SJ beat Minnesota last night (8/4) on penalty kicks. Ching and Donovan scored and it was tied 2-2. They moved to PKs and won 5-4.
You do have to wonder. I mean, during the game I cruised the Thunder website and searched all the local (MN) media websites and kept refreshing mlsnet and I still didn't know what was going on, but you'd think that real journalists would have better sources of information and that their thirst for news would motivate them to break through this wall of secrecy to get the story. If it makes you feel any better, from what I could tell (aforementioned MN media websites) the locals there don't even seem to realize they have a soccer team. Their newspapers probably didn't have a story on the game either.
alliu23, please check the batteries in your sarcasm detector. I think they might be running a little bit low.
I didn't see a single word about the San Jose Earthquakes reaching the semi-finals of the country's oldest tournament either. But there sure was a lot about some former Oakland player...
There is a match reports as well as post-match interviews with Donovan, Agoos and Doyle at the Thunder fans website at www.blueskysoccer.com Interviews Match Report
I called the SAN JOSE Mercury News sports editor Mike Guersch this morning to express extreme my displeasure at the paper's failure to cover the local team AT ALL in this instance. 408-920-5648. I suggest others do likewise so that the message comes across. This is the second time I've called Guersch. Several months ago I called to say I thought the Merc was devoting too much coverage (several full pages worth a day at one point) to Barry Bonds to the detriment of the local soccer squad (this was about the time Bonds surpassed Mays in career home runs). Guersch listened politely but demurred, saying the coverage was all based on what the public wanted. (A week later the Metro reported that a Stanford University media bias watch organization lambasted the Mercury News sports coverage for its unseemly and unwarranted hero-worship of Bonds.) People other than just me need to be calling Guersch and letting him hear it.
The Chronicle had no story or even blurb about the match, but did have the box score, lineups, etc. in the stats page. So at least they topped the Mercury.
Yeah, if he doesn't hear from anyone, he'll continue to assume nobody cares about the Quakes. Email Mike Guersch (mguersch@mercurynews.com) to express your disappointment and copy Dylan Hernandez (dhernandez@mercurynews.com) as well. Here's what I sent: Gentlemen, Got a hot story for you about the second-biggest professional team in the city, and no San Jose newspaper has the scoop! Last night, the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Minnesota Thunder to reach the semi-final of the U.S. Open Cup, the oldest tournament in the United States. They did so after an exciting game that ended 2-2 in regulation. Neither team scored in overtime, and the Quakes won 5-4 on penalty kicks. It marks the first time our local team has made it this far in the Open Cup. For more information, see the game report in the Star Tribune, hometown paper of the A-League Minnesota Thunder. Regards, Quaker San Jose, CA
Well, at least Mike's fessing up. He's calling it an honest mistake. Here's his response: Hi Quaker. We did whiff in not mentioning anything about the Quakes game this morning. I'm currently checking to see what happened -- specifically, if the Quakes sent us the usual e-mail with info (the Associated Press and other wire services do not cover the Open Cup) Thanks for your interest, and for reading the Mercury News. -- Mike Guersch
I don't consider Guersch's explanation an honest mistake; the mistake resulted from a lack of professionalism reinforced by Guersch's disrespect for the paper's subscribers who are Quakes fans. San Jose doesn't have that many indigenous professional sports teams. Surely the Merc's sports section can keep track of when those teams are playing without an AP alert or a breaking email from the team. Better yet the Merc should have pre-planned and sent a reporter and photographer to cover the game. BTW, I noticed previously that the Merc's upcoming schedule of Quakes games failed to take notice of the change in the Revolution game from September 4 to July 24 for many weeks. The Merc is plainly going through the motions of covering the Quakes. Today's "honest mistake" is not an isolated incident.
That is the sentence that stands out above all to me. You would think that the hometown paper of the San Jose Earthquakes would be a bit more of a homer in covering its local teams. I am afraid there is a type of personality disorder in operation here: split personality.
Agreed. There's only one major league sports team currently playing in San Jose. How hard is it to stay abreast? It definitely shouldn't take an AP report or an email from the team to alert them. Waiting for the coach to call is something you do with high school teams, not your local professional champions. Reinforced lessons: (1) the reporting is completely reactive and (2) the Quakes are way off the editors' radar screen.
After reading this thread yesterday, I sent a longish email to the Merc. And today Dylan's story (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/soccer/9334559.htm) includes almost everything that I suggested (except, of course, making the Quakes front page news, but I guess D7 isn't so bad.) I do think we need to stay on these guys. Except for the front page columnists, I'll bet they don't get a lot of mail. (Or else get some more exciting PR for our players...implicate them in Balco...hook them up with some celebs...have them run for public office--won't SJ need a new mayor soon? one who would rather skimp on city hall construction and instead throw a few million toward a new stadium?)
The Merc is covering football training camp, baseball, and the Olympics. They could rely on a freelancer, but they are union. So, sports that are not "major US sports" are relegated to afterthoughts, rip-n-copy (that way KNTV will cover it - as long as there are no more than three syllables), or wait for AP or ESPN to cover it for them.
I had phone conversations yesterday with both the Merc's sports editor and his boss. They admit they blew the coverage of the Quakes Open Cup game with Minnesota, but they are unrepentant about the gaffe (you won't be seeing any written apology from the Merc) and about how they cover the team. They argue that they lack the resources to cover the Quakes on the road, but that Quakes are favored by the Merc over the Sabercats and the Warriors (which they regard as a "local" team) in that at least there is a sportswriter assigned to cover their home games. They say that there is insufficient interest in the Quakes (as represented by attendance and TV ratings) to justify additional resources and flatly deny that the Merc's lack of coverage is in any way responsible for the "lack of interest". It's a chicken or egg discussion. BTW, they told me Alexi Lalas also chewed them out about their screw-up. I give them credit for returning my calls and for speaking with me at length. But I still don't think they appreciate how unprofessional was their failure to report on a game that a local professional team played. Had the Merc failed to cover a Raiders or 49ers game altogether (and they're not San Jose teams), you can bet the issue would have percolated to the highest reaches of Knight Ridder (and been ridiculed publicly by the rest of the national media) and that several people would have been fired. The shame of it is that in a scenario in which the supposed lack of interest in the team may cause it to leave the region, the Merc's bungling and hauty disdain for soccer are likely to harm the community it purports to serve (which is ironic considering the editorial position of the paper is that the Quakes should stay in San Jose.)
So, do you believe that the Knight-Ridder enterprise would become an owner of the Quakes? By the way, good job!!
I also called the merc yesterday morning. Mike Guersch returned my phone call last night, took responsibility and apologized for the screwup and I had an almost identical conversation with him. One additional point - He mentioned to me that he played soccer when he was younger and that it was important to him. He sounded like he had a genuine interest in keeping the quakes here. We talked quite a bit about the reasons for the attendance problems. I could hear him typing notes during the entire conversation. I suggest that everybody feed him and Dylan all of the positive information they can. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see some of it appear in print, particularly if we can get several thousand people to the SSV rally. Keep pressure on the media and it will produce results.
So, they say the Quakes are "more important" than the Warriors because the Merc assigns a staff writer to them? You'd never know by the column inches devoted to each team. I'm sorry, I can't blame the Merc for the Quakes' (and MLS') piss-poor marketing and lack of established relationship with local sports media. If we lose our team, it will NOT be the Merc's fault, it'll be the Quakes'/MLS' fault that they did a ************ job marketing the team, not creating enough fan interest, and not giving the Merc a reason to cover them more.