I decided out of boredom to scroll thru the last ten or so pages of threads about this team, going back to around 2006 and stopping around 2009. There's a shitload of folks who posted back then who never really posted here once we actually got started as a playing team. I have no reason to think they're not going to games, but they don't post here. OTTOMH, I can think of GJ Yoss Khaaaaaaaaaan Fish Bravo Mach1 Mabee STR1 Me Deepest apologies to anyone who isn't listed but reads this post. In recent weeks, the number of people who've posted even somewhat regularly has dwindled down to fewer than five. But we never had more than ten or so even when we were contenders. I know one bid us adieu, and one just seems to have stopped showing up, but for a club whose short history has been successful (2020 aside), we should have more BigSoccer representation than we do now. I don't get it. This is a waaaay better quote/reply format for discussion than Facebook. Why aren't more fans taking advantage of it?
It's weird. On one hand I assumed the Covid quarantine would've forced more fans to seek outlets that offered more soccer-specific discussion, on the other I can understand why people are also tired of more online activity. I told my Fb friends I was taking a sabbatical from that forum about 2 months ago and am pretty much down to just 2 message boards as far as social media. If others have done likewise it's probable footie talk was their sacrifice of choice. I have noticed a lot of sports related message boards have seen drop-offs this year. One article about the matter (which I can't find right now) suggested it's not that people don't care but that they're viewing everything this year as having a big asterisk, so they're not as desperate to vent as under normal circumstances. Might also be a number of folks are among the victims of the economy and have other priorities besides AUFC. Maybe BS needs to forge a better tie-in with MLS directly?
I've probably ramped it up more than pared it down. I'm registered on only four message boards on all the Web: this one, FB, DSS, and a music site dedicated to double bass and bass guitar. FB is for general stuff and keeping in contact with friends from school. DSS has more knowledgeable posters than FB by a mile, but neither of them offer a format that I like using. I really appreciate the way BS works in that regard, with new posts going to the top of the thread AND bumping that thread to the top of the forum page, so that people who might otherwise not have noticed to see and possibly post. On the bolded: My post was really more about the fact that they never showed up here after we got started playing. I counted dozens of posters on those early pages who seemed to be all in. Weird that they were posting here when the club was just an idea, a hope, but once it became reality, they either dropped out or started posting somewhere else. If the FB loonies are any example of the average supporter, ours seem to be leaning toward complaining that the FO isn't doing enough this year. I hope the FO is impervious to comments from the peanut gallery, but they really are affecting next season with these buys. That would be nice. It's been months since I went to the MLS or DSS site.
Hey guys, long time since even I’ve posted in here... Honestly, my reason is that I have been so sick and tired of politics this year - even with many people who say things that I agree with - that I have just cut people and things out of my life left and right. I’ve been working, writing, hiking, and my goal this year was to dedicate more of my free time to God (not trying to get preachy, it’s just a personal thing I wanted to do in response to the stress of this year). So, MLS just needed to keep beating that politics drum, and I was just about over it. In truth, I did not watch one game this year since Covid. And, that is really bizarre for me to be so cut off from the game and this team I love. Nonetheless, I think we can all hope that we put 2020 behind us in more ways than one, and we return to some sense of normalcy in 2021. That said, I feel a little behind the eight ball because I don’t even know where to start saying that Atlanta should rebuild. I will say that I’m not shocked we had a terrible year when we got rid of all our core players. I don’t know anything about Moreno. I’m probably most curious about George Bello. I see Jon Gallagher got a lot of starts, but that’s probably a bad sign rather than a good sign. And I don’t know if we finally started playing our youth academy players. Much less what’s going on with the head coach situation. For those of y’all who were more dedicated fans than I was this year, what say y’all on the status of this team moving forward? I hope to see y’all next year.
I'm going to quote this post in the Postseason/Offseason thread because it just goes better there, I think. Hope you don't mind. In a perfect world, we'd be looking for a manager before we got rid of anyone, just like we should have been looking for a manager before we bought anyone this summer. I won't wager the farm that this is how the FO is going to approach it, tho. The best time to do it is right now, for us, but just getting someone here is going to be more difficult in the coming months, with the second/third wave. The summer should have involved getting a manager.
Nice to hear from you, Bravo. We can all agree 2020 sucked and we're looking ahead to next year. Hope things worked out for you otherwise.
I'm "read only" on Dirty South, but I do read it pretty much daily even in the off-season. BigSoccer is a throwback forum. (Is it a throwback if it's been basically the same since the beginning?) BigSoccer is in a format that was very popular in the late 90s and early 00s. When Facebook came around in the late '00s, and -- more importantly -- when Facebook was opened to non-college-students, it changed the game. MySpace was also a thing. Then Twitter, SnapChat, etc., etc. Online interaction changed and basically became more narcissistic. Most BigSoccer users are long-time users that joined back in the '90s or '00s (including everybody in this thread so far). I suspect a lot of people have just quit using forums like this altogether. I personally prefer this format. Modern social media is focused on the original poster. Whatever OP posts dominates the conversation. In this (BigSoccer) format, the conversation can flow naturally. Whatever was posted most recently dominates the conversation. As much as I appreciate Gunner's game threads, I'm glad the conversation can move naturally to the next relevant topic as the game goes on. Nobody cares who I am personally; what matters is whether I'm participating usefully in the conversation. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a big influx of new users here since the Facebook/Twitter/Instagram takeover of the internet. Not sure how to affect that, but then again I'm not in charge of the place.
Thats a good point! I didn’t even think about it - mainly because we’re all a bunch of old farts now lol
Well hello. I've been lurking off an on the past year, but for the most part I haven't posted because I haven't had much to say, certainly not more than what's already been said on here. With the plague making every result seem to have an *, the team not very good, and most importantly, just damn boring to watch, and my interest just waned. I watched the games, but couldn't be bothered taking about it. Didn't seem much of a point. Plus I check out BigSoccer on my phone most times these days, and I'm less likely to type in a response on my phone than on the computer. I am optimistic about the new year. Sounds like the players will respond better to Heinze, and more importantly for me, should have a more exciting style on the field. I'm much more forgiving for losses as long as the game is fun to watch; if you're gonna pass back and forth between the defense for 90 minutes and only get two shots all game, you better win to make it worth my time. Hope everyone is healthy and has a good holiday. I'm concerned that we're not really going to be able to fill the Benz until the summer, but I've got my season tickets ready for when its safe to do so. Looking forward to a much better season next year. Can't wait!!!