I won't make a big deal out of this, it's just that I just noticed it. How have we fared as a fan base as opposed to previous years? I just noticed that every team in the league had more posts than we did except for the Galaxy. Is there a relationship between that and the drop in our attendance? Do you think it demonstrates that fans just finally gave up when nothing changed? I definitely noticed after the pre-season that there were a number of posters I never saw anymore, posters that used to post pretty frequently. I sure hope that a change in coaching and I hope a change in General Managership might generate some new excitement. Just curious. I looked at that general page a 1000 times but never noticed the amounts for each team.
I think it's stretching it to think that the thread/post count on BigSoccer is directly proportional to the size of the fan base for a team.
As Greenie pointed out in another thread, I post too much/too often. So I am trying to do my part. I think there might be some truth to your statements that as fans get disinchanted they stop posting going to games. But who knows how to quantify it?
As many times as it takes to try to achieve what has finally happened. I know that we still run the risk of hiring just another Tim Hankinson, but at least we have a chance at making things change. While there is still much that needs to happen, I am excited that the possibility exists that the Rapids could start over and become the kind of club we have all wanted to be proud to claim as OUR TEAM!!! Come On, finish through with what you have started KSE!!!
I was trying to estimate how many fans the Rapidos would have had at the MLS Cup if we would have made the final (this might take a lot of imagination). I bet it would have been less than 1/4 the amount that DC & KC seemed to have at the game. Anyone want to venture a guess?
I too have noticed a lack of posts this season. There were many times durring the year when it seemed dead in here. I think it is attributable to the lack of excitement genereated by the team. I mean what is there to say about a team mired near the bottom for most of the year and doing nothing to change? But with the changes that this off season holds I think the excitement is coming back. I already am counting the days to the expansion draft and the Super Draft and the start of the regular season. The time can't go by fast enough.
I would venture to say that a little bit of the problem can at least be attributed to the lack of publicity and viewing options for some games. I mean, can you imagine a thread just brimming with: "Yeah, I didn't see that game either, since it wasn't on TV, but the box score was INTENSE!" I am willing to grant that KSE needs to get up to speed with this team, both in terms of publicity and televising/media availability. But it has to hurt on some level. Plus, we just flat out svcked at times this year, and it wasn't because we were rebuilding.
The vast majority of season ticket holders I know rarely visit BigSoccer. Those that do rarely post -- many of them never post. And of all the folks I know that go on a game-by-game basis, none ever come to BigSoccer; most have never even heard of it. In other words, participation in this forum is an extremely poor indicator of real-world interest of the Rapids. That said, it's surprise that our post count is low, given the general lack of information provided by the team over the years. Whether that means press releases, simple news or (heaven forbid) front office staff who post more than once in a blue moon -- and don't do it anonymously -- it certainlky makes a difference. And for what it's worth, the majority of visitors to rapidsfan.com either don't visit BigSoccer or have never heard of it. We have a much, much higher number of referrals from search engines than we do from this site.