What do YOU want from a supporters club?

The web site is www.v-armyonline.com. The links page will take you to every other Crew site that's worth seeing as well.

 

Yeah, That's our site.
btw, US-Mexico pics are up on there and I am also currently uploading 174 pics to our Yahoo Photo site http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/varmyonline/my_photos

 

Didn't know you guys had a site. I apoligize.

 

Yup, if you go to the Crew's site and click on Fans, we're there.

 

I see.. nice site..

 

At the tailgate this past Wednesday, I was conversing with Block O' Mike(Nuthouse) about Bigsoccer and the Crew boards... An interesting discussion was started regarding how on most of the other MLS club boards on BS, most of the "usuals" and average post-a-day posters were members of the supporter group for that club.

Why are we different? Neither of us could answer this, and I'd love to get an idea of why this is so.


Disclaimer: Please don't respond with "Crew fans are always different from everyone else", because that won't fly. I understand that for a while we were all pretty damn b!tchy.. but things around here appear to have soften up.

 

I don't really think so. I think most of our usuals (if not all) are, or have been in, section 137 for Crew games. I believe part of what plagues us is the fact that we always get people from OSU. When they graduate, they move away.

When that happens, or they just plain lose interest, the control of section 137 goes to other people. Since 1999, how many different people have been in control of what goes on in section 137? A lot, that's for sure. It sucks because we can't really control it, we get some continuity, but every few years, control falls to someone else, and we move back two or three steps. Part of the reason why the other SC's around the league work so fluently is that they've been controlled by the same people for years. Someone by the name of "K" has been helping run Barra Brava for years. Chicago's Section 8 has had Kirsten Tautfest and Marcin (as well as others) near the top of things for years as well. I'm not sure if Liam (HalaMadrid) is still around, but he was helping Section 8 for a long time as well.

It seems like in Columbus, we get the ball started, but no one's willing to keep it moving. We had an official pub, then we didn't. We had an executive board, then it fell apart. In 6 years of Crew Stadium, we've had 4 different locations for North End tailgates. In DC, they've had a keg in Lot 8 since the beginning of time. Earlier this year, The Inferno (FC Dallas) did a 24 hour tailgate leading up to the opening of Pizza Hut Park.

I think that's one of our weaknesses. We don't have an official post-game pub to go to. After the wonderful time at O'Shaugnessey's (thanks to Mike, Fid, and Andrew on that one), i'd suggest we try to work out a deal with them for post-Crew games. Only downside is if we're paying for parking down there, it could get a bit expensive.

V-Army (and it's predecessors) have always been extremely laid back. "Come when you want, bring your own stuff, we'll have a grill" has been the word of the day. Part of this is the State of Ohio controlling the lot, but even some of these other clubs have had memberships that allow for discounts at their tailgates. If you're a member, you get 1 free drink and 1 free burger per game, or whatever they do. We've tried to go formal, and for some reason, it just hasn't worked.

If you took everyone who's been a member of section 137, we'd have a strong group. Our turnover is extremely high. Sucks, but we have to deal with it.

Perhaps Foos or someone else could help me out here, but Matt Bernhardt, Chuck Pearson, Brian Lower, Brian Guilfoos, Dave Han and several others got things started in 1997 or earlier. One by one they left, and then Zak took things over in 2000 or 2001. This past year it seems that Mike S. has assumed control for the most part and now it looks like Chelsey might be starting to rise to power and help out with things.

We have two groups of people. The people who are Crew fans, but move away as i've mentioned above. The second group is people who might come, but it's a big deal.

This second group includes people like Chris Bailey who works for Chicago (correct me if i'm wrong). Since he works for an MLS team, i'd imagine it's almost impossible for him to come. There's OGHT as well who does come when he gets the time off from military duties. I'm sure Splarg would come to every game as well, but perhaps you've heard of the Atlantic Ocean?

There's another group of Crew fans such as hangthadj, Zak, and Eggy who have other ways to spend their money and time than spending a whole Saturday coming to a Crew game.

