I'm breaking a rule I imposed on myself back when I was a BigSoccer newbie, namely don't post angry. Because believe me, I'm angry right now. Why? Follow along as I try to explain without going off (no guarantees). On Tuesday, April 24 I received a Wizards Weekly Update e-mail from the club that said this: Wizards @ Toronto FC Watch Parties Saturday, April 28; Kickoff at 11:30 AM (HDNet) 810 Zones Can't make the road trip? Each televised away match will be shown live at both 810 Zone locations,4800 W. 119th Street in Leawood and 4686 Broadway on the Plaza. Now, I went to the 810 Zone in Leawood a few times last season. I never got a seat, sometimes didn't get sound for the game, and the food and service was average at best. I made up my mind that I would not return to the Leawood 810 last season. No sweat off my back as Coach's was closer to my midtown address. For the inaugural Jimmy Conrad radio show I went to the Plaza 810 Zone. I got a seat but could not hear the show. Oh well, I chalk it up to being the first show and all the kinks haven't been worked out. So last week I go to Coach's to see KC @ Chicago on HDNet. Decent crowd, decent service (split the check at a shared table without my asking), good beer and good wings. I'm pleased with the experience even though the Wizards lost. But this week I receive the above e-mail. Then I read the following in the Coach's thread. So I'm thinking to myself, the Plaza 810 Zone is really close to my midtown address. It sounds like the 810 Zones are paying to have watch parties. It sounds like the Cauldron is going to be there in force. So I say, I'll give it a chance even though I was pleased at Coach's last week. I arrive at the Plaza 810 Zone about twenty minutes before kickoff, later than I would've liked but I'm pleased when I see I can get a seat (already a 100% improvement over the Leawood location). Unfortunately it was downhill from there. I don't see any Cauldron people there. A few Wizards fans come in, but no one I recognize. All total, less than 10 people. As it gets closer to kickoff and my wings arrive, I ask the server if the audio will be up for the game. She returns and tells me no. Color me confused at this point. After what I read above, I thought they were paying the club for the privilege to be the watch party location. A watch party has effin' audio! So I ask her politely if there is somewhere I can move to that will have audio (thinking to myself about the above referenced shangra-effin-la of a room where all TVs are tuned into the game and the audio is up). She says no. I smile politely and say, "I see." But inside I'm seething as I'm thinking to myself, what kind of business pays to be the official watch party then doesn't have an effin watch party?!? Isn't that money down the drain? So now I'm eating my wings and the game kicks off without sound. A manager approaches me and explains that they're not set up for sound (currently some lame-ass Planet music) is coming through the speakers. Then he says, "We only do audio for major sporting events like Chiefs games, KU basketball, the World Series, the Superbowl." I smile politely and reply, "That's good to know. I was under the impression that you had watch parties here." He says, "We do on weekdays and when the club calls to set it up with us, but no one from the club called this week." So now my mind is thinking several things as I completely miss Marinelli being taken out of the game. For one, I'm thinking, if the 810 Zones are paying the club, surely they would not need permission, or set up from the club to turn on the effin' audio. So I'm calling shenanigans on the idea that 810 is paying the Wizards anything until I hear from a Wizards front office person that this is indeed the case. If they are, they are pissing that money down the drain because they're not hosting an effin' watch party. But the thing that really gets me, and I shouldn't let it get me, is the manager's "major sporting events" comment. Now he was polite and proactive in coming to my table to address my concerns. He didn't mean to insult me. But he did. He effectively said to me, your sport doesn't matter. And you know what, without more people in Wizards apparel demanding audio he's absolutely right. That is what made me the most angry. From the above quoted comments I was under the impression that the Cauldron would be there. Did I misunderstand? Perhaps. I could've stayed at home and watched on MetroSports (in fact that is what I did at halftime). But I like watching with my fellow Wizards fans. I like hearing the game. I like going somewhere where I know the management and staff realize I'm there for the game. Right now that place is Coach's. Taste in food is subjective, and service varies wildly at every sports bar during a game even from week to week. I call both of those issues a push. As I said above, I call bull$hit on the idea that 810 is paying the club money. So that is out of consideration. Apparently Cauldronites have not made up their minds as to where they will watch the games despite posts seemingly indicating otherwise. So that is a push. Bottom line: Coach's caters to my concerns and 810 does not. Therefore Coach's is where I will be for watch parties. P.S. As a completely subjective exclamation point, Coach's wings are better!
I'm not a senior cauldron member, but I do agree whole heartedly with the idea that the cauldronites need to find an OFFICIAL bar to watch away games at, or at least put pressure on one business over the other to establish a home away from home to watch the games at.
I agree, and while I'm normally out at one of the official locations, I wanted to stay at home this morning. I mean I was still in my pjs until right before the game started. I don't think with this game you could have expected much of a crowd at a watch party in my opinion. I also think that we should be supporting the official watch party locations, as they are the one publicized to more then just bigsoccer. The watch party locations are a chance to recruit for the section. Unfortunately the game time today worked against many people wanting to come out to a watch party. The problem is that both Coach's and 810 have had major drawbacks and reasons why specific members of the Cauldron will not go to one or the other location, both have gotten black eyes for their treatment of the fans as well.
