A very interesting week, work and RSL both provided some surprises
by denz on Mar 5, 2010 5:01 PM MST
5 comments
Well it has been an exciting week for me, but unfortunately not all of it has been good. It was a crazy work week with my companies Global sales meetings taking place here in SLC, but good to catch up with some friends from the UK. We just held a celebration of "National Employee Recognition" day, what made it cool was our presenting Olympic Athlete rings to a couple of team USA members in a stand up meeting. It was great hearing from them how important the rings are in helping them celebrate their accomplishment.
On the down side I headed out to Rio Tinto on Wednesday to try and do a couple interviews with the players, and then to help out with the sizing of them for their Championship rings celebrating their MLS Cup victory. It should have been a good day, but I was told that I was now considered "persona non grata".
It seems that when I suggested that the players union might want to stop parading wealthy players (those making over $150,000 a year) around as victims of the evil league (which one article compare to Wal-Mart), that it got under the skin of a player or two. I can fully understand that, and I know they are passionate about what they believe is best for the players, and I hope they consider best for the league as well. I have for months championed the raising of both the minimum and maximum player salaries in the league, as well as moving the salary cap up.
More after the jump:
It seems they then have "spread the word" that I am against the players, funny since I am fan who spends thousands on tickets and I have promoted the players, the team, the league, and the sport that I have supported since 1996, for the last 3 years I have done so in part by blogging..
Anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis vs. grabbing a statement out of context knows that I am no fan of the MLS powers and "the Don". Heck I have on a regular basis been critical of a number of their policies and in recent weeks even called for a change in leadership of the league, but because I don't support "free agency" at this point of the league (for a couple of reason).
It is clear they players are willing to talk to the media about the CBA only when and if they can simply make their points without any questions, heck just today De Rosario did an interview about it in which the player who has made over $300,000 a year for the last several years is quoted as saying "We want to start the league but we want our just reward and we're not asking for much."
That statement would be much better taken by myself and other fans coming from players like Robbie Findley, who makes under $70,000 a year, or a Stuart Holden who was making under $40,000 before leaving the league.
I understand that the MLSPU is keeping tight control over who says what and to whom, I would only suggest that while using some bigger name players seems like a good strategy, it has a downside when they are by MLS standards (77k league average) some of the highest paid players.
It was just announced that the league and the MLSPU will meet again next week, this time they will have a federal mediator present, I hope this will lead to a new CBA and that the season can progress.
I still think that a much larger effort to grow the sport in the US is needed, and that should involve US Soccer, MLS, USL/NASL, the players, the fans, and the media. The sport that elicits such passion from both fans and players is on the verge of becoming a major sport here in the US, something that has been talked about for almost 20 years, but all parties involved need to understand that we are not there yet.
An Open Invitation
On Wednesday, I offered up a open mic for several players to come up and speak their mind, none chose to do so, but in the spirit of fairness I am going to extend the following:
If you are a RSL player (or any other team), a fan, a member of the staff, or anyone else that I have upset with my opinions or statements, here is your chance to set the record straight.
You can call me (Trey has my phone number), you can email me (both Trey and John have multiple email addresses for me), you can even create an identity and post something here.
I will in no way edit what you write on here, or if you want I will post your emails unedited as well. Heck even if you just want to tell me how wrong I am offline, go ahead. Tell me what I don't understand.
Here is your chance to have your voice heard, to talk to the fans.
That is what this blog is, a fan talking and sharing his opinions with other fans.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
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You're a loose cannon
I found this post because SounderAtHeart tweeted about it. I had given up on reading this blog after your praise of the 2010 Adidas swag and then immediate reversal to crying foul about it. I was brave enough to comment on the contradiction and the back-and-forth with your rebuttals devolved into your explanation of how SSFC is different and can’t be used as an example for other teams to learn from. A point I whole-heartedly disagree with. Sounders FC has been very open about how they’ve tried to reuse as many ideas as they could from the TFC expansion. I get that each city is different and that each team has a different staff, etc., however when you say that Seattle is “a very different animal in MLS” your essentially giving up on trying to learn from them. I can only guess that you’re just parroting the attitude you’ve seen from RSL staff members. That’s unfortunate.
Other posts that lead up to my decision to bail:
- Your complaint about RSL not getting enough attention. The reality is that the three biggest stories the 2009 MLS season are: (1) Seattle had the best launch in league history, (2) Beckham didn’t win the championship, and (3) RSL won the MLS Cup. The way you change that is not by complaining about it in repeated blog entries which amount to “poor RSL” posts. You change that by making it more relevant to a larger number of people. NBC kicks butt at the Olympics because of all the back-stories they tell. Speed skating isn’t relevant to hardly anyone, yet when the race finally happens, NBC has brought their viewers along for a ride such that they’re very interested in the outcome. This blog is a much smaller venue, but the theory is still valid. Tell your readers about the stories they would miss if they didn’t read your blog. Nobody likes a pity party.