Considering the way we've been playing this season, i'm not sure if I would come to every game myself if it involved 6 or 7 hours in a car, and an overnight arrival back home, if I didn't find a place to stay at.

It'd be great to see the people i've mentioned, but life goes on and commitments catch up. Other things get in the way.

That's a lot of time and money just to come from one state away. Throw in parking costs and a game ticket, and you've just barely scratched the surface. There's a tailgate to supply, plus gas for the car, etc. If we lose 0-4, then win 2-0, then lose 0-3, i'm not sure if I would want to spend my money on that team.

I'd guess that v-army is one of the youngest supporters sections in terms of it's members average age. Do we have anyone over the age of 25 or 30 stand in 137 regularly? There's the two people who wear the yellow Crew t-shirts with Hejduk's name on the back, but other than that??? How many married people are in 137?

Part of this problem is due to OSU, but other supporters sections around the league have their share of students as well. Face it, we're a young supporter's club.

I think part of our problem is looking at the other clubs and trying to be like them. We're not them, we're not in their stadium, we don't support their team, so why can't we do our own thing our way?

It's been like this for years. We suck on the field, and the forum turns nasty. We win a US Open Cup or a Supporter's Shield, and things turn a bit better. Of course, whenever we've won a trophy, we've followed that up with a finish at the bottom and things turn sour again. Sports fans in general keep demanding winners. And when their team doesn't win, they think they have the right to complain and bitch up a royal storm.

 

That was one hell of a post, Peter. I realize you made some assumptions.. still an informative post.

It is a real **********ty predicament.

I'll help out with "things", but the first part just made me laugh.

I did it. All season. Ok, Ok, I missed two home matches, but I went to Fulham-Crew, the Catolica match, and the Allstar match. I think that makes up for a bit. Add to the fact I was literally stranded in SC for the first match I missed.. I know as well as anyone what time, energy, and money looks like when dealing with supporting the Crew.

What way would that be?


Why is it that when people get married and have kids they leave 137? You see plenty of wives and kids in Section 8 or DC's numerous supporting sections.. Why is it so taboo to do so in Columbus?

 

Yeah. Not everyone's the same though. As for why these Crew fans aren't coming to games, I don't know. Sure, it'd be nice to have them back, but since no one's holding a gun to their heads, it's all up to them.

I don't know. Lord knows we've tried everything to be coordinated. Official tailgates, membership fees, club t-shirts and scarves, road trips. We've even spent Friday nights at bars. It's almost like we're cursed, and no matter what we do, we'll still be dysfunctional. If you name it, we've probably done it at some point.

As for married and moving out of 137? That's another question i'd love to know the answer to. As I said above, if everyone who was ever a "Crew supporter" in 137 stuck around, we'd be looking at a full section. Plus you'd consider when people would bring friends to games.

 

Well that's not part of the regular season . . . and I'm sure everyone saw enough of me this season, doncha think?

That's a very sound and reasonable answer. I'm not pointing fingers or accusing anyone of anything; I hope it did not come off that way. I just genuinely want to know why it is the way it is... It basically goes along with Mike's statment of "What do YOU want from a supporters club?". I just wanted to know if there was anything any of us who are already in the section could do to convince any of you to reconsider your section and/or tailgate area.

 

Well I think inadvertently you've touched on part of the problem.

I've stood in 137 for less than half the season but I know "the two peoples" names, hell I've even talked to them. My wife too. And to beat that we're even over thirty!
Recruiting supporters for the North End means maybe talking to the people that choose to stand there Peter. Maybe instead of saying we have high turnover and that sucks we could figure out why that is and maybe lack of community has something to do with it.
And before you say you shouldn't be expected to know everyone in the North End I was at the last two games and unfortunately you could.

 

Exactly. I've been saying this for years.. If you make people feel welcome, they'll come back. It's not that hard, people.


By the way, you and Jennifer rock. And so does Jillian(sp?). Lots of love and hope to you all three of you on Saturday.

