i was also very confused by your comment. you really should have said "when in guatamala city". I was also going to say you should have used one of these silly little faces, but oh wait, you did.
Let me begin my post with a little PSA to all of BigSoccer... I am a sarcastic ass. I have made that very clear numerous times. That is all. ^Speaking of "knee jerk personal attacks"^ You might want to take Naranja up on that sarcasm meter adjustment. There's a good chance you are the only one "laughing at my stupidity". Boy, you look like a jackass. Haven't we already gone over the "I'm sarcastic" thing in a different thread? EDIT: Also, a shout-out to "pastyfacegangster". Thank you for you attempted nep rep. It's too bad you lack the ability to actually do it. I was unaware that I am a "********ing idiot". Thanks for clearing that up for me. Now go back to the Galaxy forum.
I understand you are also what is wrong with the internet. Please stop. My connection is a little slow today. I would like it fast again.
You are unaware that you're an F'ing idiot, doubtful. Thanks for the advice, I think I'll pass on it. In the future, when I seek your wisdom (or lack thereof), I'll be sure to ask for it.
Honestly, I couldn't care less what you think of me. I've actually never seen you post until now, so I'll consider you a non-factor. And there's nothing for you to pass on. The suggestion was aimed at you, no one else. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To those who are actually participating in the discussion: Sorry for the distraction. Carry on.
I actually wrote that, and it seems like a long time ago. After reading it over again, I thought I would look at what has happened since that post. In March of last year I went to the Olympic qualifiers in Nashville. To my best recollection, I did not see anything from SA/AO on the event and if they did I was not aware of it. I read on bigsoccer.com, about the pre-game pub and the tailgating info. The folks from Nashville were quite hospitable and we all had a great time. In the Summer of last year (2008), I joined both AO and SA. I figured that it would be nice to support these like minded people. From American Outlaws, I was sent a nice scarf, a button and a sticker, not bad for $15, even though I told them I did not need anything in return. I did not get anything from Sam’s Army until about a week ago, when they sent me a card and a mouse pad (which I really like). In September the WCQ vs Trinidad & Tabago, was played at Toyota Park. I got on BS and tried to help those from out of town with questions about our fair city. Most were very appreciative and others on the board were a bit more difficult. (Please note that it is sometimes very difficult to read sarcasm in a forum.) Anyway, AO contacted me with a few questions about poles and tailgating. I spoke with someone from Toyota Park and as I understand it, the questions were all answered. Now I am listed as a Charter leader on the AO website. This is fine, but not much has come of it since then. Once again I turned to BS to determine what bars had pre-game festivities and buses etc. But there was no direction from SA/OA that I was aware of. I did buy tickets from SA and the game itself was great with a lot of singing and fun was had by all. It was not easy to tell SA, AO or unassociated supporters from each other. My point to all of this is, that it has been a year and a half since the first question was asked… Who do I join? My answer is it does not seem to matter. Sam’s Army, has become nothing more than a discount ticket broker and you have to buy through them to sit in the supporters section. I must say... I do like the mouse pad. American Outlaws seem to be a lot more proactive on these boards and actually tried to work with us locals for the WCQ in Chicago. I would say they are making a greater effort to pull things together, although it will take time to see how successful they become. Oh and the scarf was nice. The problem, is there are not public answers to the questions about ticketing, dealing with USSF, or the other issues that others have brought up on these boards. We are almost half way in qualification for South Africa and from where I sit, not a lot has changed. -G-
Your right about that things have not changed much, I wrote this tread after the Gold Cup 2007, I think what you wrote is right on. I also feel that "The American Outlaws" is putting in work and seems to care more. I have always felt that what US SOCCER needs to Do is Hire a someone to help work with the Supports Groups.
You're right. Heck. US Soccer could even use a non-paid intern to organize the pre-game events at the local soccer pub, stadium seating, preferred-hotel, and more. Interns work hard and are free. US Soccer has no excuse of filling this void.
EXACTLY! I also think that and everyone says that. Why hasn't it happened yet? good idea on the intern/interns
Since I'm looking for a sports marketing career and am a junior in college (with some experience in sports business), I think I have the intern qualifications as well
FWIW, I do know that the USSF has SALARIED people in place, not interns, who are there to interface with fans and help with stuff. I know this because I have spoken with them several times. What follows are my thoughts as to this interface, and is not representative of anything the USSF has told me. First, the USSF is about fielding winning national teams and growing soccer. Yes, growing the fan base is part of growing soccer. But I think the work that the USSF does with youth soccer programs, etc., is also extremely important to growing soccer. And it's more along the USSF's line of business, which is soccer-the-competitive-game rather than soccer-the-fan-experience. Second, I think that the USSF rightly pursues national relationships with sponsors that can help fund their program. Yes, fans help with their funds. But of all the money we spend to go to matches, only gear, game tickets, and concessions (if they get a cut of that) goes to the USSF. Per game, I spend about $400, but only $50 or so actually generates revenue for the USSF. Take away non-USSF cuts, and maybe it's $30. Multiply by 20,000 and it's $600,000 per game for (say) 6 games in the USA, or less than $4 million. Yes, there's the World Cup but that only happens quadrennially and we have to qualify to get those funds. Budweiser, Nike, etc. are also important to the USSF's efforts since less than $4 million is not enough to field a consistently competitive senior men's team, much less olympic teams, junior teams, women's teams, youth organizations, etc. Third, knowing what we know about SGs, would we really want to follow a USSF fan program? One that emphasized kids and where cussing and drinking would have to be less than it is now? I think leaving the fans to organize and fund themselves is probably the best idea. Let them field the team, let us support it. Where the USSF does interact with fans has been for the most part, in my experience, positive. They have been easy to work with in preparation for matches, accommodating to my mistakes, provided discounted tickets to the national SG leaders, and reasonably tolerant of ultra-like behavior. Speaking personally, they have listened to my ideas well and at length, explained why some couldn't work and have taken (and acted on) those that could. The explanations provide me with framework for new ideas and helps the fan feedback process. This can only help them provide a better experience for the fan going forward. It might not happen overnite or in ways that some folks envision, but I see it happening. I did get the impression that the fan initiative was a new thing ... the whole "Official Soccer Bar" thing is new, for example. Like any new thing, it will take some time to grow and mature. But if I had to choose between them focusing on soccer or focusing on fans, I'd have them focus on soccer and let us do our own thing. But again, this is just what I think.
