No, it's protected by "voluntary registration," and I'm tired of even circumventing it. If they want me to read it, they should put it in public view.
Jim Donaldson trots out these "I hate soccer" pieces of crap a few times a year (usually when the Revs/league/national team is garnering attention, i.e.- during the Revs' decent playoff runs, when Freddy-mania hit, World Cup, etc.). He's a small man whose basic belief appears to be that if he touts football as the be all and end all, he appears to be more of a man himself (Ps, Jim: you don't -- it's hard to appear macho when you look like an elf). Worse yet, he's a bandwagon fan if ever there was one. He's spent the last few years ripping on the Red Sox and Pedro Martinez in particular. He'd turn in the same garbage with a different title week in and week out about how the Red Sox were, are and always will be also-rans in the AL East and how pathetic Sox fans were to think that their team could EVER compete with the mighty Yankees. But wouldn't you know it, right after that final out in the ALCS last year, Jim boy couldn't praise the team enough. Pedro ("Prima donna Petey" as he referred to him in EVERY article) was suddenly his hero and we -- it sickened me that he chose to include himself as a member of Red Sox nation -- had to rally around the team for the WS. Honestly, I've read enough of this jack***'s putrid and frankly less-than-mediocre writing that I've learned to simply ignore it. I guess what angers and disappoints me is the fact that ProJo's editors allow this moron to continue submitting lazy, worthless junk week in and week out.
Just an addition to my mini-rant: it's truly unfortunate that the Journal which hasn't had decent soccer coverage since Dapper Doug left FINALLY had a nice front-page article on Michael Parkhurst and the Revs (by Shalize Manza-Young) the other day only to be followed up by this tripe.
For the first time, Bugmenot.com has failed, and like Jeremy, I'm not going to put in the time for a piece in the Providence Urinal.
I was gonna copy the highlights for those that didn't want to bother to register. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any highlights. I'll defer to Rev79 on the underlying motivations, but the result is vintage '94 material. Well, OK. Not vintage. More like a bottle of Ripple you left in the trunk back in '94 and decided to open as a science experiment. Next time, you'll know to toss it unopened . . .
Here's my question, if soccer is means nothing to him and everyone else (according to him), then why waste his time and everyone elses writing it, especially since he clearly believes it should just be ignored?
I have read 2 of his articles in the past 5 years. His opinions are worthless. It is unfortunate that the ProJo continues to employ him. The sports editors name is Art Martone and his email is amartone@projo.com I have been told that Jim does not have an email address and does not read the web. I do not think that is a big surprise to those who are familiar with his dribble.
I registered on ProJo a thousand years ago...so I still have a membership...the article is posted below. I've never figured this out...if soccer is not a threat...why bash it? No one bashes lacrosse, team handball or roller derby. The guy's got the right not to write about soccer. If he hates golf, he doesn't write about it. If he hates NASCAR, he doesn't write about it. If the problem is rabid fans bugging him, I have met few fans of any sport more rabid than NASCAR fans. (Golf fans, suprisingly, can be pretty bad too...) Jim Donaldson: A minor request: Start the Revolution without me 01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 21, 2005 First of all, a disclaimer -- and a reminder -- to the New England Revolution and all six of their fervent, faithful fans: There's no such thing as bad publicity. It's called Major League Soccer and, technically, that terminology is correct. MLS is, indeed, the big leagues of soccer in the U.S. of A. Which shows you what a big bust the game is here, compared to the rest of the world. Because, in reality, the MLS is still minor league. Despite the hordes of kids across America playing youth soccer, and all the trendy talk about "soccer moms," the sport has not come remotely close to establishing a meaningful place in the consciousness of fans of professional sports in this country. The National Hockey League, which hasn't even played a game in almost a year, and ranks a distant fourth behind the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NBA in popularity, still far surpasses the MLS fan interest, especially in its traditional markets -- which, of course, includes Boston, home of the Bruins, one of the venerated Original Six. As proof of this, I offer up as Exhibit A our own New England Revolution. The Revs are owned by the Kraft family, which has shown it knows a thing or two about running a football team. The Revs play in a first-class facility, in an area where soccer has a long history and deep roots. The Revs also happen to be playing as well as anyone in the league right now. Yet they drew just 13,662 fans for last Saturday's game with D.C. United and its 15-year-old phenom, Freddy Adu -- whose name is one of the few among MLS players that a casual sports fan in this country actually might recognize. (Run your own test here: Turn to the person next to you and ask how many members of the Revolution he or she can name. The guess here is that more people will mention George Washington or the Marquis de Lafayette than Taylor Twellman.) The Revs beat D.C. United, 1-0, Saturday for their sixth straight win and fourth straight shutout. They have the best record in the league -- 6-0-1. They are off to their best start in their 10-year history. But it's as if they're performing in a vacuum. You can find more than 13,662 fans in line for hot dogs at Fenway Park. And it's not as if the region's sports-radio stations are inundated with callers eager to talk about the Revs. How often does someone -- make that anyone -- come up to you and ask: "How 'bout them Revs?" By and large, people just don't care. And that's OK. You don't have to apologize if that's the way you feel. It is not your civic duty to support soccer, even though the soccer krishnas try to lay a guilt trip on American sports fans who can't get excited -- or even pay attention to -- what is the most popular sport in the world. Not to worry. It doesn't bother anybody in Barcelona that the Dragons of the World League of American Football failed to win over aficionados of Barcelona F.C. The same goes for fans of Bayern Munich, and Glasgow Celtics, and Manchester United -- although, now that Malcolm Glazer has bought a controlling interest in Man. U., fans may be required to purchase Tampa Bay Buccaneers paraphernalia in order to gain entrance to Old Trafford. The fact remains -- and is likely to remain -- that, unlike in countries such as Italy and Brazil, Spain and Germany, England and Argentina, America's best athletes do not choose to play soccer. (Time for test No. 2: Ask a kid whether he'd rather be a striker for the Revs, or quarterback for the Patriots. Or shortstop for the Red Sox. Or point guard for the Celtics. Or goalie for the Bruins.) So soccer becomes a second-class sport. That doesn't mean it's not a great game. It just means it isn't a game America's greatest athletes choose to play, or that American sports fans choose to watch. Again, that's OK. The Super Bowl doesn't exactly get the same ratings in Milan or Madrid, Athens or Amsterdam, that it does in New York, or Boston, or Chicago. The MLS is an inferior league, compared to the NFL, the NBA and the National Pastime. But that doesn't mean soccer fans should have an inferiority complex. It would be pointless if they did. Because nobody would care.
