Trials and Tribulations of ESC, Metro and all things inbetween

What The Hell Are You Talking About?

 

Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Forget it, he's rolling.

 

Finally someone from the Front Office posts ... why don't you try posting on metrofanatic.com thats where the Metro fans are.

 

I rarely post on here anymore .. but this topic is somewhat right on target although written in the stylings of the uni-bomber manifesto.

I do have to agree that there isn't a welcoming sense of togetherness when it comes to our fans. The ESC is very much a tight knit group that looks down on others because they simply aren't in their click.

I've been to Nathan Hales a few times and have been met with a cold shoulder almost everytime. I remember turning up in Brunswick last year for a pregame at a bar, the name eludes me, and no one bothered to talk to me...I sat there like I was an outcast simply because I wasn't in their click. Also look at anyone of these threads on this board and you can see how we talk to each other...it's sad to say the least. As to Jamison and Congorilla...I don't know them personally but I do know of them on here and even though they may be liked...they always give off a houlier then thou complex like stated above. These boards blow and I hate to say ... it's people like them and NYRMetros , that keeps fans away from here and even so at the pitch.

 

Wow! I cant beleive what a LOSER you are that because no one went over to talk to you there is a "clique"? What the hell do you expect people to do? Go over and say hello to everyone in the place? Why didnt you get off your ass and introduce yourself? Or are your only social skills typing on a chat board?

The ESC isnt a social club for you to meet other fans, it happens eventually, but the club is here to simply provide a place and means for you to enjoy a Metro game, not to help you get a new best friend. The only way you can be a part of the ESC is by being proactive. If you are just going to sit around waiting for people to make things happen for you, then you know what? Im glad you decided not to continue to come around, because we need more people who have balls and make things happen.

I contantly hear people on these boards who have no social skills whinning about how they were "left out". Expecting some sort of welcoming party when they arrive at bar or section 101. If you want to be friends with other MetroFans just open your mouth and say something. Ive never had a problem with a fellow ESCer if I talked to them.

ANd you know what? People are different you cant expect everyone to like you and you them the ESC is a big club with lots of different people who are into different things. Some just like to be left alone, others like to hang around with their 5 same buddies everyweek and not worry about anyone else, others like to move around and hang around.

LIFES A BITCH DEAL WITH IT.

 

you muppet. do you think the ESC is some kind of gay dating service ? step up grow a pair and introduce yourself ....

tight knit click .... nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Sorry, but I'd say the ESC is anything but tight-knit. Tight knit would imply that there's a sizeable core of people with a lot in common and a real sense of community around the club. But that's not evident now. From my vantage point, there's a couple people doing everything for the club - and when I say a couple I mean you could count them all on one hand and still have room left for a pinky ring. I'm sorry you think that guys like jamison and Congorilla - the kinds of guys I'm talking about - are at all the cold shoulder type. Rather, they're the only guys who DO much of anything, and that's why they're visible, why they're easy (and incorrect) targets. It's not that they're putting out this exclusionary vibe, it's that practically NO ONE ELSE is putting out any kind of vibe, any kind of energy at all...except for the sporadic talk here about what a clique it all is.

The ESC isn't tight-knit or exclusive - it's wildly, wildly diffuse. And that's always been our disadvantage compared to groups in DC or Chicago; we don't have any single group or type that constitutes a major portion of the group, unlike say the Screaming Eagles (made largely of supercilious, cognac-swilling knobheads) or the fools in section 8 (a strongly Polish/Eastern European core and the suburban hoolie-wannabes who love them, or something like that) I mean, it's a disadvantage and it's nice at the same time. You can find all sorts in the ESC - literally. But there's nothing at all that glues us together outside of cheering for the Metros, and when the Metros suck/are demoralizing us all, then that glue ain't all that sticky.

Do you really think it's too clique-y because someone didn't sidle up to you at a bar in New Brunswick? Personally, I'd feel incredibly creepy approaching someone I don't know like that. I'm outgoing enough - I think a lot of folks are - but that's still something I just don't do...I don't know if many people do. There's been talks online about the ESC putting a few guys out there at games or events to sort of act like a 'welcome wagon' but at the end of the day the problem is always the same; who among us wants to give up the scant couple hours of drinking and socializing we get with people we don't see that often, to go gladhanding?
Let me speak for myself in this situation, and in a rhetorical way (I wasn't there, so it doesn't matter); if I don't go up to you and warmly thank you for joining us, it's not because I don't want to talk to you. It's because I don't know you - I don't even know that you're new! - and it's because I can't read minds to tell if you want to be bothered or not, and finally it's because I come to events to see the few people I do know, to enjoy a little drink and to cheer on Metro, and that's about it. Sociability is part of it, but no one's ever said they wanted the ESC to become the MetroFriends Club.