And that right there is why the managers at various sports bars can say, "we only turn up the audio for major sporting events." If the hardcore supporters can't be bothered to follow through then there is no point to expecting watch parties.
Lets try a buffalo wild wings. They have numerous tv's, a couple of big screens (a whole wall), good wings, good service, multiple beers and seem to be intrested in "connecting with fans/ the community" I think that BWW would jump at a chance to become the offical away Cauldron if we gave 'em a ring.
The one in Raytown was a location for the network last season. That got bad marks from people because you had to deal with a bunch of dicks who were complaining about why soccer was on.
one of the problems in having one defined location is that this city is too damned spread out and people in blue springs don't want to go all the way out to op, and vice versa.
This is a bit of a chicken and egg argument isn't it? What bar is going to give us every TV and audio and a server for every table and mini fridge stocked full of our favorite beer so we don't have to order another and whatever else we think of sight unseen without knowing they're going to get a crowd? Obviously I'm descending into hyperbole here. But I don't think I'm asking for much when I ask a Kansas City sports bar to turn up the audio when televising a Kansas City sports team's game. The 810 Zones (both locations) have proven to be incapable of this simple request. I've not experienced whatever "pissing in the cornflakes" Coach's has done to some people, but I've never been told my sport didn't matter at Coach's.
Copying the part of my post in the other thread that's relevant to this thread: "Oh and Coach's 143rd & Metcalf treated us pretty good. There were just two of us, but we had the run of the game room and they turned the sound on for us. Maybe it would be a different story for an evening game, but I have no complaints. Where did everyone end up watching? There was no one at 810 Leawood either." Much of the fault is ours that we haven't been successful at this. Well, not entirely, but we need to be semi-flexible about making this work. What I'm thinking is that we have an "official" Missouri side watch party, and an "official" Kansas side watch party. Too often there are people who just don't want to travel all the way across town (as kcscsupporter said, this city covers huge real estate) so they end up just watching at home. Splitting seems like a simple way to ease the travel burden on everybody, and still allow us to concentrate our numbers enough to make it worth a pub's while to put the game on with sound. And we can always have a full-Cauldron watch party every couple months or so.
kathie and i would probably have been there but we both had to wor...just like next week and will be missing the match both times we have been there we sat upstairs next to the game room which was quite nice, and i hate going there even if it isnt the shit hole bad service leawood local, but i still have to admit we have been getting good service, audio, and ok numbers. now i underdtstand that it is difficult for this crowd to go anywhere before 1pm and this is partially our fault to not be there and stand up and fight with you for this (did you sit upstairs) but you should give it one more try brfore jumping off ship
There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again.
rep...my favorite as well the one on the plaza has been good to us UPSTAIRS so far...so far you must spread rep....someone pick me up please
I got in here late, but that's beside the point. Half the posts on the first page of this thread is why I watch games at home, because I refuse to bother going to a "watch party" unless it's actually going to be a "watch party" (as in, group of excited fans, a spot that takes care of those fans, and that actually has enough fans at the spot to be considered a party). I don't bother searching these forums a lot so someone make a thread about the REAL OFFICIAL watch party spot with some organized conversation about the party, and maybe I'll think about showing up. Or just reply to my ignorant post in a "your stupid" forum fashion and let me know where it's at. Thanks.
We had fun at Coach's on 103rd Street today. Some breakfast specials (I liked mine) and bloody Mary special. They took great care and time in getting the TV's and sound just right. Wait personnel was a bit slow, but hey, we've got over 90 minutes. And there were a bunch of folks in blue shirts yelling, groaning, and cursing all together. Some of the long-time STH go there.
I live in OP, but I will gladly drive anywhere in the KC metro area for a watch party, even if we do it at someone's house. I just want to hang out with some cool Wizards folk and learn some more about the team, because I'm a fairly recent Wizards fan.
It may just be me, but I could care less about the sound being on. I never understood why people insist on being told what they're alread looking at. It's not like you have a commentator talking in your ear when you're AT the game, and very rarely does he ever open my eyes to something that I couldn't figure out on my own.
Hopefully Robb reads this. That said, it would be nice for the Cauldron to be officially linked to one or more locations. It seems that Coach's is willing to reach out to us, and if the team isn't competent enough to set up their business partnerships then our section should feel little to no responsibility for supporting their partnerships. If this is a "Cauldron" specific topic, then it rests on the leaders of the Cauldron to forge a partnership and drive its success. If the Cauldron were to firmly stand behind one location and loudly support attendance at that location I think this issue would be better resolved. Obviously WE know what WE want more than the front office (sorry Robb, Greg, Sam but we have gone through this will the last owners and it certainly seems like the lack of commitment on this issue might be continuing). If we go directly to the bar and tell them what we want, promise them consistent business and come through on our end of the deal we won't have issues like this. All that said, an 1130AM kick off is kind of hard to work out. Most people, like Mike mentioned, were just waking up and watched in the comfort of their own homes. An away game on a Saturday night should be no problem and I think it's becoming more and more apparent that we as a group need to give Coach's a second chance.