Will there be free food? I might be convinced to slither out of my cave for that. I'm SO excited to meet this year's capos!
If they cancel this, I expect the Nordecke board to let the FO know they've ruined an 18-year tradition. Oh who am I kidding.
Doesn't sound like it from what I've been told. It's intended to have more of a press conference vibe.
There's 3000 some odd people in the section. Subtract the casuals, first-timers and people without the talent/time to run for a board position and the math still doesn't work out. There's just too few people wanting to run for a position. If some people couldn't go because of schedule conflicts, give us all 2-3 times to select and then make it so we can all select just one time to attend like how they do the team meet-and-greets ORRRR we select two times out of three, but we're slotted into one time with the least-popular time being canceled. Could more people have gone if it was Wednesday at 6pm? What if it was Saturday at 11am? There's been years I couldn't go, but would have been able to if it was 24 hours earlier and I'm sure I'm not alone here. If people just don't like the board members, why don't they run? Starting an alternative group would have been much easier prior to 2020 (and it happened), but I don't see it happening now unless they want to work *with* the existing Nordecke group. I'm just spitballing and trying to figure out what the solution is...if there even is one. Honestly, I just think people don't want to do the work. Hell, getting enough people to take stuff back to the shed is a task. Nobody should have to take more than one item back, but here we are.
A large number of the past few boards, and just people in general, fall into three toxic camps as it pertains to volunteering: 1) They treat it like a resume and status booster for their professional and social lives 2) They want access, to perks or people or info that aren't widely available 3) They are spiteful and want to undo the work of outgoing volunteers or prevent people they don't like from getting elected Volunteering is hard and thankless work. Doing it well requires accepting that fact, burying ego and bias, and ignoring vocal minorities. This board seems like it's full of very entitled people that just want to be liked and they care more about serving their ideological peers than ensuring the organization is healthy. The members who are being served have no reason to run because someone else is already doing what they want. The rest of the members aren't interested in getting involved with the pettiness and having their opinions ignored. I don't think it's salvageable at this point. From what I've heard, the next board will be lucky to not inherit financial insolvency.
Might be time to up dues. I know they have tiers but those additional tiers dont appear to bring in any additional money. They'll have to have hard conversations and acknowledge limitations
Because I didn't want to derail the NWSL thread: The article that @Meddlin' Truckstop Owner posted (I tagged him because it seemed right) claims the Nordecke (group) has fewer than 600 members. I *assume* this is paid membership. Now she’s the community director of the Nordecke, the supporters’ group of just under 600 members that coalesced during Save the Crew. The Nordecke (section) holds approx 3000 right? Approx 20% of a capacity Nordecke is a paid member of the group itself. With that said, some of those 600 might not watch games from behind the north goal. A lot of people who watch from behind the north goal are first-timers, casuals or just may not even know there *is* a group to join via a paid membership. That 20% is...not ideal from a business standpoint. We'll never get 100% (well, we could get 3000 *people*, but obviously not 100% of the section being group members) but what's ideal? Is there even a goal? Is 35% a crazy dream? Could 45% easily be possible with different people in leadership positions?
For context, how many paid members were there five years ago? Ten years ago? @LaMacchia probably has an idea.
Ouch. No wonder they're strapped for cash. Could 45% easily be possible with different people in leadership positions? To answer my own question, yes.
Last year they had over 900 members. A lot of people voted with their money in the last six months. No one believes in the current leadership team and honestly, why should they? If you administered some truth serum, most would likely admit that they ran just to get guaranteed parking spots at tailgates (or to prevent people they don't like from getting them).
Ouch to that 900. That's at least $9,000 they're missing out on and could be well over $15,000. Again, the only people who should be guaranteed a chance to pay for tailgate parking are the people who are known to bring food/drink that is open for anyone (such as the old farts, Bruce and the craft brewery that brings the beer each game) and with the knowledge that if those passes get transfered to others, they lose early access privileges. If you don't bring food/drink open to all or the big speakers, you can go in with the general public. Preventing others to get those spots is "Nordecke shed" levels of drama and I have a feeling I'm glad I don't know that story.
