awwww, how cute, little snitchy boy...awww, go to mommy and tell her the bad boys are getting you upset...awww.....how cute, little boy is snitching
So, Happy New Year to the happy supporters in the Houston area... Please post a recap of what goes on in the supporters meeting (not the bit about drinking - the part where some concensus is reached)
Awww man. I didn't realize we were going to have to do work at this meeting. And Happy New Year to you as well!
Re: Supporters Group meeting info -- Weds. 12/21 7:00 pm It is also a way for people to contribute to your group even if they can't or don't stand with you at the games. My wife and I will send you membership fees if you have them. The Inferno has some out of town members.
Given all the publicity that we're seeing reported in the announcement thread, we may have a somewhat larger turnout than we'd ordinarily expect at a kick-off meeting. If we get a fairly large group, then it may make sense to focus on two or three basic items. It may be wise for the folks who want to take a leadership role to think about which two or three basic objectives and follow up/action items should result from this first meeting. What are the two or three most important decisions to reach and what actions will people need to take after the meeting?
That's a good point. I think the top items would probably be the name of the group (unless we want to wait for the team name) and electing "officials" like a president and secretary. Also, if membership fees are collected we need to make sure there is some way to give out receipts. Other items that could come later: Membership fees and how they will be used Where to sit Chants and related activities in the stands Web presence How to market the group Meeting place for future meetings Supporter's group T-Shirts
I think waiting until the team is named is best.. wait... this should wait for the meeting.. sorry to have jumped the gun... rock bford
Before any of this, I suggest you define what the group is going to be, that will effect the decisions of every other item you've listed. Is this going to be a mostly "adults only" kind of group with few limits on language and behavior? Will it be a more inclusive group that welcomes kids and abides by rules of decorum? Will you seek "official" status with the club or do you want to remain independent (but with a good positive relationship with the club, of course)? How can you discuss marketing the group before you know what you are marketing. Don't underestimate both the importance of this discussion and the time it may require to iron out the details.
First of all, let me preface this by saying that I'm not looking to take a major leadership role but I'm all about being the "superfan" (Who would win between Dom and Real Madrid? Dom 243...Real Madrid 1 ). I'll support the "cabinet" as much as humanly possible. That said, in an effort to get the ball rolling, I'll throw out my 2 cents. Personally, I think the first meeting should concentrate on organizing the group. Things like seat assignments, name of the group, chants etc. are hard to organize when we don't even have a team name or front office to contact. The most important things to me would be things like: 1) Determing what kind of group we want this to be. Things like family-friendly with children or more adult-oriented with alcohol at tailgates and a bit of PG-13 feel to it...and of course other elements as well. Developing some sort of a group mission statement if that makes sense. Probably the most important thing in my opinion because I'm sure there are as many different ideas of what a supporter's group should be as there are people who plan on being involved. 2) Creation of positions that we'll need (pres, secretary, financial dude...or dudette etc...and nominations for people to fill those positions. People can stew on it and vote at the next meeting. Which brings me to... 3) Discussion as to where meetings should be, how often they should be held, and what should be charged for dues. Anyway, by the second meeting (wherever that may be) we'll know things like team name, front office locations and contacts, etc. With a foundation laid, we can start with the fun stuff (name, organizing group seating, tailgates etc.) and start collecting dues. Feel free to add to/delete from/call me a dumbass/give me a medal etc. It's all about getting ideas out there since I don't think any of us have first hand experience with something like this and are just going by intuition and suggestions from member's of other supporters groups. If there is someone who has first hand experience with a supporter's group and plans on coming Saturday...plan on talking a lot.
Dre - I'm with you. I know some of the people that will be there, and I've got miles of ideas on what I'd like to see happen based on my experiences seeing Sam's Army, the Screaming Eagles, and the Inferno first hand, but I agree the advice we've seen is worth taking. I say we stick to 3 easy steps with the theme 'Start Simple and Have Fun': 1) Commitment: See who shows up (physically or in spirit!) 2) Communicate: Email addresses, forums, and web sites (we have to organize somehow) 3) Commence to Celebrate: Gameday - tickets and tailgating (everything else will fall in line) Then you can get into more formal organization - names, officers, travel, gear, chants, songs, membership fees, etc. I'm sure we've got plenty of leaders - but there's also a ton of work and a short time to get it done. I've seen a few people say - "not interested in being in charge" - well I'll be the first to say I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make this Houston MLS supporters organization the best in the country. Does anyone know the difference between a fanatic and a supporter? A fanatic is an unorganized crazy, while a supporter is part of a crazy organization. I don't want to be a fanatic with a bright jersey yelling for my team. I'd rather be smack in the middle a cadre of screaming maniacs that form a sea of color in support of our beloved team. The 18 is great, but I belong behind the goal. But if the group would rather be on the 18 - that's where I'll be, and I won't regret it one minute. We're meeting at a pub. We're not meeting at the local pizza shop. We will likely get a certain crowd. While Surge, Mountain Dew, Code Red, and Monster Energy drinks are my preferred pre-game tailgating beverage, I can throw back a Guiness or Murphy's Stout with a good burger anytime. I will also throw out opinions. I will say plenty of times - WE SHOULD DO THIS... mainly because I don't like wasting a lot of time arguing about little things that just aren't worth the argument. If you understand where I'm coming from, it shouldn't bother you. I'm more that willing to go a different direction if you've got a few good reasons, but I don't want to argue about it all day. For example = I think we can temporarily call ourselves Houston soccer supporters - that's what we are. We can decide after the meeting and the team colors and name announcement what we might want to call ourselves. I've tailgated at plenty of soccer games and Texans games. I ran a fraternity in college. I've traveled with Sam's Army - heck, I bought 24 tickets for the US/Mexico game at Reliant and filled 24 seats - introducing quite a few new fans to the beautiful game. Oh, did I mention I've been building websites for 10 years. But as much as I brag about myself - there's no way I could run a supporter's group on my own. So even you guys screaming, "I don't want to be in charge" - get ready. Part of being a supporter is carrying your share of the load and stepping up when someone else misses a step. Let's get this done, bigger and badder, Texas style. FuBoy AKA JamesGorley jgorley@yahoo.com Foo - to kick a ball out of the air off of a lob pass. Fu - to kick a ball out of the air off of a lob pass, with attitude. ;-)
I've been in touch with a bunch of people responsible for starting their respective supporter's groups, so I've got alot of notes that I've taken that I will be bringing along. I agree with keeping it simple. I think we need to worry about getting a website set up so that way people will know when we will be getting together. We also need to talk about getting in touch with the front office, so we can get a group of tickets together. The other main thing is that we need to set up our tailgate, and get people to volunteer on the grill. We can attract alot of walk up attendance with our tailgate with people just coming to hang out and have fun. I'd like for us to talk about memberships, because I'd like to have some funds for our group and maybe use them for a road trip up to Dallas. I'll be bringing signup sheets so that way we can get everyone's email and phone numbers and such. All in all, let's just remember that everyone is in this together. We're hopefully going to have a big group so let everyone talk and respect opinions.