This is the store on the Pony Tail Posse Website. http://www.unitedsoccerathletes.com...BE4655CB-B0D0-791A-6501CE17D1D21381&killnav=1 To me, it appears to be a mix of US Soccer licensed stuff and their own stuff.
That bobsled ride looked interesting...and scary. One question that wasn't asked was who are the pilots. I think I'd be interested in knowing that. I asked my original question because I assumed that the national associations of each sport accepted the responsibility of supporting the training of their specific athletes. Thus, according to my thinking, it was the duty of USSF to support the men's and women's teams for the World Cups and Olympics. And to support them equally. Irrespective of how much money each team brought in.
I was at this sucker several summers ago and they were giving bobsled rides on bobsleds with wheels. It looked like just regular staff piloting the bobsleds. I honestly don't think it was that expensive though.
Thanks to Jo for posting the link to the KC Star article. Thanks to Anthony for pointing out that the Ponytail Posse sells gear on its own. To Steve, did you watch the North Korea game in the WWC, the one where Mia sat while Nomar roamed? The North Korean fans had a big block of seats right next to the midfield. Sam's Army could not get a ticket allocation for this game. It was the same in the 1999 WWC; rowdy US male fans were persona non grata. It was all about Sisterhood, and their common enemy, American men.
That's a good question. I don't have enough money or courage to try these rides out for myself. But I'd have to assume that the drivers are someone on the US Bobsledding staff, if not real Olympic bobsledders. I hope that they don't hire the first person they see in line at Workforce Services to drive them. So some of that money, in theory, ends up training lugers, ski jumpers, bobsledders, etc. I think that some of the money that the indoor soccer leagues that play at the Olympic Speedskating Oval generates ends up with the Olympic committee. Speaking of The Land Of Olympic Bribery; as everyone knows, there is a strong correlation between advertising & promotion & ticket sales. But there are other factors, too. I don't remember much advertising for the 2003 USWNT friendly here against Ireland. And it sold 19,000 + tickets. No doubt, someone here has all the data; but wasn't our game one of the best-attended friendlies of the year? I think that a lot of promotion was done via youth clubs. Is this feasible: How about an "NBA style" deal. NBA players are guaranteed a certain percentage of TV revenue & ticket sales. Maybe the USMNT & USWNT could receive a base salary/appearance fee; then bonuses for winning, then bonuses based on ticket sales/Nielsen ratings? Beforehand, the players & the USSF could agree on an auditor to make sure no hanky-panky is going on; and they could agree on a level of promotional spending. That would give the USMNT an advantage, because all they would have to do is invite Mexico to play in the LA Coliseum; and they'd make big bucks.
This is definitely an area where USSF could improve. I would love to see more marketing to broaden the fan base (print, tv, etc.) but we could definitely put more butts in the seat by promoting to soccer players/fans through the various association (AYSO). This can be done inexpensively through email and direct mail. The USTA (tennis) does an excellent job of this. I have already received a couple of mailings regarding ticket sales for The Family Circle Cup which will be held in April as well as some emails. We don't even have a schedule for the first quarter for the WNT. No idea when or if they will be playing.
Some comments from the Mia, Julie, Joy conference call. Sorta related to the new contract. Here's the link: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=131587
I'm not sure this is really true. Check out some of the WCQ attendance threads in the US Men's forums.....
The USSF has pretty much abdicated promotion of both the Men and Womens teams. Basically, the host organization is responsible for any promotion at this point.
The Utah Athletic Foundation runs the oval, Soldier Hollow and the Olympic Park (luge/bobsled and ski jumps) facilities. The SLC Olympic organizers ceded control of the venues to the foundation after the 2002 Games. The US Olympic Committee has nothing to do with them, as far as I know. I imagine the UAF needs all the income it can get in order to keep those venues operating.
Not to disrespct the host organizations too much but haven't the attendance figures for the men's games been slightly below expectations (well, fan expectations), with promotion (as well as weather, timing, other conflicts, etc) being one of the key factors? I'm very suprised that the men's contract expired so long ago. I think it is pretty crap on the Fed's part.
It's not just the women's contract USSF is having trouble with. This is about the men's: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/soccer/12/15/bc.soc.uslabordispute.ap/index.html I guess the women's contract will take a back seat for a while.
US Soccer has pretty much abdicated its responsibility to run a national team program at all. I have to say I was surprised to see the federation handling the men's team as ham-handedly as the women's. Of course, it would make sense for the players to negotiate together and get one deal (w/ twice the leverage) and no one seems to have thought of it. It's too bad Dr. Bob, et al aren't accountable for the consequences of their "leadership." (I mean can you even call not negotiating for two years and getting dragged before the NLRB a plan or strategy?)
