Have you folks heard the SI (subscription) marketing ad on the radio yet? It speaks exclusively to WHY THE USA DOESN'T LIKE SOCCER...BECAUSE THEY'RE WIMPS, THEY ROLL AROUND LIKE THEY'VE BEEN SHOT IF SOMEONE TOUCHES THEIR SHOELACES. THEY'RE BABIES. OH, AND FRANCE PLAYS AND LIKES SOCCER. ...next line of ad..."GET THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW EDITION..." I almost ran my car off the road in an apoplectic fit when I heard this ad. My thought: Alienating soccer folks does nothing to bolster your subscription (SALES, PROFITS) numbers, while merely making room for another sport (WORLD CUP ISSUE, ANYONE??) like soccer does nothing but HELP your subscription (MONEY) numbers. Who is in charge at SI and what the LIVING ****************** ARE THEY THINKING OVER THERE??? GOOD GOD.
I agree that SI doesn't get it at all. My subscription boycott continues. However, I was watching the Freedom game and noted to my wife that when the women get dumped they don't fall as if they have been shot, with grimaces of pain on their faces. Nor do they spend time rolling in 'pain' on the turf until the magic water is sprinkled on them, and then pop up, fixed. That's the part of the men's game that simply turns me off. Grow up guys. You're giving ammunition to those in this country who say soccer players are wimps.
While I agree with you that simulating injuries is one of the worst things about soccer, I really doubt that European and South American soccer players care that their rolling on the ground is hurting the sport's reputation in the USA. I do think they are more concerned about earning penalty kicks and yellow cards.
While I agree with you that simulating injuries is one of the worst things about soccer, I really doubt that European and South American soccer players care that their rolling on the ground is hurting the sport's reputation in the USA. I do think they are more concerned about earning penalty kicks and yellow cards.
I don't like the simulated injuries as much as the next person. However, why should the leagues or players in other countries care about what the US thinks? Hopefully, the yellow cards will continue to be issued for such instances. Flopping is done in other sports as well. Has anyone watched Vlade Divac play? As for SI, I dumped them in 1996 after 2.5 years and refuse to renew.
As a capitalist, SI is going for smart money while being beyond ignorant...that's us! The marketing people at SI are trying to hit their target audience that's all. They are going for that over the hill, armchair quarter-back, its the cool thing to bash sawker cuz I've never played it and know nothing about it so Jim Rome must be right ugly American male. There are a lot of those out there y'all. We are an ignorant culture that can be marketed to. Those ads don't bother me anymore. If SI don't or can't figure out that its the gritless Latinos that dive and play act i.e. Rivaldo y Hernandez who have enhanced that sterotype of a soccer player the world over...oh well, piss on 'em! What does bother me is that in the eyes of the rest of the world we are THAT culture that takes a dump on the beautiful game. Now that's F'ed up y'all! Meditate on that one and its a wonder other nations want to hear our ramblings.
Pathetic! At least soccer players don't wear padding over every inch of their body to show how hardcore they are and then spank their teammates' spandexed behinds. So embellishing injury is a major turn-off, but soccer is not for the wimps. Go ahead SI, pull in your target audience, just remember that what goes around comes around.
SI is part of the "Ancien Regime"....I gave up on them years ago. Of course to SI readers, it's not a "real" sport unless steroids are involved.....
Please call SI and tell them you're never buying another SI issue and that they have lost a customer for life even if you never really bought one. If enough of us do it they'll get a clue.
I think it's a popular misconception among "joe six pack" americans that soccer players fake injuries. These people have probably never played the game and have never had someone whack them in the shins or ankles with a pair of cleats on. Just ignore them,they sound infantile.
I agree that it is certainly clear that SI wanted to target their primary demographic - the armchair beerf@@@s, but my point remains...they can do that while still opening up to soccer to sell more magazines. So my point is, they really don't get it. They believe that it is a zero-sum game - that soccer cannot survive or it will negatively impact their sports, which is pretty much proven to be untrue in the USA. Conversely, if they saw the light, they could hit their target audience with inoffensive ads and still make room for soccer and thus, REALLY add to their magazine's sales. They must feel that they can't justify the addition of soccer coverage for what soccer fans would bring to the table in subscription rates, and I have to believe that this is largely untrue. If SI put "The Soccer Section" in their magazine - two to three pages of coverage of MLS and the game abroad, I would subscribe for life. How can that not be a money maker? I'm sure others would sign on as well. Just pisses me off is all. Well, if Soccer America ever grows up and gets decent, at least we'll have that.
I agree. It doesn't seem like smart marketing to purposely exclude a portion of a potential audience. And it's not that they are EXCLUDING the soccer player audience, but they are going out of their way to insult them. I too would subscribe for life if they added a soccer section to their rag but I'm been so disenlightened by SI, and ESPN for that matter, that I don't even bother wasting too much energy thinking about it any more. As a matter of fact, I've wasted too much energy already so... TS.
Guys, as we hear more and more of these SI and Rome soccer-bashing stories, I just always say to myself, just wait. They have no clue how many of us exist. If they had a clue, they'd realize that we are an entire market segment on our own and they'd be fighting for our readership/viewership. Most people have no idea the numbers that we represent. Someday before I die, I will watch the US hoist the WC and I will watch MLS Pregame shows on Saturday mornings! To the rest of the ignorant Americans, just wait, were hear and you'll notice eventually!
Somehow I think SI has done plenty of market research over the years and are probably reasoning (quite accurately, IMO) that the couple dozen soccer fanatics they alienate by this ad will more than easily be compensated for by the tens of thousands of soccer haters who respond to this kind of thing. We could delve into some pop psychology explanation of why the soccer haters might be more likely to subscribe in response to this ad than in response to an ad that doesn't make them feel vindicated in their hatred of something they know nothing about...but what's the point. This type of vitriolic ignorance sells mags just as well as it sells politicians. Let's not get worked up over it. Signed, A resigned and cynical soccer fan
So I opened my mailbox yesterday and what do I see? Lo and behold, a letter from SI asking for my subscription along with a self addressed stamped envelope. Would it be rude to send the SASE back to SI with a letter explaining that I'm a soccer fan and I don't care about NASCAR?
Of course it would not be rude. In fact if you take the time to do it, you are doing them a favor. The cost of the stamp is nothing compared to the knowledge they gain about soccer fans and the problem we have with their magazine.