Quakes-related Bay Area newspaper articles (Tuesday, 1/13/04)

A dark, dark day.

Reading between the lines of the Merc article you get the impression that the 'difference in philosphy' with AEG is over how to treat the existing fan base. Johnny's always been a man of and for the fans.

I don't see how AEG, Garber, or CA think that they are going to reverse the fortunes of the Quakes by destroying the magic that's happened between the fans and the team. The Quakes, I believe, had finally connected emotionally with enough people that they became part of the community and were set for good growth.

Now, CA is going to end up starting all over trying to get local CA fans and maybe a smattering of other MFL fans to care about this club? That is an incredibly risky gamble.

 

That's a bummer. You guys had a pretty cool GM.

 

Godammit!!!! I've put in a lot of work (mostly uncompensated) for the Clash and Earthquakes, and really felt we were building something special here. I have a very bad feeling about this - my sneaking suspicion is that CA is mainly interested in getting a team, any team in MLS, and that once they have accomplished that they will look to move it to any city that will help them build a SSS. I do not think this will end well....


Go Earthquakes!

 

Fixed your post.

Does anyone honestly think that these cocky bastards are going to let their "buddies" the Chivas have their own team in MLS without Club America having their own team? Hell fishin' no! Will Club America be happy with the San Jose Earthquakes when the Chivas have their very own Chivas USA team? Hell fishin' no!

Adios San Jose Earthquakes!

 

So for you guys in San Jose, is this proposed deal with Club America looking like a certainty? Is there anything more you've been hearing over there in CA.

Hey 100th post, woo hoo!!

 

A very sad day indeed if this is the path we're on. Save the Quakes!

As for whether it's a done deal, I think the answer is no. But the league's spine is weak enough to cause Johnny Moore to resign. He got no support, and if that's not a troubling indication, I don't know what is...

 

• 
  
  
  Well this about sums it up, doesn't it?
  
  
  AEG is obviously headed one direction, while Johnny wanted to keep things the status quo and build on it. *danger! danger! danger!*
  
  Some other great stuff from the article:
  
  
  Interesting they're still negotiating with Ronnie. Great news about a long-term deal for Mullan. He's getting paid WAY too low.
  
  Also, the news about the leading the league in new season tickets sold and season-ticket renewals is fantastic news.
  
  All of which may become moot in the very near future.
  
  
  
  And no matter what happens, no one can steal the "magic" of the 2003 playoff run and Championship. They can't take THAT away from us.

 

Re: Re: Quakes-related Bay Area newspaper articles (Tuesday, 1/13/04)

Why do I have a feeling they would if they could.

I'm still so depressed over all of this.

I just sent an email to Garber, and I hope that when an intern reads it they care enough to make sure he sees it. though I doubt it.

 

It just keeps getting worse.

 

So...I have 2 takes on this:

since none of us knows for sure what has and has not transpired so far, here is what I have heard/sense.

1. Johnny Moore resigned because he felt MLS had done all this behind his back. As GM of the reigning champion, and having done an excellent job of building the current team and fan base, he was insulted because he only learned of this through newspapers and media sources. No one from MLS called and said, "hey Johnny, this is what we are considering."

Under those circumstances, he felt like his job might already have been negotiated out of the deal and/or local SJ interests were not being considered. Hence, he decided to resign and start the job search early rather than wait for a formal announcement from people who had not been upfront with him.

In short, he could no longer trust the bosses and it was time to leave.

Sad!!

Just my spin on this from what I have learned this morning...

2. THE ENTIRE MARKETING DEPARTMENT AT THE MLS OFFICES SHOULD BE FIRED!!!!!

What a miserable job of handling this thing they have done. Even if only the most positive results come out of this, the league has lost a great deal of the benefit by the poor handling of the rumors. If there were any professionals there at all, they would be talking to every media source out there to at least do some damage control in this case, if not give the correct spin on the deal.

The fact they haven't done any of this only adds more fuel to the fire that something dastardly is about to happen to this franchise. Whether any of the "worst case scenarios" will actually happen or not is irrelevant at this time. The fact the league office has allowed all these rumors to continue to fly without taking action is unprofessional to say the least.

Summarily, this confirms the views of the critics that say this league will not survive because they simply cannot avoid shooting themselves in the foot every time they get around a gun.

For the players on this team, it is a major slap in the face to hear that there MAY be Mexican players who will take their place just because they are MEXICAN. Whether rumor or not, this is out there.

Face it, ALL of the leagues efforts to bring in over-the-hill foreign players have not succeeded in building the fan base. The league has succeeded best in areas where the US stars were the TEAM stars. Ronnie Ekelund is the only foreign player that has ever done anything to really help this team. For the rest of the players that have been here and made this team what it is today, the rumors flying around, even if untrue, give cause to pause and think about their situation. Do they truly want to continue pursuing a career in this league and in this market place when situations like this are being handled so badly?

Finally, for the league to put this franchise in a situation where the GM feels forced to resign just days before the Draft is unconscionable.

Just when you think there is light at the end of the tunnel, someone triggers a landslide and covers up the opening. Nice work Garber, you couldn't have done a better job of P!$$!#% OFF the local fan base and upsetting your current championship team!!! It doesn't get any uglier!!!

 

From the CoCoTimes:
The high point, (Moore) said, was after the Quakes beat Chicago in the MLS Cup in November. "Fans were walking around the hotel, kissing the cup, taking pictures with it. You wouldn't do that after a Super Bowl."

It's time for someone to post my favorite photo.

 

dj, I've been a big fan of Garber until now, and I agree that he's really mucked this up. But don't pick on the poor marketing drones. Marketing doesn't exist in a vacuum in the marketing department. It's the voice of the whole company — it comes from the CEO suite. The "marketing department" can't control Garber.

 

bajoro,
I understand your point and don't disagree. But since DG isn't going to fire himself, I let him fire the marketing drones if he will just step up and fix this thing that is cracked if not broken.

 

Did you know that that's Johnny Moore in the white shirt behind the two women kissing his ball?

 

Yeah, and that's the championship medal around his neck. I have fond memories of kissing his ball.