The players need different things. The men realize that they bring a lot of money into the federation thanks to Mexican immigrants paying large dollars for friendlies with Mexico in LA. And they want more. But they do not rely on the federation for their living. Instead, they make their living from their club teams, the federation $s are just extras (Clint Mathis's second keg, Landon Donovan's hair weave, etc). The women, with WUSA gone, frankly need the federation so they can make a living. Otehrwise, they will need to get a real job, and they cannot train full time. I have proposed a "W-League Plus" system for the women. The women in the pool would get a stipend but only if until WUSA gets restarted, they play for a W-League team. This would allow them to train when not in camp. But the Fed and the women are not listening to me.
.......and yet, they pay April over 200 k a year....what's wrong with THAT picture? Isn't Dr. Boob up for re-election soon? "Arena made $961,802 in the 12 months ending last Aug. 31, according to a government filing by the U.S. Soccer Federation. That was up from $605,630 the previous fiscal year, when Arena was coaching the team through the final round of World Cup qualifying, where the Americans went on to earn their fourth straight World Cup berth. Arena, hired to replace Steve Sampson following the 1998 World Cup, made $474,548 in the year ending Aug. 31, 2000, and $484,852 in the previous 12 months, according to the filings, required annually of tax-exempt organizations by the Internal Revenue Service. ...... U.S. women's coach April Heinrichs made $211,500 in the year ending last Aug. 31, up from $159,206 the previous 12 months. She earned $225,250 in the year ending Aug. 31, 2000, when the Americans advanced to the gold-medal game of the Sydney Olympics, losing to Norway 3-2 in overtime. Arena was by far the highest-paid employee of the USSF. Secretary general Dan Flynn, who runs the organization on a daily basis, was second at $366,843, followed by deputy executive director Jay Berhalter ($227,038) and Heinrichs. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2003-05-31-arena-salary_x.htm
New contract for Ape questioned "Women's national squad makes plans Director of communications Jim Moorhouse says something "revolutionary" is brewing for the next phase of development for the U.S. women's national team but no details are available. Yet. "The plan was always that we'd scale back in 2005," he said of the team likely forgoing participation in the annual Algarve Cup tournament, which is played in Portugal every spring. He did not set a date that the team, which won the Olympic gold medal in Greece last summer, would start its 2005 program. Some of the players, such as veteran midfielder Kristine Lilly, are considering playing in Europe and most of them can keep busy conducting training camps and making personal appearances. Moorhouse refuted reports the federation is negotiating a new contract for women's coach April Heinrichs. "April is contracted until the end of 2005," said Moorhouse. "She signed an extension prior to the 2003 Women's World Cup, so that isn't an issue." http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2005-01-04-notebook-labor-impasse_x.htm?csp=34
FearM9- I din't know Paul Hornung had an interest in the Broncos-- but shouldn't the quote read "bigger faster Basque kids?"
Here's a lengthy article in this morning's KC Star. It's about the men's contract. But what the men end up with will probably have some relevance to what the women end up with. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/10614096.htm Here are a couple of quotes: And here's a chart the Star drew up based on the best information they could get. All figures are per player except the bonus money which goes into a pool to be shared by the players.
Sorry about that. I didn't know the quote function would cut off the right side of the chart. It looked OK in the preview window. I'll see what I can do. (And after I worked so hard putting all those little dots in.)
World Cup............ Last contract.. Players.. Federation Qualification bonus.. $900,000 ....$2 million ...$1.2 million Points bonus ..........$100,000..... $150,000.. .$115,000 2nd-round bonus ....$1.85 million.. $2.8 million ..$2.25 million Quarterfinal bonus... $1.5 million... $2.5 million. .$1.75 million Semifinal bonus...... $1.75 million.. $3.25 million. $1.85 million Third-place bonus...... $0 ............$1.2 million....... $0 Final bonus............. $2 million..... $3.5 million.... $2.25 million Championship bonus.. $2.5 million ..$4 million...... $2.75 million WC per game............. $2,500........ $5,000......... $3,000 Gold Cup.............. Last contract.. Players... Federation Winners.................. $4,000........ $12,000...... $5,000 Runner-up.................. $0............ $5,000...... $2,500 Exhibitions............. Last contract..Players..... Federation Beat non-top 25 team $3,150 ........$10,750 .....$4,000 Beat 11-25th team ....$4,000........ $12,500...... $5,300 Beat 1-10th team* ....$5,150........ $15,500...... $7,000 * Includes Mexico, regardless of its ranking
No question the player's union needs to get a broader outline of the issues to the media - the win bonuses aren't the whole story. Also, it's too bad the fed can take advantage of the men/women split and imply that fully funding the men will take away from the women. If the players were smart, they'd negotiate a deal together. You'd think the men's PA would want the women in the room for leverage - after all Landon Donovan isn't as sympathetic as somebody like Wambach who's really dependent on the newest national team deal. I also like how the paper sort of glossed over the fact the men have simply gone along with the old deal for two years (and are willing to keep playing), but they quoted the fed mouthpiece at length about how the players weren't really negotiating.