 

Just tying to share some of our experiences with similar problems in Dallas and how we worked through them.

We lost most of our members when two things happened, at various times - we got over-organized or the team was struggling.

What we found was the ticket was this - be welcoming and inviting in an informal way, and otherwise just be yourselves and have a good time. To a certain degree, we had to dial back a little of the language (mostly just really limiting the F) but we usually found creative ways to say the same thing.

Frankly, I think the Mystics are the best examples of the "come have fun in our section" in MLS. Like Section 8, they don't even expect you to be a member of the Mystics to be in The Cauldron. Just show up and have a good time (hopefully wearing the team colors.)

A t-shirt deal is nice if you can get it, but not necessary.

It was also important to find a comfort zone with the team - find common ground between what you want and what they will allow, and then stay there. But make sure they back it up. But from what I've seen in various venues, pushing the envelope on a continuous basis just erodes the team's willingness to support you on the things that they originally said you could do.

What is "necessary"? What do you "have" to have? Stand, cheer, sing and be colorful (some sort of flags/banners/possibly confetti/streamers). Drums, if that is your thing, is nice since it can be used to give the voices a breather - but as much as I love playing the drums, it isn't "necessary."

So find that common ground with the FO, then make sure that stadium security is on the same page, then within that framework, be friendly and inviting. It is better to have 50 solid supporters than 5 "hard-core-MFs".

That was one of the hardest things for me to learn. I always want it bigger, faster, quicker, more. It is never enough. But I had to learn to take what people were comfortable giving and not be disappointed. Even if it is just someone who likes to stand at the back and not even chant.

And it wasn't just "put up with it." I had to find a place within myself where I was really comfortable with it and accept it. It took a while, but eventually it got through my thick skull.

Best of luck. Seriously.

 

One of the things that struck me reading through this thread is that no one seems to know a lot about the other people who stand in 137.

This weekend the Eagles and the Barra sent over 100 people to New York. In some capacity or another I knew at least 95 of them. The relationships between the fans is as important as the relationship between the fans and the club.

One of the things that I thinked helped us in DC is our off season activities. About once a month we pick a bar and everyone goes on friday night. It is a great way to get to know people, to get people sucked into the supporters club and to bring in new members. There is nothing official about it. Members of the SE's, the Barra, La Norte and non-affiliated fans all show up.

One of the things it has helped us avoid is the following: A group of 2-3 friends start attending games. For whatever reason 2-4 of the friends move, stop attending etc. Often those remaining 1-2 people do not want to go to the game alone. If they build up relationships with other fans they are more likely to keep attending and to try to bring 2-3 new friends to replace those that were "lost"

 

On the out-side activity front, if you get enough numbers, put a rec team together - co-ed, whatever. We've gone from one team to seven, and it has helped shore up the membership like Victory is talking about. We also do a Pub Quiz (trivia game) as kind of a non-soccer social thing. Not everyone is into it, but enough are.

I'm sure you guys can come up with your own stuff.

But bottom line - Victory is right - you have to be larger than one clique/group of friends. Critical mass tends to be 20-30 regulars in stadium, which usually requires double that amount in terms of general members.

 

McCullers sent me this email:

"...please pass along my thanks and cudos to the Northenders. You guys came with your game face on Saturday – sorry the team didn’t. I have given Ryan (Smith) and Scott (DeBolt) the green light to do whatever we can to fill in the North End. I think it’s critical to our game atmosphere – and our competitive home field advantage. I will listen to whatever ideas you all have to create the best supporters system in MLS. Thanks again."


And yes, there will be at least one off-season meeting, date and time TBA. I'm guessing it'll be after everything settles down and before the holidays, but that's just a rough guess.



To the above posts, we've always been a "just show up" group. Part of it is that if someone wants to join us for 10 minutes, a half, whatever, that's fine. Who cares where your ticket is?


Getting back on topic, two things i'd like to see:
1) Offseason events. Maybe Saturday mornings at Fado watching EPL, who knows. Just something, anything, to keep the momentum going.