My apologies, I don't have time to go through this thread again. What questions are you looking for answers for? To give you an explanation about what we're trying to do. I spoke with Sunil Gulati and some others on a conf call last year about ticketing for SA. They mentioned that they're looking at a ticketing system like one used in the UK (didn't mention how seriously they're looking at it) that would reward those that have travelled more. We mentioned that we'd like to be able to just buy a block of tickets that SA could sell directly to members. Unfortunately, a lot of "we'll get back to you"'s happened, and nothing happened out of it, no matter how much we pushed. I emailed them finally (again) on Dec 17th about ticketing for this match and was told they remembered out conversation and they'd do their best to help us. I emailed them probably about 4/5 times since then getting bare bones answers. Finally they got back to me yesterday saying ticket info would be coming out ASAP. It's almost like they just don't care about the supporters and are just looking to make $$, who cares about home support.
SA's tickets are open sale, members and nonmembers alike. I wonder if ticket brokers didn't snap up a bunch for resale, seeing as how posts on this board are pricing those at up to 8x, or $400 ... I mean, God bless capitalism and capitalists, but SA may have really stepped in it with this one, especially if MEX fans buy from these brokers. I hope SA will filter their sales to their registered members and refund $$ to those who aren't ... which, of course, means there could be a bunch of people who are USMNT fans who *think* they have tickets and have already booked their flight and hotel ... but in reality are looking at a refund and no tickets. If SA isn't clear about this, it could GREATLY hurt the effort. Let's hope SA has their poop together. Gotta give AO props for preparing for this. Besides, there has to be some tangible benefit to being a member of these clubs, and early, discounted, filtered-to-known-members ticket sales is a definite benefit. No, there's nothing "wrong" with that from a business standpoint. But if the goal is to get these tickets to USMNT fans and not to the highest bidder or most shrewd ticket-broker, this method is vulnerable. Gulati should be concerned about that if he wants USMNT supporters in the SG section. And IMHO, it does reflect a concern for the home support. If he was solely concerned about the Almighty Dollar, he would just release tickets to the open market and let TM take care of their value. My $0.02.
If you're trying to imply that SA is doing a money grab on this, you're ... well, no I won't go there. Edit: Suffice it to say there is a check being done.
Not to dig up old bones, but what I was refering to were some of the unresolved questions that this thread has brought up since it was first created. One big one was the ticketing issue which you have just addressed. Also I remember a time when there was going to be an anouncement about Mark and who was going to step up and make SA relevent again. We were going to build bragades in each city with an MLS franchise and go from there. There was a post over a year ago that said "News was on the way". Once again, I don't see it as such a big deal since most people get there info from this forum anyway. And this is in no way a slam on SA, but this thread had a life, because most of us were disheartend by the lack of activity by SA. I think the questions that I would like answered is "What is Sam's Army today" and "What are there goals for the furure". As I said earlier it looks to me like SA is a ticket broker and not much else. Maybe I am wrong on this. Just my thoughts -G-
I don't think SA is doing a money grab, SA's an honest gig. I think that, without a "check," shrewd ticket brokers could do a money grab. But it looks like they're doing a "check," so that's good. Is the "check" for members v. non-members, or can non-members get tix if they're known, or what? And, if someone orders tix but ends up not passing the "check," are they informed in enough time to change their plans? Just wonderin' ... I know some folks who love USMNT but (for whatever reason) won't join AO or SA ... some of whom have bought tix thru SA ... or so they think.
There is a check taking place (I was just told 2 ticket brokers have tried already). We can only do so much obviously (same with USSF or anyone to be honest). There will be tickets available for any SA member, as long as they don't wait till the day before (for example) and most non-members will also get tickets. Those that don't pass the check that's being done (and no, don't ask me because I'm not sure exactly what it is) will be informed.
Fair question. Unfortunately things got busy in a bad way, and I've basically been away from these boards for a while. A ticket broker is a part of what SA is but there are other things. We're trying to work with USSF on those, but until they give us an actual commitment ... it's kinda pointless to talk about unfortunately.
Awesome. If the USSF wants any "check" done perfectly, they should do it themselves. The volunteer groups can only do what they can do, eh? Even some AO nons slipped through, evidently ...
Hmmm ... well, not all non-members have been successful ... I've gotten about a dozen emails from folks who tried to buy from AO but couldn't and weren't members. I haven't gotten any emails from members who couldn't buy, though. Some are bound to slip through ... let's just do what we can to make that number as small as possible.
All I can go by is what I'm hearing from folks who are trying to buy tickets. Lots of AO nons are not successful, and I hear about it. Evidently, some nons were. Like I say, that'll happen with volunteer groups, I know it's happened with SA, and now I find out it's happened with AO. No need to get defensive, this is not an attack on either group, just a conversation on what's being done to minimize any problems. That's all.