- Similar to the last one, I was annoyed enough with your belly aching about the DP rule that I went ahead and commented. That conversation devolved into my explaining how every high cost signing is a risk and your rebuttal that none of my examples were risks (easy to say when the risk has already paid off). For the record, I think the league has done a decent job introducing new rules without burning clubs who took risks under the previous iteration of the rules. If they change the DP rule or get rid of it altogether, I don’t expect them to alienate Ljungberg , Angel, Beckham or the others when their contracts are up by not allowing them to re-sign. They’ll be grandfathered in, and you’ll continue to have a “poor RSL” party over here ignoring the most relevant fact (for this blog at least) that RSL has yet to take such a risk.
- And the last one that really annoyed me was the fact you invented to downplay the successful season ticket sales in Seattle. Quote: “Yes they sold 20,000 season tickets before their first match, but the reality check that over 15,000 of them were to Qwest field seat license holders (NFL season ticket holders) is so rarely mentioned.” You’ve gone silent on my repeated requests for a verifiable source on that. I’ve done some investigation on my own. At my job, we have an email alias for Sounders FC fans. There are well over 100 people on that alias. I did a little pole on there and only found one person who a season ticket holder for the Seahawks and Sounders FC. An interesting point with this person was that they had 2 Hawks tickets and over 10 Sounders FC tickets. Rather than dismissing Sounders FC’s success as irrelevant because of their NFL ties, why don’t you try to point out things MLS (and RSL) can learn from. There are other teams in the league with NFL ties (Revolution) but not the same success. It’s not just the NFL links that made the launch successful. You’re doing your readers and the league a disservice when you paint it that way and invent facts to “prove” it.
There they are. My reasons for removing this blog from my regular MLS reading. I’m glad that Sounder at Heart tweeted about this post. I’m glad that I could share these things with you. Hopefully it’s a healthy feedback loop for you. I’m impressed that you would solicit such feedback. Maybe this “burn notice” from the RSL players is just what you needed to get your focus back on journalistic integrity. Don’t be a loose cannon or a complainer, be an educator or evangelist for the league. When you must “cry foul”, make sure it’s for something important, and not just a bunch of scarves.
A couple points
1) I loved the RSL 2010 merchandise line, until I saw that Adidas had pimped the same designs to every team in the league, leaving very little variety. Yup, I changed my mind when new info came to light, oh my god.
2) I think every team with several billionaire owners, a huge stadium, and a USL team (and organization) to build from should follow the Seattle model 100 percent. However that isn’t the case in most markets, Seattle is a very different animal, a march to the stadium would fail in almost every market, since most stadiums are in the burbs.
3) I don’t ever remember saying “poor RSL”, I simply believe that MLS should have a level playing field for every team. So your saying if a player signs a “DP” contract once, they should never count against a DP slot in the future? No it should be that an exemption ends when a contract ends. IE, when Landon signed a new contract that pays him a DP salary, then LA should have to get another DP slot from another team, or each team should be allocated 2. Fairness is simple. I would agree if they do away with the DP slot, then current DP’s should be allowed an exemption for the rest of their contract if the rules would adversely impact them or their teams.
4) The number of 10-15,000 conversions from Seahawks to Sounders season tickets was told to me by a league official in Seattle during the second match there. I head that same number from a national media guy during MLS All Star weekend, I don’t begrudge the Sounders a damm thing, if I had still lived in Seattle I have little doubt I would have lined up for tickets. Asking 100 Sounders fans, if they were Seahawk fans before and basing your numbers on that is about the same thing. I don’t know why neither the Sounders or Seahawks media folks responded to my emails asking for verification or denial of the numbers, but they haven’t. Either way I love that Seattle is embracing the team, I was very impressed with the way almost every retail venue in town had Sounders merchandise, I hope that one day every town can experience the same success.
5) The New England Revolution, joined the league at its start and struggled like all new teams in a new league do, The Sounders had several differences but the reality is they have done a great job, and I hope that Philly can repeat their success both on and off the pitch. I think off the pitch they will do well, but building entirely from scratch will be difficult.
6) Journalistic Integrity, really? I am not a journalist, I am a fan and I want and expect better from my team, from the league, and for the sport. Walking around with a smile and posting nice things, while thinking all is well in the land of soccer, well sorry it isn’t going to happen. I am sorry if you don’t understand the importance merchandise plays in the branding and identity of the teams, but sorry while I understand that MLS is a small market for Adidas, the overall soccer market is huge over 10 billion dollars worldwide according to a recent article in the Oregonian. I expect better from all MLS partners, ESPN, FSC, Adidas, and all of their other partners.
I firmly believe that MLS and soccer in the US is on the verge of moving out of the fringes and into the mainstream, I would love to see it embraced by every community the way Seattle and Toronto has, but we aren’t there yet and I believe as a fan of the sport that the long term desire of almost every MLS fan is to see the league become a top power in the soccer world. It isn’t going to happen overnight, and it isn’t going to happen if we ignore basic issues and problems that exist in the league.
