I´m getting frustrated over our current stadium situation. MLS and ESPN is making us look bad in national television. I was there Saturday, but also taped the game. When i got home, i was so upset and sad just by seeing those football lines and crazy camaramen who do not have a clue of what they are doing. A good crowd does not translate into a good show. If we are going to show a good soccer game like the one last Saturday, we the f**** fans need some respect in exchange. MLS must stop showing Chicago games until they can fix our place. I´m tired Mexican and other fans telling me about Cardinal Stadium. Do anyone know if things will get better this year?
Gee, I saw a 3-0 victory by the home squad including a two from Razov and 1 from Jim Curtin...Jim Curtin!!!! Guess some of us still look at the glass as half full.
I had to be at big birthday bash for many of my relatives so I couldn't make the game. Of course I watched it on tv (just cause I have to hang out with my family doesn't mean I have to pay attention to them, right?). Anyway. Of course the lines and field look like crap but I thought the fire came off very well on TV. You could really hear Section 8 and the Fire played great and dominated. The stands were filled and the way people walk right next to the field kinda even looked cool cause it just looked jam packed with people all up in the aisles. We know the situation sucks in Naperville, but I think all things considered it came off pretty well this past Saturday. But I'm an optimist!
I think Consciencia's point is that even though the Fire won and the stadium was surprisingly full, the national TV audience also saw helmetball lines and a camera view that is suboptimal. It would also have helped if they'd miked Section 8 better because except for when I could hear them the rest of the game was rather quiet. While I wasn't nearly as disappointed as Consciencia regarding this particular game, I do think Jeff Bradley was right about MLS doing itself a favor by not broadcasting Fire games from NCC on naitonal TV. Of course, if the Fire gave Section 8 sideline seats across from the TV cameras like the SEs/BBs have in DC, then maybe it would look and sound better on TV.
Yes, definitely this year. According to some sources, that was our last game at Cardinal before they tear the entire place down, after just over half the season. The plan is to have the our own permanent stadium built on the runway of Meigs Field by the match on Wednesday. It will be made entirely of brick and the size of the pich will be tied for the larges in the league. It will have a capacity of 25,000 and will definitely be filled every time. The cool thing is that the suburban families will not have to drive into the city. The Fire has gotten permission to use the teleportation stations located at each suburban town's city hall in order to get people more easily to the stadium. Parking outside the city halls is free and abundant. Parking is also free for Fire games outside the new stadium. The field is real grass, and a permanent on-site, 12-man (and woman... six of each) grounds will take care of it 24 hours per day. Each of the crew members has at least a Bachelors of Science degree in Turfgrass Science. There is a roof over the entire seating area as well. The washrooms have both hot and cold water, and there are enough stalls, etc. so there will never be a line. There is a five-star restaurant inside the stadium as well as five pubs, and food from the following nationalities: Thai, Chinese, Mexican, American, German, English (fish n' chips, not poached eggs), Polish, Cuban, Spanish (tapas), Greek, Ethiopian, and Indian. I may have left a couple out. If you are offended because I left out your country, that is the country I forgot. Section 8 is on the south side of the stadium. The seats are red and are painted to depict a Fire logo. The north side seating is blue. The east side has silver seats, and the west site seating is white. Both the east and west sides have "CHICAGO FIRE" painted on the seats. The stadium contains a public trophy room and history museum which holds all of the awards won by the Fire, any retired jerseys, and other artifacts from the history of the Fire. That's all I've heard about the new stadium... I may have forgotten something, but, like I said, it should be done by Wednesday, so I'd suggest heading out there for the game.
Joe, R U SERIOUS?? Why are you blaming the Fire for where the Section 8 supporters sit??? Before the first season and before this season we asked the supporters clubs where they wanted to sit and accommodated their requests. If you would like Section 8 relocated, please work with the group, come to a consensus, contact the Fire and we will relocate you. peter
I think you can hear section 8 very well and they get plenty of air time on tv. Joe-Do the supporters in dc pay sideline prices or are they paying the cheapest price?