The Nordecke (as an organization) is hardly a supporters group anymore, in the truest sense of the word. They have bestowed upon themselves a long list of tasks and responsibilities totally unrelated to creating an intimidating game day atmosphere to provide encouragement to the team and push them toward victory. Membership levels will not rebound until the Nordecke gets back to supporting the 11 guys in yellow on the field and stops worrying about the other nonsense.
I'd argue that whoever is on the board doesn't move the needle much. I think 90% of the members couldn't name a single board member. Nordecke membership also is directly correlated with how well the team is doing. It's not a coincidence that 2023 and 2024 were some of highest membership numbers in history.
1000% This ^^^^ At some point if membership dips further the team may just pull plug on recognizing it. Take away any special privileges. I'd venture to guess that as much as half of Nordecke season ticket holders don't even know there is a formal board and/or about joining/paying for a membership. I love sitting in Nordecke. But I quickly get turned off when the discussions/efforts stray from supporting some other cause other than the team on the field. I know my political, religious, social, ethical beliefs vary from many sitting in that section. But when I come to a game I come to escape all that of that and enjoy watching a game and making fun of Michael "Caillou" Bradley, Canadian Bacon, the Refs, Precourt, Shitcago, etc and banging on some drums. Speaking of banging on drums, we sure could use a little refresh on the songs/chants in the section. I know its hard but we seem to be doing the same 4-5 over and over all game long these days. I know both of the politics and songs have been debated ad nauseum over the years. Perhaps now is a good time for change of some things.
So, once again, I'm bored at work so I went to Nordecke website for 1st time in a long time. I wasn't even sure who actual board members were. Some very familiar and unsurprising faces. Some passionate people. But also a bit of an observed click of longtime friends. None of that is necessarily bad. But I am still of mindset that things need freshened up a bit. Some new faces with new ideas would probably be a good thing. I did spend some time reviewing board mtg minutes. It's great they post them publicly so members/public can see what they are working on. It's actually quite a bit...but again I'll bet 50% of Nordecke ST holders have zero clue. I honestly wish I had more time to get involved but I'm already giving my free time and skills to several other organizations making an impact on this great city.
It's just my uneducated guess, but considering they were willing to sit at a table with 2004-era groups that couldn't break 50 people, it might be awhile until that happens. Then again, what happened in 2004 was also 20+ years ago and times change along with FO members and various policies, etc etc.
I think some fall into this camp. But I can testify that internal Nordecke politics have never had one iota of a smidgeon to do with reupping or not. For me, of course. I would think most folk would fall into that category. It is more to do with how you feel about the team (including ownership), and what your financial situation is. My bet would be that things are tighter for most folk. And that most most are not as enthusiastic about the team. Those are gonna be your two main drivers. The Haslam haters are a subgroup of that. That may cause you to not renew, and if you don't renew, then you are out in Nordecke as well. But I'd imagine that group as smaller.
My opinion - which is worth exactly bupkis - is that excitement for the team + single match ticket availability = Nordecke memberships. And I've been saying for years that that's a problem. Now that 1) the team is mediocre and 2) tickets are readily available elsewhere there is decreased demand for Nordecke memberships. I'd be willing to bet that about two-thirds of those 600 members bought their memberships for altruistic reasons and rarely (if ever) take advantage of their membership benefits.
When the Nordecke (org) made the Elton John pride tifo in the last game, I was trying to ask around on reddit what it meant. Like, was there a deeper meaning, was this some sort of play on words with the song, is there a connection I was unaware of, etc? I didn't get the reference. Countless people responded that they knew what type of person I was, that I didn't deserve a response, etc. What's funny is that I'm pro gay and trans rights and am very liberal overall, yet because I simply asked for this to be explained it was clear as day I was a bad person to these individuals. The group think, tribalism , siloing, echo chambers, etc n this country, on both sides, are absolutely out of control. It's exhausting. It's no wonder, that in a country that is split just about 50/50 politically, that when you have a group from one side pushing their shit super hard in a space in which it doesn't need to be, the other side gets turned off and gets tired of being called names constantly. To be clear, I'm fine with pride nights, I just wanted the tifo explained lol.