Storm - Ignition photos

did they play this one at 2:30 in the morning? THERE IS NO ONE THERE!!!

 

I could have bet this would happen. Nobody said a single word last week. This stuff is so stale.

 

It's a perfectly legitimate comment. There aren't many fans in the picture at all.

 

ZzzzzZzzzz....(wake me up when people stop careing that there haven't been people in the seats at STORM games from the get go and start focusing that we are the best god damn team this league has seen these past two seasons. DEFENSE...we got DEFENSE...OFFENCE...we got OFFENCE....AMBULANCE...ya we got that as well, to take away all the bodies that get wreaked by the awesome power of the STORM)

 

The Storm is indeed playing very good "indoor" soccer but that won't matter much if the crowds are not there. They have got to figure out a way to get butts in the seats to survive. This is a shame that no one goes to the games and enjoy the victories. It has to be a bummer for the players to come out and see a hand-full ( speaking in relative terms ) of people in the crowd.

 

Is part of the problem the Storm don't get any sort of coverage from the local media? A lot of times after Storm games I go to the online pages of the Tribune to look for a game story(after many Storm victories) & there is nothing-it's like the city of Chicago doesn't know the team exists.

 

Bingo!! The Daily Herald recently has some stuff on the Storm and that is it. You are lucky to get a score or even standings in the Sun-Times or Tribune. Radio and TV is non-existant. The team does nothing in the way of advertising and yet the Storm's crowds have been at the 3000 or so range. There was over 2800 announced for Friday's game and not to make excuses but the temps in Chicago last week leading up to the game was single digits to as low as -7 below just the night before the game with wind chills -25. Friday night we did have a heat wave of sorts at about 10-15 degrees but it was snowing at game time. Soccer Mom does not want to bring little Johnny to the game in this type of weather conditions. Do I agree with this...hell no. I take my 9 year old son to the games in this type of weather but not that many people agree with my thinking. This was a reason the crowd looked so bad Friday but the main reason is the Storm's sales staff. I've said it many times, if the masses do not even know that you exist how can you expect to draw?

 

Off to Milwaukee...I will let you all know how great the crowd was.

 

The Storm's announced crowds may have been in the 3,000 range but that doesn't reflect reality. You keep attacking the Storm's sales staff, but there's only so much they can do if the team doesn't advertise. I don't think the problem is with the sales staff. I think it's several things. One is either a lack of financial resources or an unwillingness to use the resources. Another is poor management from the top. Another is that Chicago is an incredibly competitive market and it would be difficult for an indoor team to succeed even if it was well run. Finally, the location of the Sears Centre is not very convenient for a lot of people.

The weather conditions are not a very good excuse for Friday night's crowd. It was cold but Chicago fans are used to cold weather and they only allow that to deter them if the cold is very extreme. Personally, I think Sunday afternoon or early evening is a better time to play than Freiday night but the MISL and the Storm decided to go with Friday night games and they're stuck with it now.

 

Have fun at your storm games next year, DJ. Get your Ebay store ready now, beat the rush.

 

In the first couple of years I went to pretty much all the Storm games. It was close to me, you could get a ticket for $8, I could park a few blocks away in the street for free and Lazo and Novi were playing and Frankie was the coach. So from my personal perspective, it was worth it then. I haven't gone to a game at all this year. Too far away, there's really no one that I really want to see play, and the ethnic rivalries at the Odeum are more fun to watch. I don't like how Frankie, Lazo, and Novi exited the Storm. I also don't like how IMO this team has become Milwaukee South. So this Friday I decided to go to the Section 8 party at the Globe rather than drive to Hoffman Estates.
I may go when New Jersey comes to town just to see Lazo play against his old team. Or I may go skiing and just watch the replay of that game on FSC the following friday. I don't know about other fans but the interest in the Storm for me is not the same anymore.