Me too. I used to sit in the middle, but I prefer Section 9. Section 8 is too much for my 3 year old. I think the GA policy is good as well. My 3 year old loves the chanting and all that. This week he mastered the "arm salute".
Good for him! We couldn't make the game this week. The first one in about a month we have missed and my 5 year old had an old baby drum and was singing lo lo lo lo for almost the whole game! hehe.
Whoah, hoss! Deep breath, relax.... First, if the leaders of the Barnburners and Ultras demanded seats behind the goal, fine. I know I wasn't asked but then I'm not a Barnburners honcho or anything. I think that may have been a mistake on their part but that's my opinion. While it's true that in Europe, the rowdiest fans sometimes stand behind the goals, we don't have to do everything Europeans do just because they do it over there. I'll have to mention that to a few fellow Barnburners and see what they say. Second, I just said what I thought might improve the TV image of a Fire match. That's it. I'm not neutering Sparky or anything. I mean, really, you can't tell me that the SEs/BBs in RFK don't make for good TV for the entire match as opposed to Section 8 in CS where they are rarely on TV. That was really my only point, so please relax. Even in SF, Section 8 was on TV for half the match as they were in the corner and not in the "U" section behind the south goal where they'd never be seen on TV. It would be interesting to see a tape of the Fire-Dallas USOC match at NCC where most of the Section 8 regulars were sitting in the temporary stands on the track along the sidelines and compare that to a current game. Which one would look like having the better atmosphere? I could be wrong but my bet is on the USOC match even though it had fewer people. Third, sometimes I sit in Section 8, sometimes not. The last time I talked with you at a game I was in the west stands for the game. Sometimes I like to jump up and down and wave flags and sometimes I'd prefer to concentrate on watching the game and watching the antics in Section 8. Granted, that was easier to do in SF when I could just walk over to or from Section 8 or Section 19 at halftime but there ya go. So it's not a seating issue for me, it's a TV presentation issue. My opinion is that to help make up for the lack of atmosphere in CS outside Section 8, I think it would be a good idea if Section 8 was visible on TV for the entire match, not just when there are corner kicks in the north end. Who knows, having Section 8 on the sidelines might even help with the Section 8/suburbanite wars since if Section 8 was in front of the main stand, any potentially "offensive" chants and cheers might be less audible to those in the main stands than they are now that Section 8 faces out halfway towards the main stand. But that's just a guess on my part. Of course, if the Section 8 leaders are committed to seats behind the goal, I guess that's it then. To continue with this "thought experiment" though... To think of factors against having Section 8 on the sidelines, it is true that we'd have to give up the waving flags and maybe the smoke machine. Then again, the SEs/BBs in DC don't have flags or a smoke machine but they still provide atmosphere when I watch DCU games from RFK on TV. Another consideration is the fact that Section 8 tickets are less expensive than the VIP seats so I'm sure the Fire would lose revenue from such a move. I don't know how DCU handles the SEs/BBs vs. VIP tickets things. Maybe their tickets aren't as inexpensive as Section 8 tickets. You'd know better than I. Anyway, I'm just trying to come up with ideas that would make Fire games at CS look better on TV, given the limitations inherent in the stadium itself and in what NCC would likely approve (for example, I really doubt they'd let Section 8 have flares as cool as those were at the Fire/Rampage USOC game). I know you're tired unto death of hearing about how many fans are unhappy with the whole Naperville experience but I still think we paying customers have a right to bitch if we want since we're also affected by it and we certainly have a right to engage in constructive criticism (ie, actually trying to think of things that might improve on what we think are deficiencies) even if some of the ideas prove unworkable. If having Section 8 on the sidelines is unfeasible, so be it. It was a suggestion, not an attack on you or the Fire.
You can hear Section 8 more than see it and you can hear it only when it's miked properly. I still don't think Section 8 has the TV presence it did in SF and certainly not as much as if Section 8 was on the sideline opposite the TV cameras. Of course, different people will have differening opinions as to the worth of a supporters section's presence on TV so there ya go. I don't know. I'm curious as to how they work it out at RFK since seats like the SEs/BBs have are usually the (relatively) expensive "VIP" seats ala Section 19 at SF. Maybe DCU gets enough VIP seats sold on the other side of RFK so they can give up the revenue by letting the SE's/BBs have the seats they have at less than VIP prices. Perhaps someone can enlighten us. Mr. Wilt? Any lurking ScreamingEagles? OK, that's two countries heard from...
