Dear Soccer Silicon Valley member, We have a few items for your attention today. - SSV's founding members and Club Quake president Michelle Selincourt met Thursday morning with MLS Commissioner Don Garber and league COO Mark Abbott. We covered a variety of topics in the course of the 90- minute meeting and are now in the process of building a relationship through which we can work in concert with MLS to bring about a rebirth of the Earthquakes. It appears to us that MLS is serious about achieving this goal and that they realize SSV is an asset and will play a major part in bringing the Earthquakes back. We were pleased with the progress made at this meeting and look forward to a continuing dialog and partnership with MLS. - SSV will be holding a general meeting in February (specific date TBA) where we will discuss topics including the agenda for the coming year. As soon as we have a date and location, we will let you know. - California Custom, the uniform supplier to the Quakes and many other youth and adult teams in the area, has donated 150 custom- printed t-shirts to SSV as a fundraiser. These white shirts have the San Jose Earthquakes word mark on the front, just like the team's uniforms, and printed on the back is the following: San Jose Earthquakes 2005 "The Best That Ever Was" 18-10-4 MLS Supporters' Shield Western Division Champions Undefeated at Home (MLS First) Fewest Losses in an MLS Season Goalkeeper of the Year - Pat Onstad Coach of the Year - Dominic Kinnear Goal of the Year - Dwayne De Rosario Fair Play Award - Ronald Cerritos 3 Players on Best Eleven Gone, But Not Forgotten! A photo of the shirt can be seen on the SSV blog at <http:// blog.soccersiliconvalley.com/>. These shirts are available for $10, while supplies last, at California Custom, 3270 Keller Street, Santa Clara. Their phone number is (408) 727-4477. A map and store hours are available on their web site at <http://www.cacustom.com>. Thanks to Brian Holmes of California Custom for the donation. We look forward to seeing everyone at February's meeting and at the USA/Japan match in San Francisco. Yours in soccer, Colin McCarthy and the Founding Members of SSV: Don Gagliardi Jay Hipps Tony Huston John Jussen Carol Vartuli Marin Mike Turco ----
Me too! Does this sounds like a glimmer of hope. At least Garber didn't wait too long to get back here. I'm sure the MLS doesn't want to be out of northern California for very long. To tell you the truth, this will be the first year in a long time we won't have a major pro team up here. I mean after the folding of the NASL, you had the Quakes 2 even though they were an amateur outfit but they played in the only league around, the WSL/WSA. Then you had the Blackhawks playing in that league and in the APSL and in an exhibition schedule until 93. 1994 we had the WC so no one cared and then then in 1995 we were awaiting the start of the MLS and had something to shoot for. I hope the Quakes are not gone too long!
So does this mean the 1990's are back? Bob Gansler said in 1990 that until we have a professional league in this country, there is no way we will be ever be able to contend for a world title. So now we have a professional league just not in all areas of the country. I know for a fact that the MLS people want to get back into Northern California. The way it used to be in the league, anyone could drum up and scout some local college and/or even amateur talent in the area, develop them into and be contenders in the MLS. Maybe its a little tougher but I think we can still do it! Anyone out there have 100 million?
That's OK. If we can get another 50,000 or so Quakes fans to sell their Italian villa, we're in! (By the way, does 3 million lire really convert to $1,872 - that's what a currency exchange web site told me? How can that be? Can you buy an Italian villa for less than $2000?)
i'd take one of those shirts ... but I'm not gonna drive all the way down there to get one. does he ship?
Garber and Abbott didn't fly out to SJ for only a 90-minute meeting with "the fan club" (as AEG called it) to build a relationship or to hopefully continue one. Who else did Garber and Abbott meet with other than SSV...I assume investors such as Lew Wolff and ???
The goal was to get local folks to drop by Cal Custom, but I know he's been sending them out to people. I believe they're quoting a UPS fixed rate of $8 and US mail is $2-3 (but no tracking). Call them at 408-727-4477
"Garber and Mark Abbott, the league's chief operating officer, also met with San Jose city officials, including economic development director Paul Krutko and Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez, and fan group Soccer Silicon Valley." From the articles posted in this thread. Oh, and Lew Wolff.
