to like that shit franchise. I hate the Colorado Rapids more then any team in the entire world.
Comments here related to the article and supposed comments made by John Fisher (starting at the 1 hour mark).
They were 100% right. The stadium amenities has nothing to do with how successful the team is or could be. I also agree that Fisher’s main goal and concern was to make money off of the Coleman Highline and he used the team and the stadium as a front. There is nothing wrong with that because I think every owner should profit somehow especially in the earlier days of MLS but still why come out and say the “stadium is outdated” and for that matter , what purpose will it serve? Also , why say it now when you never said anything about the Quakes before? I’m betting if and when PPP ever did get the new upgrades Fisher is talking about, we would see the exact same team on the field so his comments still seem like an excuse or justification for how poor the team is or has been. Like they said , maybe he should spend some of the Coleman Highline money he profited from on players to make the team more successful? Or if it matters that much, why not use a fraction of it on upgrades?
I agree that John Fisher is a POS. However, we should all be skeptical of journalism. If you have ever had first hand knowledge of a story that was reported on by the media, then you know that the “reporting” is skewed to fit whatever narrative the media outlet wants. I have plenty of examples of that. Nevertheless, I think ESPN is pretty close to the mark here. Fisher complaining about the stadium, finding someone else to blame for his own shortcomings is totally in keeping with his behavior. And we all know that Dave Kaval is a weasel dick. And someone, hopefully Fisher, will issue a clarification on his statement about the stadium. But I think that unlikely because they don’t give a toss what the fans or anyone else thinks. Go Quakesfans!! F#$& John Fisher!!
Theoretically yes, but somehow I doubt Fisher would get the same kind of leeway with the other owners that NYCFC got when they entered the league into the absolute worst stadium situation in the league. In a theoretical move, I don't think MLS would approve it until a specific stadium was actually under construction. Always ready to be proved wrong, but an MLS team playing in a park designed for baseball is horrible for the image of the league, and they know this. The league has made some incredibly stupid moves over its history so certainly not out of the realm of possibility. But in all honesty, I think we're at least a decade away from any serious talk of San Jose moving, if it ever happens at all. The current stadium situation is totally fine, the team just sucks. Moving them won't magically make the team better and I am pretty confident all the other owners in the league are well aware that Fisher will never spend on the roster in any meaningful way. If a team goes to Vegas, I think it will be under expansion rather than relocation. They would certainly threaten moving the team to get a sweet deal from Vegas like MLB did, but I don't think it will be as effective given Paypal's condition and location vs. the Coliseum. Even in a decade's time, the stadium will be exactly as usable as it is now. Renovating it also seems like it would be relatively straightforward as there's no facade or extraneous elements to it, making an argument that the city needs to pony up for a new stadium fall pretty flat. More seats could be added in place of the bar, etc, etc. Then again, Santa Clara were monumental idiots in funding the bond measure for Levi's, so who the heck knows. Granted most of that was fueled by San Francisco envy, which doesn't apply to the Quakes, so I dunno.
Or Fisher can leverage Las Vegas to configure a combination baseball-soccer park that would be a lot better than the current Yankee Stadium which was opened back in 2009 or 14 years ago. With today's technology, if they can build stadiums with retractable roofs and grass fields, I am sure removable or retractable seating (to accommodate soccer) can also be constructed. I mean that isn’t what I want but no one knows what Fisher is thinking.
I'm not saying it couldn't be done, certainly. But I really don't think soccer is going to be on anyone's mind when they create and finalize the designs of the park. I'm still not 100% convinced they'll get a stadium built in Vegas, to be honest. That whole thing was a total mess with the sites they wanted not being big enough, etc. It seems to me like nobody in the A's organization knows what the hell they're doing, probably because Fisher is too cheap to hire anybody at any level of any real quality. I think the ship already sailed on creating a mixed use stadium for the A's, which is another reason I really don't think the Quakes are at risk of moving in the near future. There's nowhere for them to go. Vegas is not going to pony up more money that quickly to bring a team that, let's be real, nobody in Vegas is going to care about. And it'll look even less attractive after everyone sees how much of an anchor the A's will be to Vegas with a team that doesn't win and no fans to watch them in a billion dollar echo chamber.
We were sitting on wooden benches at Spartan Stadium getting splinters! We had no Internet, no good lighting, watching day games, eating crap hot dogs, Carnation Malts that tasted like eggs and no one ever seemed to complain. If anything, we packed the place , had a blast at games and looked forward to the next game.
Also because, as @Gary Singh will remember, we never got splashed in the bushes and trees surrounding Spartan Stadium
Fisher does a little damage control: https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose...calm-fears-after-owners-outdated-comment.html "As Earthquakes fans know, PayPal Park is one of the best venues in the world to watch a soccer game," Fisher said in the statement. "The intimate nature of the stadium gives it a great feel and the sight lines are excellent from every seat. We continue to explore opportunities to invest in new enhancements to the stadium that improve fan experience and drive revenues."