2) Season ticket discount. Mention "v-army season ticket package" and get in for the student price, if one isn't already in effect. I know a lot of us buy tickets on game day, or through the OSU deal, but a group rate could be a huge boost to 137's numbers.


Also, here's an idea i'll put out there. Just something to think about. It seems that there's very few people underneath the Columbus flag, compared to what there could be. It goes up, and there seems to be people who move out from under it, and very few of us are doing a lot of work to try and keep it up. Is this because we don't like it (the concept of a large flag, the design, etc.?) , or it just goes up over the wrong people?

Also, do we want another large flag, something to use 4-5 times a year? I'm not suggesting another huge, completely-oversized Crew jersey, but something larger than the Columbus flag, yet still manageable. From Mark's words that I put above, it sounds like they might be willing to get us something.

I'm thinking of something comparable in size to either the Quakes flag or the Block O flag:




Can't find a picture of the Block O flag, but I know they're out there.

 

Or kick backs like the Eagles get in DC when someone buys a season ticket in 137.

 

At the risk of wearing out my welcome, let me say that it is the approachability and friendliness that can be the hardest thing. You can be "just show up" all you want, but if I'm reading the tea leaves right, you guys are very focused on supporting the team possibly to the exclusion of being welcoming to new folk. Again, I struggled with this a lot, so I made some rules for myself:

meet every new face
learn their name, and then use it as often as possible (I'm terrible with names - if I don't use it, I forget it)
find out something about them (usually "how did you hear about us" or "what do you think about the game today") and then appreciate it (even if you disagree with it completely).

Then, if you see them again in the group, at least say hi and ask how they are.

It seems formulaic, but it works. I agree with fidlerre - this is one of the keys, and one of the things that has made DC and KC as successful as they have been.

And seriously, finding a way to get the most people involved - which usually requires simplifying - really is the key. Being welcoming is step one. Being a place where the most people can have the most fun is the second. It was real hard for us in The Inferno to let go of some of our individual agendas and visions so that we could find a way to get on the same page. (Esp. with the drums - there was a lot of tension for much of the time between the samba band and the chanters because both wanted to do 90 minutes. Well, you can't do both, so until both groups found a happy medium, there were issues. We solved the issue by being patient, talking about what we each REALLY wanted, and finding some unique solutions [integrated chants].)

I hate to make this example, but look at Section 8. Most of their stuff is some form of "Fire." They vary the tune, the rhythm, etc., but it isn't real complicated stuff. And it works because of that. For all the negative stuff, that is one thing that they do very well.

BTW, other non-home game events to do? Watching parties for both road Crew games and US games (and from your perspective, OSU soccer? - not as a WP, but to go and cheer the team on, if the college will let you...) ought to be treated as chances to meet people, get to know them and invite them to join you on gamedays.

As for the FO - most of your prospective members aren't going to come because of smoke machines or flags or whatever. They are going to come for the camraderie and the simple active participation. Make sure that the FO makes it as easy as possible to do that, then it is up to you to attract folk. If they will let you flier the stadium - and if they will front the costs... - that would be useful. But beyond that, just ensure that you can be yourselves.

 

I would like to echo Fid's comments as well as the other non-Crew posters' comments a few posts up. As an occasional visitor to 137 that there is much to learn from what has been posted. I have had the pleasure of standing in 137 during the US/MEX match and I was cheering, clapping, and chanting right along with everyone else that day (and I am not the cheering, clapping, and chanting type). I was able to talk to and meet a lot of people both at the tailgate and in the stadium and was quite the different experience than the typical Crew game. I understand that not every Crew game will be like a qualifier against our biggest rivals but a lot can be taken away from the folks that planned that day.

 

Stop with the flags for crying out loud. Use them for big games, eg first and last home game, playoffs not an every game occurence. They get in the way. Maybe some people would like to watch the game?

Also - Think about moving from the North End to the South End. 50 people in the North End looks empty, 50 people in the South End in one section will look busy. This would only work if the PA guy shuts the fcuk up during the game though.