Garber is repeatedly making reference to this during his conference call, I thought this deserved a separate thread. How do folks feel about the potential resurrection of the Earthquakes in a few years once an owner can be located? What issues might be involved? Personally I don't know how excited I would be in a few years to come back, my last thoughts of the Quakes as being a championship-quality team, and then have a Chivas-like expansion team with a bunch of new faces, and occasionally playing a team that will look a lot like my old Earthquakes. I suppose being in a new stadium would be exciting, but I suspect that if and when the Quakes are resurrected by a willing owner, construction will only be in the approval process.
Hey, the Cleveland Browns did it. I'm all for th SJ Quakes to come back into the league. In fact, I'd be disapointed in the SJ and bay area govts and potential investors if the Quakes don't come back by 2007. Come on Quakes!
I may be in a minority, even of Quakes fans, but I would welcome the return of the Earthquakes Mk. IV. just as soon as someone with the resources and vision to resurrect the club can be found. Whether that's in a year or two years or ten years, I hope to see the day it happens.
I'm with you. If they come back, they will be properly-financed with a focused ownership group, and a brand, spanking-new stadium. Whether the team is top-notch right out of the box is immaterial.
San Jose Earthquakes as f@&*ing MLS expansion team? What the F@(& is he talking about? We are THE Team chosen by MLS to be the poster child of fan support. The FIRST ever game for the MLS League held in San Jose. We were THE chosen city to kick off the MLS league. We don't want no f*@&ing expansion team. We want OUR team, the San Jose Earthquakes. Now all our players/coaches/assistant coaches are GONE. Everyone. Shipped off to Houston. These guys & gals are are OUR Team. I don't want a new coach. I don't want a net new team "in the future if things go well". I don't want any b.s. bogus spin doctor delivering a bunch of crap they can't really stand & promise. (we have heard plenty of that) These people "were" THE SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES. now they are gone. Don Garber can go rot in hell.
I'd say to myself, "well, they've killed the Quakes off before, and I came back. I guess I can do it again one more time."
Third time's the charm. If an expansion team comes, I'll support it. And if the head coach is someone in Yallop's coaching tree (I think it'll be Doyle) then it'll be our old club again at least on some level. Although I can't promise I'm going to sit around all my life waiting if Philly gets a team first.
I will support them if the expansion owner is committed to the community and not some out-of-town entertainment conglomerate. The community of fans is more important to me than any player. Fans are fans for generations, players come and go. Though some players transcend that fact (Moore, Dayak), the current players are pros who are going to have go do their jobs somewhere else. It's sad, but pro sports is a vagabond career. As fans we now have to work on the future of San Jose's soccer community and tradition.
I gotta say, that the arguments he made were really convincing, a lot more "above the table" than the way NFL handled relocations. He left absolutely. No. Doubt. That SJ would come back stronger and better in the long term. In the short term, it sucks. In the short term, it kills off incredible momentum of one of the top selling points of the franchise: the CA Derby. I've gotta say: this could end up working even better for the team's "mythology". Believe.
Actually, I'll amend my comments to echo those of Noah Elliott and mitquinn. What this team will need is some credibility. I'm talking about having a local owner with sufficiently deep pockets, about having broken ground on an actual stadium, about having a dedication to promoting the team and the sport here in the Bay Area.
MLS broke the covenant with the fans. I'm done with MLS. I've invested a ton of money with season tickets for 10 years, on top of driving two hours each way for games. The team leaves with significant opportunites on the table and a good excuse for delaying a decision (Ron's malfeasance), and yet are going to Houston WITHOUT A LOCAL OWNER. Hypocrites. If I felt that there was an honest attempt to make the team work in the bay area, then I might cut MLS some slack. But no way. I could care less if the bay area gets an expansion team. I supported the league when the team was absolutely unwatchable, and yet that's not good enough. Fine. They don't want me as a fan, I don't want them.
I'm with you Noah, I'll support not a new team, but our Terremotos forever, with local ownership, no matter if it's in Oakland S.F. any town in the bay area.
I'd be right on board because at least THIS time, I'd have no question that the Quakes are owned by someone who WANTED to own tham and playing in a place that WANTS them to play there. I don't care if its in San Jose, Santa Clara, San Fracisco or Oakland, as long as there is a new stadium and committed ownership, I am THERE! 2007(hope), 2007(wish), 2007(pray) Lee
I must say I didn't hear the conference call, but there is always doubt until it happens. Remember how San Antonio was supposed to get a team? Cleveland has a letter of intent for MLS expansion that is still valid. It can happen, but we don't know that it will happen. That it hinges on an agreement with the San Jose City Council is not reassuring news.
I'll buy a season ticket (unless it's priced at unaffordable "Big 3+1" levels) even though I almost certainly won't be living in the Bay Area
Well I DID listen to the call, and I've had the opp to listen to others as well. It's always interesting to hear the reporters questions b/c they are able to sift through a lot of fluff and pr and get to the point. Most of the questions were about the return to SJ. Garber talked at length about the process, and how they have set things up so that the new team can carry on the SJE legacy in all of its tradition. Unlike what you would expect of him to leave open the possibility of moving to SF or Oakland, he only spoke of SJ, in a very pointed way. Unlike what he was saying at MLS Cup time, rambling about the politics of the city and their disappointment w/ the $80 mill for the A's, he thanked the mayor and his staff, especially for their work over the last 24-36 hrs. in brokering a deal to keep the legacy in SJ. When he thanked SSV, he spoke of them as partners in coming back to do things right. It was all about Cleveland, Houston and Baltimore are better situations long-term b/c they got the facilities and ownership issues settled. The same will be the case for SJE. Honestly, everything that he said pointed towards the future of the franchise in SJ. It was almost as if Goodsport had taken over his body, except instead of saying, "We'll be happy to host the Houston expansion team when they visit SJ" it was "We'll be happy to host the San Jose expansion team when they come to Houston". EDIT: SJ City Council They are working on a proposal and Garber feels very confident that something will get worked out. I just didn't get a "60-90" vibe about this. Nor did I get a "Move SJ" vibe. My gut says that MLS is thoroughly committed to doing MLS in SJ the way it deserves to be done: local ownership, proper facilities, community support.
I think it will happen but not in the next round of expansion. In other words, assuming Toronto is the 13th MLS team, the "new" San Jose Quakes will not be the 14th. But they will be the 15th or 16th.
Call still available here: http://web.servicebureau.net/conf/meta?i=1112635635&c=15586&m=was&u=/w.xsl
::sigh:: true, its not the old championship earthquakes i'd love to see a clause somewhere that allowed the new expansion team to have its old players/coaches back, if not all, some of them SJE forever
http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20051215&content_id=49527&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp I hope, this is not total BS but what MLS really means: The City of San Jose and Major League Soccer have signed a Letter of Intent which provides a wide variety of support elements, including a stadium financing plan, to attract a local investor for an MLS expansion team in San Jose as early as 2007. The details of the Letter of Intent will be voted on at a future San Jose City Council meeting. The Earthquakes name, colors and competition records have been retained by MLS for this future expansion team. "We thank the fans of the Earthquakes for their support throughout the past 10 years," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "It is our intention to bring Major League Soccer back to the Bay Area with a new expansion team as early as 2007. MLS is committed to working with local business leaders and city officials to continue these efforts. With the support of the City of San Jose, a local ownership group and a soccer-specific stadium, professional soccer can be very successful in northern California."