Let me start off by saying I've supported this club since day 1 and have been a season ticket holder for every season. We need to support this league if we want soccer to succeed in this country. My wife is 8.5 months pregnant with our first child and she's quitting her job to take care of the baby(so money is going to be a little tighter). Going into the game last night I was debating whether or not to renew my tickets for next season. So here's my story: Well I'm sitting in my formerly first row seats and guess who sits right in front of me before the game starts? Nick and the whole front office entourage. The game starts and it goes from bad to very ugly. The team is playing like sh|t, we give up an early goal and D.C. gets corner after corner. Me and my father start talking about the club and what a disaster it's been (minus the 2000 season): - 7 coaches in 8 seasons - a boat load of players passing through the roster turnstile - $10 parking (yes, I know Soldier Field is now charging $35!) - crappy treatment from the NJSEA crew over the years (since the Cosmos days) - lack of advertising or any sustained ticket drives - turf field with football lines - the signing of dead weight over the hill players(Balboa, Moreno, etc..) - failure to capitalize on any momemtum after the World Cup - failure to successfully market international double headers - overall poor play on the pitch over the past 8 seasons 5 minutes before half time one of the people sitting with Nick (older guy with grey hair) gets up and says "I didn't know these tickets came with whine", shakes hands with Nick and leaves. I blurt out "whine goes well with cheese doesn't it?". 10 minutes later Nick and whoever is left gets up and leaves. As he got up I was waiting to see if he makes eye contact with myself or my dad. I was dying to strike up a conversation and make some 'suggestions'. No go. He still heard most of our comments. I apologize to anyone sitting around us if we sounded obnoxious. We had to vent and take advantage of the situation.
great stuff...if they were rattled by overheard comments, i think i'd have them out of their seats daring them to engage in a conversation with me about it...
One other thing: - my father asks "So if the team tanks again this season who gets canned?". I then point to good ole Nick sitting in front of me.
Classic stuff but I can understand why Nick wouldn't want to talk with you. Most people "in authority" do not like to be questioned. Nick strikes me as one of those people.
Or maybe he doesnt have time/energy to discuss the nuances of the team situation with every fan who is disgruntled or wants to argue about : Some of these problems cant be pinned on the club, but are MLS issues. Hell, i wouldnt talk to either if you have this kind of attitude.. With fans like you, who needs DC united fans... No offense, but you seem to expect that the Metros should wheel and deal for players and manage their club and finances similar to, well your other favorite team Real Madrid..... its impossible
Why didn't you just ask Nick the questions on your mind? Did you expect to be treated differently by any of the people you were openly ridiculing?
Sorry I didn't drink the Kool Aid. I haven't ridiculed anybody. These are issues that need to be addressed. Yes, some of the issues I listed are the fault of the NJSEA but the team just passes it along to the rest of us. I've been to non-Metro events at the stadium and know that the NJSEA staff are a bunch of a-holes. Ultimately I'd like to see a good product on the field. I have no allusions regarding MLS. It is at best decades away from rivaling any of bigger Euro leagues. As far as liking Real Madrid, I'm not one of these Euro posers who like Man Utd because they're always on FSW. I was born here but my family is from Spain. I've been to numerous Real matches over the years. My little rant is the result of 8 years of frustration. Sorry if I have the audacity to call a spade a spade.
Sort of. Season ticket holders can park in the North lot for free and the rest of parking will probably not be the full Bears price.
Also, Soldier field is in a park 5 minutes from downtown, and parking is a bit limited. If GS were in central park with 4 lots instead of 25, parking would be $ 35 there too. Patrick, you had a right to vent. MLS isn't Europe, but I think Metro fans can safely say that the team over 8 years has underperformed league average both on and off the pitch. Voicing that opinion isn't a crime. We should support our team, but not blindly. If they play like crap, we have the right (some would say the obligation) to tell them so. Maybe a letter is a better forum than kvetching over his shoulder during a game, but that's up to you.
One of the problems on these boards is that there is a large group who believe the sport was invented in this country at the time of WC'94 and they feel the need to belittle people who follow teams from other countries. I started to follow ManU in grammar school when I discovered that my birthday happens to fall on the same day as the Munich tragedy. From there I learned all I could about the team and have been a fan going on 30 years now. My support of the Metros or MLS would be no more or no less than what it is now even if I wasn't a ManU fan.
I don't think anyone is arguing that you were calling a spade a spade. Clearly, there are lots of valid criticisms to be made. Instead, people are offering advice of what you may want to try next time. Had you treated Nick politely, he may well have been very willing to discuss your concerns about the team and the stadium situation. No one likes to be criticized from over their shoulder in any situation, least of all in front of their friends. Also, no one has done more to try to get the Metros out from under the NJSEA problems than Nick, so he may have been very receptive to talking about that.