Re: Re: Stadium Situation for the remaining of the season. And, I suppose it is entirely privately financed. Can't wait to tailgate again!
Actually, this basically is the case. I distinctly remember Don saying, "When the new stadium is built, we will be behind the goal." He then went on to explain that this is where supporters groups around the world stand. I thought that was a crappy excuse to give ourselves poor sightlines, but, like I said, I kind of like it back there... much preferable to where we were in SF.
Re: Re: Re: Stadium Situation for the remaining of the season. Ah... so you heard about it too? I knew I was forgetting something! The tailgates! Yes, there is a tailgate area specifically built for us. It has five permanent grills for when we want that type of food. However, the cool thing is that the Fire and the BB1871 has been contacted by a number of local restaurants who wish to have the publicity of catering the tailgates. So, all tailgates are free. Personally, I can't wait for the Charlie Trotter's tailgate in late September.
I figured this must have been the case after reading Peter's post. I'm not the greatest fan of behind the goal seats but I guess that's why my season tix weren't in Section 8 at SF and why I sometimes sit outside Section 8 at CS. Then again, as much as I repsect soccer tradition, I'm not a hardcore Europhile either. Your mileage may vary.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Stadium Situation for the remaining of the season. I'm not going until the beer vendors have at least 100 kinds of foreign beers. And the mens room urinals have those penis-holder things someone mentioned a while back.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Stadium Situation for the remaining of the season. Penis shakers... that was me as well, believe it or not. I mean, I'm not the penis shaker. I'm the one that mentioned the automated things. Actually, the beer vendors (again, no lines) are provided by The Map Room... so the selection is identical. They have like 25 beers on tap and about 100 bottled brands. Don't worry about the bottles flying onto the pitch though. There are lasers, like a missile defense system, that shoot the bottles from the air (completely disintegrating them). Another cool thing is that the cost of beer is subsidized by AEG to make it less expensive for the fans. $2.00 for any kind... except for the beer of the company that happens to be the sponsor of MLS at the time. That's $1.00. For fans like me, there is also a non-alcoholic beverage center. They have fresh smoothies, Jones Soda, Sprecher, Goose Island, and Berghoff root beers, etc., etc. Did I mention the personal replay machines at every seat? These also act as teleprompters for songs and chants. "Lololololololo" runs across the screen with a little bouncing ball on each "Lo" so no one loses his or her place. And there are reclining seats with tray tables in the seats in front of yours. (Seats and tray tables must be in their upright and locked positions until after the singing of the national anthe.) There are cup holders as well. Oh... and individuals who repeatedly do not sing in section 8 are hooked up to electrodes and receive a shock when not singing for an extended period of time.
ok, here's my 2 cents regarding section 8 location. most supporters' ends are, as the name suggests behind the goal. the main reason is obvious-cheapest stands. there are exceptions. at legia warsaw, with arguably the best atmosphere in the polish league, the supporters occupy the sidelines. however, those supporters take up the entire half of the stadium, not just a portion of it, with the rest of the fans wiping snot off their kids' faces. one of the reasons i think we should remain behind the goal, is that we can hope to one day (not in paperville) fill up that end. it will never happen on the sidelines. if we put that to a vote, i'm confident most of the ultras would agree. as far as t.v. goes-fack'em. we're doing this for ourselves, our club, and our town, not some armchair fan in two sh!ts indiana. as far as i'm concerned when they direct the cameras our way we should sit down and read the paper. ok, i'm exagerating a tad, but you get my point.
i like being behind the goal... for one half we can try and really intimidate the other team's keeper
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Stadium Situation for the remaining of the season. So you haven't heard of the new 'No Piss Beer' that's in the consumer acceptance phase yet?