How can you say this? What's your evidence? Here's mine. In 1997 the Earthquakes total salary was about half that of the evil, cheating, water-stealing, smog-breathing, baby-stealing, satan-worshipping galactofilth. And the league refused to re-sign Misael Espinosa. (Source: Peter Bridgewater.) In 1998 the league gave Carlos Hermosillo to the evil, cheating, water-stealing, animal-abusing, sacrilegious, demon-loving, galactobuggers. They promised our club compensation because PB had done all the leg-work to get Hermosillo to join the league, and in those days, each team submitted a list to the league of players they wanted for their allocations and SquareHead was on our list and on no other team's. (Source: MLS New Release, Mercury News reports, PB, and Sunil "Prince of Darkness" Gulati.) In 1999 they got the Krafties to take over our team. While the Kraftholes did a lousy job of running the team, I give them full marks for taking on the responsibility. (Public Record.) In 2000, our club shot themselves in the foot repeatedly. (Source: Tom Neal and others.) In 2001 we had to fight tooth and nail to get Narcissus when we were next in line and had the longest unfilled allocation in the league. The Eddie Lewis allocation. This was partly our fault and partly MLS's fault. (Source: Tom Neal and others in the Quakes front office.) In 2002 all was well. In 2003 the evil, demonic, scum-sucking AEG took over our team. We had to lose several players due to "Salary Cap Restrictions" and the fact that MLS refused to even negotiate with our players, in spite of our coach and GM asking them to. (Source, Quakes front office people, more than one, and public statements by the players.) In 2004 we lost still more players to the salary cap. AEG threatened to move our club. Our GM resigned because in midst of negotiating a deal for a stadium, AEG told him to stop and that they planned to move the team. (Public record.) In 2005 AEG kept us well below the salary cap. We lost a ton of players. They stole Narcissus from us. (Anyone who denies this go screw themselves.) They lied in public repeatedly about their efforts to keep the club in San Jose. Then they moved us. (The gory details rehashed here on many occasions.) In 2006, we don't have a team. (Source: MLSnet.com.) In what way does this add up to: "MLS doesn't want to be out of northern California for very long." What are you smoking? The League and AEG have shown repeatedly that they don't want to be in San Jose. That they don't like our city. That they don't like our fans. That they have no use for us whatsoever. What makes you think Garber is doing anything other than trying to soothe the fans so that we'll continue to pay for DirectKick and buy MLS merchandise? MLS isn't in Philly, Detroit, or until this season Houston. Those are among the six biggest cities in the USA. Are you trying to claim that MLS is run logically? That there is method to their madness? That they have a grand master plan to grow the league? They are winging it my friend. They are flying by the seat of their pants, with no long-term plans, and no rudder. I want to believe that Garber would like to put a team back in San Jose, but frankly, I see zero evidence that this is the case. QUAKES FOREVER!! FUMLS!! FUAEG!! - Mark
To re-hash those old wounds is painful. I guess you are right. You forgot the very first quote after the first game when Alan Rothernberg said, "we don't want a rinky dink town like San Jose to outshine LA, do we"? He was talking about how the opening match against DC United when Eric Wynalda scored the inagauraul goal that LA had better outdraw the Clash. Playing in a 100,000 seat Rose Bowl I'm sure they would have outdrawn anyone in their first game, especially having another star in Jorge Campos in his debut. Its surprising that Rothenberg even cared about wanting to buy the club with Dentsu. Too bad he didn't though, I think with Alan in there we would have had a bit more pull within the league.
Neither Philly nor Detroit - nor Houston, for that matter - have the history and tradition that San Jose (and, by extension, Northern California) do in pro soccer, though. It's the one and perhaps only advantage we have in trying to get the Quakes back where they belong, in the top division of the game in the USA. I do think that MLS want to have a full-time presence in the market even if AEG never really did, and that it's mainly a question of finding dedicated ownership with a long-term commitment to both the club and the Bay Area. Hopefully Lew Wolff could be that owner. If he - or someone like him - comes onboard, MLS will be back in a flash.
I agree with your entire post, Olson50, just wanted to point to this in particular. How do we know that MLS does not want to have a presence in the Bay Area as Mark says? What else is Garber and his VP going to do when AEG wants to take the team to Houston? I mean if you're the commissioner, what do you tell the group that owns four teams in the league when they want to move one of those teams? There isn't a whole let that a guy in Garber's position can say, I doubt that he has any power to say much of anything. Now if each team were owned by a different owner the situation might be different. The real evil ones are AEG. They're the ones whose head I would like to see on a pike. I wonder how long it will be before Club America comes in as the i/o of Houston.
I wonder how long it will be before Club America comes in as the i/o of Houston.[/QUOTE] At least they'll change the name...
Garber is a tool of AEG. Go back and look at the list I posted. You know it isn't an exhaustive catalog of MLS/AEG mistreatment of the San Jose club. Our team has served as the whipping boy for this league repeatedly. How does that add up to: "They want to be in our market?" You and I, and most others on this board think that the Bay Area is an important national market, but MLS/AEG have treated this market like crap. This isn't tough love, they don't like our market. Garber could have insisted that the Quakes stay in San Jose. He could have told AEG "we'll give you an expansion club in Houston in 2007 for no cash, in appreciation of your previous support of the league." Then when AEG sells that club to CA, they make a ton of dosh. But yeah, Garber doesn't really have any power, so what's he doing in San Jose? In what way do you think this is going to lead to us getting our team back? Sure it's a good sign. It's way better than him not visiting San Jose. But still, who's going to foot the bill? Where is the stadium coming from? And "at the end of the day," AEG is still the dominant team in the league. How do you pursuade a new investor to come on board when one owner pretty much controls the league? "Hey, join our league, but expect all of the best signings to go to NYJ and El-Lay. Expect that some teams will get to flout the "salary cap" like a parking lot stop sign, while your team will be held rigorously to the limit, and we may choose not to renegotiate new contracts with your best players until we are certain that they are looking in Europe first." That's a fabulous sales pitch. I'm impressed dude. FUAEG! FUMLS! Go Timbers! - Mark