From a Donaldson column that ran on Nov. 21, 1993 in anticipation of the '94 WC "Saudi Arabia versus South Korea? Now there's a great natural rivalry if ever there was one. How about Nigeria against Bolivia? Maybe Bulgaria against Romania - a.k.a. The Tussle in Transylvania? Unless there's a guy named Dracula playing, who cares? Perhaps Belgium versus The Netherlands in the Battle of the Lowlands? Or Morocco versus Colombia in the Battle of the Lowlifes? I can't wait to see the result of the drug tests after that one." Yes, he still kept his job after this. As Ali G might say: "Youze a racialist."
Perhaps his next assignment could be in Glasgow, where he should be made to wear blue in a Parkhead pub or green and white hoops at Ibrox. Or better yet, both on consecutive evenings. Assuming he survives past Day 1.
Its amazing to me how clowns like this put out this drivel as soon as your club is getting some well deserved publicity. He must feel really threatened by soccer.
jdonalds@projo.com FWIW, he's listed as the Journal's "golf reporter," so go figure... ... but really, who cares?
OTOH, the attendance figures back him up. As it stands at the moment, the Revs do not seem very important to the sports fans of New England. Now, when he argues that it will always be that way, I'd have to disagree. But, until we get more than 13K per game, I think we have to grin and bear it.
Well, perhaps it was just reading the build up from everybody, but as hatchet jobs go, it wasn't all that bad to me, certainly not as bad as I was expecting from the preamble. A lot (definitely not all) of what he said is true and irrefutable. Professional soccer still isn't that big here, it's still behind hockey, which is well behind the other 3 team sports leagues, not to mention golf and NASCAR. I work with some rabid Boston sports fans, but I can't go in and chat about any big Revs games. They don't bash the team, but they just don't really care. A friend of mine told me he heard some woman who got some radio trivia question right, and when told of the prize, free Revs tickets, she was like ‘who?’. And though some great athletes choose soccer, on the whole, the vast majority still don't (he didn’t say they never will though). He even gave some small props, such as "That doesn't mean it's not a great game" and “that doesn't mean soccer fans should have an inferiority complex.” I don’t have a problem with someone saying ‘I just don’t care for soccer’, I don’t care about the WNBA, that doesn’t make me a basher, as long as I have no problem if other people like it. That is quite different from actively telling people that they shouldn’t like the sport. As I’m sure many of us do, I still remember the first US-Ireland game, which was the biggest walk-up crowd ever at that stadium, such that they had to print up more tickets as they sold them since they so underestimated the interest, yet Callahan said that all but 3 of the tickets had been given away (I think the crowd was 51,213, if my memory of the article is correct), and some people believed him. While this article here does have a bit more of a negative undertone than just saying ‘I myself don’t care for soccer’, if this is what “soccer bashing” has become, then things are certainly improving. As for why people feel the need to write such articles, well it’s just an indirect acknowledgement on their part of the fact that soccer is more of a force than other “niche” sports. If truly nobody cared, they would never write the article to begin with. As people do with their babies, just enjoy each and every little milestone, and look forward to the day when you can say ‘remember when it was only…’
I agree ... nothing wrong with this article here; simply states the truth mostly, as far as I can see. That being said, ProJo columnists are the absolute worst. The stuff they put out, regardless of sport, is just awful.
It's just crazy sometimes. I know tons of people who like soccer and follow the EPL and La Liga but just won't give MLS the time of day because it's a "crappy league". Well no $h!t. How can you compare a ten year old league to established leagues with teams that are a 100 year plus old? It seems like people go out of their way to crap on MLS. Why is there such a passion to bash the sport and the league? It's almost as if sport writers are being paid by some mysterious entity to remind everyone that soccer is for loosers..... The writer is not lamenting the fact that the Revs attendance is pathetic despite them being the best team in the league. He's savoring it. Well really what's the point in it? If he's writing to rile up six people, is he doing a service to his employers? Nope. It's just time to remind people to not give a damn about the Revs because they're playing some entertaining soccer and people might actually start noticing them. I'm not a conspiracy nut just an astute observer.
Why is there nothing wrong with it? He made some valid points about MLS but the timing of it was very childish. Its as if he's afraid they might start to get some fans so he'll belittle the whole product to cut people off at the pass. If so few cared as he claims then why does he even bother to write the article? When's the last time you saw an article on another sport like this?
That's my biggest complaint about articles like this: if you don't like the sport, ignore it. There's nothing to be gained from a piece like this. (And you'll certainly never see a paper allowing a journalist to write a piece like this on American football) Donaldson simply comes across as a surly child who kicks a dog soley for the sake of being a mean little bugger. The dog didn't do anything to him, so leave it alone -- just because you don't like the dog doesn't mean that nobody else could possibly care for him. Weird analogy, I know, but dammit, I love this mangy little mutt we call the Revs.