 

So would you like to explain how NYR Metros has kept you or anyone else away from "the pitch"?

It is one thing not to like me in person, but to hate on me based on nothing more than binary code is outright silly.

 

Here is my view on this topic. I have been in the ESC for a few years now. I see it from both angles. First I must admit that I have not done much for the group. I am basically one of those guys that pays his fee at the beginning of each season and then just shows up for game. I am a Metro supporter but perhaps not what you would call a diehard. A Metro loss upsets me, but by the time I am down the ramp it is out of my system. I have also never been on a roadtrip nor have much interest of going on one.
My take is like this if you don't try to make friends you won't. It is as simple as that. If you do not go on the roadtrips or showup to hang in the lot before the game, you won't meet anyone. Now here is the other side of the story. I have been to Nathan Hales a few times and met and even sat with some people during the games. The curious thing is that the next time I saw them at the game, they simply turned the other cheek and made believe they did not know. Is this my fault or theirs? I don't know and really don't care. If you don't want to talk to me fine, but I have enough confidance in myself not to give a damn., with others this does hurt and that is why we will never have the supporters group other teams have.

 

I've been in the ESC since '97 -- I noticed all the fun in 101 in '96, and decided I wanted to be part of that. There is no clique; there are a few guys who probably live near each other in Jersey or NY -- but I don't even know if that's the case -- anyway, same age, same interests -- so they hang together. I'm twice the age of most of the guys in the club; if I sidle up to say hellol, I get it back with a shake of the hand. If i want to be alone for a while before the game, that's ok too.

Many guys from the '90s only show up for the playoffs or a few big games, but they are still welcomed, nobody cuts them out. Be a mensch, walk right up, say hello -- just don't be an a$$hole and interrupt when I'm on a roll.

 

Look. Anyone who joins the ESC has a common interest in either Metro/MLS/soccer, etc... Other than that we are all different. We have different likes, dislikes, locations, attitudes, drinking tolerance, etc.... Not everyone is going to know or talk to everyone in the ESC. You make a few friends from within the ESC based on common interests, location, etc.. Some people are more outgoing and will talk to anyone. Orthers aren't. It is up to you to make some new friends within the ESC or not. It's not the ESC's job to hook you up with a new mate. If it happens, great. If not, so what? The ESC exists as a place where everyone can come together for a common cause, not to mold everyone into a sphere of oneness.

 

I strongly dislike 'repped' posts, but this is one anyway.

 

If you had posted this 2 years ago when people in the ESC sometimes spent more time making fun of other supporters then supporting the team I would agree. But now adays I don't even see those faces in the section any more. The only reason ESC hangs with NJB and the NJB hangs with the Ticos and the Ticos hang with whoever, is not because we have our clics, its because we go on road trips. That is how we know each other, that is why we talk to each other. Come up and say hello, no one is going to tell you to go fvck off.

 

I don't know the people who are "in the know," I've never been to Nathan Hales or any of that,
but,
But I'd say, at the few Metro games I've attended (at Giants Stadium), The ESC always tries to get things going, and the people there do the work that they need to do. And, the open nature of it is a good thing. I took some friends to the 4-4 game with the Earthquakes last year, they wanted to sit near the ESC because they loved the enthusiasm they had, and the accessibility. Truly, anybody can go there and join in. They became instant fans.
However, I live in DC now. I took a different group out to see a DC game, and our seats were located pretty near La Norte. Though they seem like nice people, La Norte sits in a roped off section, and security guards wouldn't let us anywhere near them, telling us that "it's a private club." That turned my friends off, and I don't think they will ever attend a soccer game again. They came and were impressed by what they saw on the field, but left because they felt cheering shouldn't be limited to a private club, but accessible to everybody.
Though the ESC is a private club, they are one that works to spread and encourage Metro enthusiasm in all, not just members.

 

I did try and talk to a few people at both Nathan's and when in Brunswick...both times I was met with a befuddled look on most people's faces. One guy even told me at Nathan's to not even bother showing up to ESC events because I wasn't "metro enough." I'm sorry u don't like hearing these things but as most of you said...life's not fair and can be a bitch sometimes. I'm just sharing my two cents...if that hurts or dents your ego's then I'm sorry but deal with it.

As to NYRMetros..I don't show up to Metros games because of you...that's wrong....I don't really write on here anymore because of you. I'm friendly with a few people who used to write on these boards (No not the Walshes) and they too agreed..your arrival was the downfall of the Metros BS board. Sorry mate but your half arsed attempts to be british cutesy is stomch churning. If you walked into any real Geordie bars with that attitude you'd be drinking your pint of black n tan from inside your rectum.