I would like to thank you for adding your thoughts and opinions, I believe soccer, like things like religion, politics, and other things that create huge passion in people will always cause people to see things from different perspectives. I just like it when people open their eyes, they may not see what I do, but at least they are looking.
Short follow-up
Well your reply hints at an inability to see the forest for the trees. The things you didn’t respond to are as interesting as those you did. You’re right, you never said “poor RSL”. It was just a theme I gleaned from many of your posts. If you’re not a journalist maybe you should give back your press/field pass (if they haven’t already taken it back with the “burn notice”). Like it or not, you are a new-media journalist. SBNation apparently likes your stuff. Bloggers can choose to ignore fairness, bias, and accuracy in their reporting, but they won’t be relevant or taken seriously when they do.
Sorry, when I saw the length I stopped
I see the forest, it just is a very different view from my perspective than yours. I report what I see and what I hear, SB nation is made up of fan blogs, and while they represent as you say “new-media journalism”, I reject the title of journalist. I am a fan who is voicing my opinions, I will always have a pro-RSL bias it is part of being a fan. You have no idea how much you sound like the MLS officials who love people who report just the facts and the stats with no passion, with no opinion. If that is what you are looking for, then you indeed have the wrong place.
My purpose is simple with this blog, something you mentioned earlier it is spread the gospel of RSL, to rally the troops, and to ensure that what others might be afraid to say (things like I don’t believe either side in the CBA is 100% right) are said. If all people want is a place where MLS, team, and union press releases are posted on a daily basis, or the league or team emails with links to other media coverage are posted, well they are in the wrong place.
It is funny while some of the players may be upset that I ruffled their feathers by not just blindly saying that MLS players have it worse than Walmart workers. A good number of people both inside and outside of MLS, RSL, and other organizations have shown great support.
Listen I think huge changes are needed over the next 5-10 if MLS is to become a world class league, a lot of the things I would love to see would be huge benefits to the players, others would help the teams, some benefit the league, and some do all three.
In covering RSL, I avoid the press box as much as I can (I stop by to grab a lineup sheet) and most often I only attend the post match coaches press conference to gather up stat sheets from the match. I cover the team from the sidelines and use my camera to capture the action, but also the emotion both on the pitch and in the stands. See I believe it is the passion both from fans and players that gives the real meaning to “the beautiful game”, and that is what I cover. The cold play by play coverage is for others to do at matches, I can do that by watching a replay the next day. I don’t know if I ever planned on being taken seriously by anyone with my blog, those who read it know (for the most part) know who I am personally or have at least run into me tailgating or at a team function, they at least know me from my wondering the sidelines with my camera.
I will leave the question of relevance up to others, I am just a fan who spends way too much of their time putting down observations and thoughts about a team and sport that I love.
Last comment on this
Again, it’s interesting what you chose to respond to and what you didn’t. You’re picking the easy battles rather than looking at the hard questions I’m trying to raise. I never called into question your love for the sport. I also didn’t say a “pro-RSL” bias was the problem, just bias. This is an RSL blog, one would expect a healthy home team bias. When I say bias I mean research bias. As was evident in our earlier conversation, you were repeating “facts” given to you by RSL reps about Sounders FC season ticket sales being boosted by NFL customers. This “fact” had not been reported anywhere else. You didn’t try to verify it with Seattle until I challenged it. Point is, RSL reps are going to tell you the truth about their club, but the same cannot be assumed about other clubs (as I think is painfully obvious now WRT the “fact” in question). As a press pass holding blogger, bias (specifically research bias), fairness, and accuracy should be important to you, I would think.
This particular blog post asking for feedback from fans confused me as an effort to be taken seriously. I guess I am puzzled why you would post it if (as you say) “[you] don’t know if [you] ever planned on being taken seriously by anyone with [your] blog.” If I’ve wasted your time by providing this feedback, I apologize for the confusion. I also didn’t realize that the aim of this blog was simply to be relevant to people you know on a personal basis. Hopefully it’s not a surprise that this internet thing is catching on and you probably have many readers who don’t know you at all. Maybe it should be a private blog so there’s no confusion?
Regardless, sorry if I’ve offended you with my comments. Clearly you feel that I’ve called into question your passion for the team and the sport (I don’t think I actually did). I was trying to give you open and honest feedback (as requested). Maybe I’ve made a mistake.
As a Sounders FC fan this blog is relevant to me for its perspectives on MLS news and also as an opinion from the opposing side when we play RSL. Thank you for filling that role for readers like me. My hope is that the feedback I provided will help make the blog better in terms of accuracy and integrity. That’s what will keep readers like me coming back on a semi-regular basis.
Okay, I’m done now. You can have your soapbox back. :)
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