Just to set the record straight I never said I will not support MJ. All I am asking is for MJ to work the already established soccer supporters in this area, like the Miami Ultras. MagicDan needs to work with the fans. With Miami Ultras Alive, that's all we are, fans promoting the game we love. We are not journo's. Soccer does not pay my bills. We are trying to connect with magicDan through FAU's Brian Dooley, so there's hope. I can't make it to every MJ game since I am fully committed to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and my family will only put up with so much soccer. So in the event I can't see a game magicDan needs to have a flow of information so that people like us can cover the team. At least some game day press releases. Or if we get calls into the show about MJ then we'll talk about it. On Miami Ultras Alive we talk about what those that participate want to talk about. So if someone wants to call in and talk MJ we will gladly do it. So unless some of these things line up then the MJ coverage on www.miamisoccerfan.com and Miami Ultras Alive will eventually shrink in some way.
I am not really sure. My gut agrees with you, but then i see tweets like this from players and i just do not know. May 12th shuffman_dc Sarah Huffman I love my magicJack teammates staff and owner!! Nice little weekend off= home to see lil sis graduate from nursing school!!! still 3-0 Could they be under pressure to keep their trap shut? maybe, but then again given the number of high profile players on the team, if they were not happy, could one silence them? The owner has tremendous power but so do those players. Maybe they just do not want to have to deal with it to after the world cup. Hopefully I can at least get some sense of the mood at the next match.
found this fan vid from several home games (~10 min of game) [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZmCiGoCE_I]shaky camera magicJack clips[/ame]
Pb and we appreciate your interest and coverage so far. I will be trying to make most of the remaining games, so i can provide some basic observations going forward. I am also going to try to reach out to some local blogs and groups plus my fellow um alumni to see if I can strike up some interest. At least its been an interesting start . I must say nothing peeks peoples interest like comeback stories, david v Goliaths and trainwrecks. I guess we will just have to wait and see where this falls going forward.
She didn't tweet until the very end of the 2nd season w/ SBFC and that tweet was later deleted. Also, she's a bit focused elsewhere atm (that whole WWC thing). I'd wager that after the WWC w/ Lyons leaving we might hear more from some players. Then again, we might not. I agree that Rampone & Abby & Boxx are the three players that would have the most power and least to fear employment wise by speaking against Borislow, if they in fact wanted to criticize him. Solo said her piece already (now deleted) but given her history of supporting Cooper, that's not exactly convincing me that she's at all checked in on any off-field stuff.
Nice. Things I noticed. A whole MagicJack game is loaded on youtube. Couldnt the teams use that to scout. Did this girl video tape a whole game? Instead of paying some company just pay kids to video tape the games. Umbrellas? I think it's more 4PM games in FL that keep people away. I hope NT players aren't spent. They should not have had to play the Japan friendlies. WNY/MJ could be the game for ages or a dud if no one has legs. To the other poster, I think the players like him. Masar did another positive post. I think he is a player's type owner and screw everyone else. Does he stop them from making negative comments? Hope Solo ripped him for being unprofessional and not having a site. A player's owner usually doesnt respond and he didn't, but he will have media guys removed the field. Improvements are coming. At the end of the day, I think he falls in line in his own way with the other owners. That douche reporter on Miami radio said dont support MagicJack. I'd remove him from the field too.
The players haven't said anything because they are people who act in a mature and professional manner. Did people really expect that they would do otherwise? Rusnak didn't say "don't support magicJack" as much as he said "don't support Borislow" (because he doesn't deserve the fans' support). Unfortunately, it's difficult to support magicJack without seeming to support Borislow at the same time. People have said that the good game day experience for fans is one of the things that Borislow is doing right. I suppose that since Borislow gets the blame for things that go wrong, that he should also get credit for things that go right, like the game day experience. However, like Ruslak mentioned, I suspect that it's FAU that's been doing most (if not all) of the work to make magicJack games a success. The staff at FAU deserve recognition (and our sympathy) for salvaging things for the fans.
Uhh . . . he said "MagicJack doesn't deserve your support" and I thought he also said, "don't support MagicJack" but I'm too lazy to re-listen to the podcast. He also said LOT's of stuff (a lot of it deserved, a lot not) about Borislow. Any Redskin fan can tell you it's not that hard to support a team and not the owner. It's not that hard to differentiate - unless, like Rusnak, you aren't. Look Borislow didn't give this asshat a cookie, and he's gonna darn well try to avenge that. I think it was pretty dumb not to buy the guy a hotdog and a beer, have Abby answer a couple of questions, etc. But Rusnak's quotes and reaction make Borislow seem a lot more rational - what does this turkey say when he's NOT on the air?