 

I'm sorry, I'm not buying.

And if someone was stupid enough to say such a thing in seriousness, F him. Maybe people chuck that sort of language around here online from time to time, but people do a lot of things online that they wouldn't do in real life. I've never, ever, heard of or met anyone at any ESC event with that kind of dipsh/t attitude. Certainly not anyone who's been around for a while and has a feel for what it's about.

 

I think the experience is what you make of it.

I was never an official member of ESC, but during my time in NYC, when I attended almost every home match between 1999-2004, I would most times wander into 101 from my usual seat at halftime, and join the section to sing and stand. Always enjoyable, usually a conversation about something during the course of the half. I think several ESC people would recognize me, but don't know me. But that's my choice, not the fault of anyone in ESC. I just like hanging in the back, and from my experience people didn't care one way or another-as long as I was singing Ditto for Nathan Hales-I don't think I ever sat at one of the tables near the big screen-but I never got the vibe that I would not be welcomed.

I think Frieslander's point-as well as what Brownswan has posted in the past about a malaise that has hung over the team-is the real source of the lack of buzz that is reflected on the boards.

I will say one last thing about the ESC and 101 in general: Watching "Fever Pitch" last night on IFC, I felt a real pang of loss not being in NYC at this time. It may be a small army, but it's our army-ya know?

So to all the boys going to DC: Scream & sing you're fuc'ing lungs out and let's hope for a victory.

 

So maybe the guy didnt like you. Big f%4king deal. Move on. No reason to point the finger at a whole group of people. Its like someone having a bad experience with a lowlife on the street and blaming a whole race of people.

 

First and formost I love the Metros and everything invloved with them...fans included.

I don't really agree with the nagative posts on here..however I do somewhat agree with a few of the subjects being tossed around.

The actions of some of the posters on these boards is somewhat irritating. I think Jamison does a good job , a free one at that, of patrolling these boards but I think sometimes you close a thread a bit too early...just let things die off on their own. These are boards for us to discuss...sometimes u or I may not like the topic or things being said in it but hey just click off of it..it's as simple as moving your right hand and pushing your finger down. I do think that at least on these boards there is a clique of friends on here...the ass kissing at times can make ur sick to your stomach.

I don't want to be an antagonist but as to NYRMetros...I stopped writing and reading these boards in part to your arrival...but hey that's life.

 

To sack up or not to sack up...

Lemme give you a little background as to how I became involved in ESC stuff.

After watching the first season from home, one of my first ever games I went to see Metro was the US Open Cup semi @ Columbia. I didn't know anyone in the ESC. Didn't talk to anyone in the ESC. But I sat behind Red Star Metro and some others, but had no idea who they were at the time. Noticed that they were supporting Metro regardless and were singing and trying to be loud for the team. I started a chant without knowing anyone. It was "he can run for miles and miles." People starting singing it. Cool.

Rode back on the subway, didn't sit next to anyone. Didn't talk to anyone. Wanted to be by myself and I had to work the next day.

Went to a Metro game at GS, on the way home, I just started talking to people on the Port Authority Bus. It was Blaise and Holly, didn't know them, just randomly started talking. Next thing I know, I'm standing next to them at games, discussing the team, chanting along, not knowing what my place was.

Then the next year, I go to some games, bringing a few beers, a few dozen joints, sing a couple of songs, meet more people through the people I met, and so on and so on.

Today, I know quite a few people in the ESC. A good number don't have anything in common with me other than the color shirt I'm wearing or the songs we were singing. How did that happen? I had the mentality of "well, these guys like singing and stuff and going hardcore for the team, I can do that, that's easy."

In short, I sacked up and made the effort without asking anyone's permission to so. I made my 101/ESC experience my own by taking the initiative and sacking up and doing it. It's really that simple. If you don't know anyone in 101, easiest way to get them to know you, sing louder than them. Sing like they've never seen anyone sing before. Next thing you know, you'll stand next to others who've never met you or know you but they'll turn in your direction and nod to acknowledge that you sang hard for the team cuz you believe in them just like they do. Some people call that earning your stripes, I just call it sacking up.

Life may be a bitch, but that bitch called life never sang louder than I did for Metro.

 

WELL I EXPECT YOU ON THE BUS TOMORROW,

 

You honestly think that my arrival was the downfall of this board? I am sorry that you feel that way, but if you are going to let one idiot with a keyboard ruin your binary code experience at BS, then that is your choice.

 

-- Binary, huh.....Thanks Steven Hawking