Stephen asked me to post this for all fans: Subject: Thank You to All Our Fans On behalf of Kevin Payne, myself, the coaches and all the staff and players of D.C. United, we want to thank everyone who made it out to the game this past weekend. The atmosphere that you all created was amazing. We have heard non stop from the players and coaches as to how much the support meant to them. We have heard from the League broadcast partners who couldn't believe how electric the crowd was. I have even heard from MetroStars staffers who were jealous of the overwhelming support we have here in DC. We have always said that we have the best fans in MLS and you proved it once again on Saturday night. An extra shout out to the banner brigade that helped blanket the stadium with visual encouragement (and discouragement for the Metros). We are working hard to bring in an even larger crowd for this Saturday's match and as always your help in spreading the word is greatly appreciated (as if I had to ask). Thank you for all that you do in support of D.C. United. See you on Saturday. Stephen Zack Sr. Vice President D.C. United
If we wanted to run some salt in the wounds of those that can not be mentioned we could copy this to there boards
Nice to hear some appreciation, but I cannot understand why Zack or Kasper can't do a Peter Wilt and answer questions here.
Awesome! Count me in for 2 tix. If I can't find someone else, I'll bring my best buddy to the game (Steelers fan) for free (as usual else he wouldn't go) and we'll go out partying afterwards
I think I crapped myself. Glad I didn't wear my Crockett pants Nice to hear that kind of stuff from FO, you all did a wonderful job last weekend, I am glad I will be able to see you all one last time.
Kudos to Zack (or whoever's idea it was) to close off a couple of the sections on the quiet side near the south goal. That helped cram more people into fewer sections and, if nothing else, certainly helped to create the impression of a larger and louder crowd.
Did anyone else notice the 12,000 or so Crew fans disguised as "yellow bench seats" at yesterday's game??????????
Payne used to come on the old SE list all the time, answering questions honestly and directly. He even gave us the scoop on team moves - such as the deals that brought Wegerle and Iroha here. Then some of his off-the-cuff comments made it into the paper (in the disastrous 2000 season, I believe) and sparked some controversy. Shortly thereafter, he posted another note to the board indicating that he couldn't respond to us anymore because of the news coverage of what he had said. This is an unfortunate byproduct of having two newspapers that cover United relatively well.
Those are no drinking/no swearing family sections. They were influenced by evil beer cup banner and joined the rest of stadium
I missed Saturday's game, but I've already bought my games for the Conference final. So, you can add 4 more to the total attendance this go round.
Paul answered some of your question, but the other part is Zack. He used to lurk and post around these parts fairly regularly, but hasn't been here in awhile. I guess he probably took a Goff-esque view of this place and felt it was getting too much of a hassle to stay around.
Maybe if Peter Wilt spent less time talking to fans on the Internet and more time working on improving his team, Chicago would've made the playoffs. (ok, I admit that was an unfair shot. I have very high regard for Wilt. It was just too easy to pass up.)
With you on that one, I missed the last one as well, but thankfully greenbill and i prayed enough and wallah the Lord has brought us another chance for a beating...in the form of New England. I'm bringing 5 to the slaughter for penance for missing last weekend.
I don't know about the other teams in the league, but I think DCU has gotten a clue that it's supporters groups just KICK-ARSE and are willing to go the distance for this team. I think its awesome Stephen Zack made this little shout out to us.
Well, quite frankly, that's weak sauce and more indicative of Payne's approach to PR and the fans than anything else. Zack used to post here, not sure when they went the way of MPF. Peter Wilt has a Q&A thread. In addition, he routinely chimes in on threads completely out of his bailiwick (the Yank in Torino thread, the Columbus Crew discussion today about the Supporters Shield "fiasco".) If Zack or Payne or whoever doesn't want to answer certain questions, just say so. But a dialogue with management is pretty cool for Fire fans. Most of the Fire fans, while frustrated, would run through a wall for that team. I believe a big part of that is a feeling of inclusion set up by Fire management I, for one, would be fine with a very heavily moderated Q&A thread (not that anyone from DCU is offering). Having a policy where the only way to hear from management is at random meet and greets or via S. Goff is not the best way to build strong ties with the fans. While I often tell people here not to mistake Bigsoccer as indicative of EVERY soccer/usmnt/mls/dcu fan, the reality is that the core support and those that go out and proselytize "live" here. Cultivating this group and keeping us bought into the future would, in my mind, be a pretty central part of any marketing/communications plan.
This goes both ways. The front office treats us with respect and tries to coordinate with us, which engenders loyalty. Look at the debates on the Revs board and with the Crew on the Supporters Shield to see what the opposite produces. It's no surprise that DC and Chicago have the two best fan bases and their front offices have made an effort to treat fans well (and winning, that helps too!)
Well I made it last time, but i'm still bringing more people this time And they are all going to join me in my move to 134. If i'm not deaf and hoarse by the end of the match, i'm gonna start kicking everyone near me for letting me down (somehow I doubt that is a big worry) -dave
Stephen is always open to questions from fans. Many people on this forum have written/called him and he does a good job responding. I can assure you that Zack doesn't "boycott" BS, he just doesn't use it much, like he once did. He did tell me in the offseason he would likely restore his membership. If anyone has a question I would just contact him directly--he doesn't bite. I may be biased as Stephen is a friend, but I think he is remarkably responsive to fans and goes above and beyond the call of duty making himself available. I'd be happy to pass along any serious questions...