Yes, but don't the Redskins have other staff? Your owner's not trying to run the whole show himself, he has the sense to hire staff, like coaches, PR people, etc. (though whom he chooses and how he manages them are certainly in question). Most people don't have to deal with Snyder personally if they want to cover the team. They're dealing with media professionals, not the psycho owner. I agree that he seems to be doing OK with the gameday experience, even though there aren't many people getting to enjoy that experience. But that's just one tiny piece of running a franchise. Oh, and he certainly did a fine job of assembling a team.
No you can't start and stop and rewind and zoom on U-tube nice, say something bad about Crazy Dan and you call them a douche... didn't people stop staying that in the very early 80's other teams have faced people saying not support them... think PETA did not picket the Eagles when dogfight Vick was brought in whatever occurred between Crazy dan ad himself, he is just getting his 15 minutes...
He said don't support MJ, said support some other team which i don't remember the name. if i was magicdan, i would have sent him packing with an empty can of beer.
Generally, yes, that's a good point. Their PR staff can be overbearing, but so can a couple of PR staffs in soccer who shall remain nameless. Hey, I passed up a chance to buy Redskins season tickets after 10 years on the waiting list. I still watched the team and rooted for it, but with the suit against City Paper, I've pretty much cut ties. I can see both sides of the disagreement over whether to support this team. But don't gloss over Rusnak and his complaint. He may well have been covering soccer before you were born. He's seen a lot of stuff. (Also see Charles Cuttone's view.) This isn't some star-struck fanboy trying to talk with Abby or get a beer (for the record, the only sports venue I've seen in which the PR staff handed out beer was a golf tournament). This is someone who knows his job and is trying to do it, and he's being prevented from doing it.
Still looking for that article in the Washington Post (or City Paper for that matter) where a football beat reporter who Snyder stepped on (and there's been more than a few) responded by writing an article or giving an interview where he said "don't support the 'Skins." It just hasn't happened. You didn't give an interview or even post that "people shouldn't support the Redskins." I'm pretty sure you understand the difference. Anyone who decides that they don't like Borislow, so won't go to a game is free to do it. But I don't care how many people say Rusnak is a great guy - his actions and the podcast speak clearly enough. He WASN'T prevented from doing his job either, DB just made it harder. I don't know about you, but lot's of soccer/sports people have made my job harder over the years and I don't spend time later that week trying to return the favor by doing things I know are wrong. I think most people avoid abusing their position for petty, public payback, and the one's that don't are revealing their character clearly.
Agree totally w/ your first point. The second however... I listened to the entire podcast and Rusnak did say "magicJack doesn't deserve fans" and told a caller not to support the team or go to games. Rusnak also said that the players & level of soccer were excellent but he did not emphasize that point. He was prevented from doing his job in getting interviews w/ players & the coach. And Borislow called the cops and had the guy tossed. And called him an unethical liar in print. This was a guy who'd already spent money on the team (he said his wife & kids went) and is exactly the type of person the league as a whole wants and needs to be behind the team. I agree w/ you that Rusnak went too far in saying do not support the team and telling that soccer fan not to go support magicJack. And that it does reflect poorly on him. I just think you're going too far in your condemnation. Borislow deserves most of the blame in this particular situation, imo. And WPS isn't NFL football. Or at least not 21st cen NFL football. There were plenty of sports writers that weren't behind football during its early years. Borislow effed up big time. Not that the league's damage control PR was all that much better.
This.^^^^^^^ Sadly the man has a thing about the media. He seems to think that it is just bad. Not necessarily. As for Rusnak's comment about not supporting magicJack: I'll support the team by attending games because I wish to show my support for WPS and women's soccer and attending as a paying customer is the only way I can do it. I think that Borislow is a fool, but I feel that I am not necessarily supporting him by doing this. YMMV. Oh, and that other team he told us to support? It's NASL's Div 2 Ft Lauderdale Strikers, Miami FCs replacement. He sees them as the future of soccer in South Florida. I agree with him partially. I hope that both teams are our future. I do not see the 2 teams competeing against each other at the gate, but complimenting each other. Many of us would like to see double headers at Lockhart Stadium, the Strikers home, when the 2 teams have a game scheduled on the same day & time. I doubt, however, that Borislow would do it.
When I went to the game in Boca a week or so ago, after talking to a few people, I was made to understand that he is very protective of his players. Thus maybe the tiff with the media.
No one has said anything negative about the players that I know of. Everything I've read or heard has been exceptionally positive about them. There's noting to protect them from. All the negative is about Borislow & his remarkable attitude & comments.
But protecting them from what? Big bad reporters, that all of them have probably spoken to dozens of times? (not meaning this one guy in particular, just media in general). They had won the game, that's a time when many players enjoy talking to the media. I just don't get it.
Can you give us any details or is this something you want to keep private? At least tell us why Solo deleted all her Twitters? Was she told to do so?