Sunday, March 28, 2010

U.S. Open Cup



Every year about this time, I have to say something about the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. This year the Quakes are playing RSL (oh boy) in a play-in game on April 14th. Last season we played in a play-in game also - but we fielded a bunch of reserves against the NY Red Bulls - and lost.

Why don't the Quakes (and other MLS teams) take this competition seriously? The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in the U.S. (established 1914) and is equivalent to the FA Cup in England and other domestic cups around the world. The unique competition includes teams from all amateur and professional levels in the U.S.

I understand that most MLS teams do not field their starters in fear that an injury could occur and have a negative impact on the team for the entire MLS season. The MLS Cup is the primary goal for MLS teams and it is understandable. It is the league title.

Let's look at teams in Europe - they play in multiple cup competitions during their regular season. For example: English Premier League team Manchester United played in the UEFA Champions League, Carling Cup, and FA Cup competitions while still pursuing the Premiership title. Yes - some star players do get rested in some of the cup games, but the teams do field teams with the goal to win these multiple competitions.

For the Earthquakes, I unfortunately think that we are still several years away from competing for a MLS Cup. So why not play a team that can at least givce us a chance for the US Open Cup? The Seattle Sounders FC won the US Open Cup in their first MLS season - at least they have something in their trophy case. We have 2 MLS Cups, but they were won by the now Houston Dynamos.

C'mon Quakes - the US Open Cup would be a great boost to supporters as well as to the team. At least don't field a team that shows you could care less. Winning a US Open Cup will provide that taste of winning a championship that our current team only dreams about. It certainly would help shift the momentum towards winning. The Heritage Cup is nice, but not really something to brag about.
C'MOM QUAKES - LET'S GO AFTER THE U.S. OPEN CUP!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Starting Right Where We Left Off

Despite the large crows (10,589 - a SB San Siro record) - the Q's dropped their opener with RSL 3-nil. A whole slew of new players, but the result is the same. Really didn't see much from anyone tonight. Joe Cannon had a difficult night - not so much because of him - but rather the lack of defense and a ton of unforced turnovers.

I wore all of my Villa gear - leaving all the Q's gear at home in protest of all the restrictions that are being placed on supporters. H got his drums taken at the gate - although we saw others not in the supporters sections with drums. Wonderful consistency in enforcing the rules Quakes staff. Geeeez. I commented that it still felt like we did towards the end of last season. Ugggh. Already looking like a looooooooooooooooooooong season ahead.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Drum Update #2

Just before I left the office today, I received a telephone call from a Quakes fan relations specialist. I really can't capture the entire conversation here. I appreciated the professionalism of this staff person, but I think this is the only response I will be getting from the Quakes (I sent my letter to the President and the Owner of the club - but have not heard a peep from them.)

Bottom Line: Drums will not be allowed unless they are approved as part of one of the official supporters groups (currently the Casbah and the Ultras). Drums are going to be limited to a certain # of drums - still TBA (kinda strange that a big decision like this has not been made and opening day is this coming Saturday. Hello? I am also concerned that the Q's decision to physically join the Ultras and the Casbah into one section (Sec 109) to "unify the cheering and drumming" will backfire horribly. The Casbah has been in existence since 1996. My question to the Q's is,"Don't you think there is a reason why the current Ultras didn't just join the Casbah instead of starting a new supporters club? Hello? They are both great groups - but they are very different in culture. I see joining them together in the stands creating more chaos rather than an improved stadium environment. As H has said, it feels like we are being told when, how, and how much we should be cheering and making noise. Doesn't that sound like fun?


Do I keep my season tickets? A HUGE question to answer.

Drum Update & Soccer Fours

Drum Update:
Still no word from the Q's organization - but due to when I sent my letter (last Thursday), they could have not received it until yesterday.

Soccer Fours:

I've finally returned to playing with Soccer Fours - the 4 v 4 program. After having great success at their San Francisco site (Franklin Park), Chris has decided to expand a little and now has weekly sessions in Marin and in Oakland. Naturally, since I'm located in the East Bay, I decided to check out the Monday night Oakland session last night. They are held at Raimondi Field in West Oakland. This complex was renovated in 2008 (replacing the grass field with turf). As I expected - after not playing for several months - the little endurance that I built up from the SF sessions was a distant memory. It was like starting all over - but the other players were great and it was alot of fun. First time using my new boots - Nike Ronaldinho Dois FG (I discovered this single pair at Ross in my size a month or so ago - $19.99 and couldn't resist). They were really comfortable and "looked fast" when I slipped them on, but alas, speed, quickness, and endurance on the pitch depends more on the person wearing the boots vs. the boots themselves :)




Friday, March 19, 2010

Initial Response


Montez sent out one of her "Quakes Insider" emails this morning, but she did not respond to the email I sent to her yesterday re: drums issue. I replied to her Q's Insider email by aying I was disappointed that I received no response from my email to her.


I did finally get a reply later in the morning - she said that she is working with stadium operations on the issue and was certain that a resolution can be found + that I coould continue to bring my drum to Buck Shaw. Then she asked if I was coming to the Sat. pre-season game against the Portland Timbers - and if so, she would personally escort me and my drum into the stadium.


I replied and thanked her for her email. I am waiting to hear from someone higher on the Quakes food chain and I said that I wanted to hear something before the home opener on Mar 27th.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Waiting for a response


This morning I sent an email to one of the 'Fan Relations Specialists' for the Q's to give them a heads-up about the letter that I wrote to communicate my dissatisfaction with all that occurred last night at Kezar (drum prohibition). My letter was addressed to Mike Crowley (club president) and cc'ed owner Lew Wolff, exec vice president David Alioto, manager of stadium operations Ramon Estevez and Matt Pellegrino, ticket operations manager Scott Wallace, and sr. fan relations specialist Montez Harrison.

As of this writing, there has been no reply to my email from Ms. Harrison. The letter (and cc copies) were sent out via US Mail today.

The waiting begins. (I hope that waiting is not against stadium regulations like having a drum!)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER - DRUMS OR NO DRUMS?

I am not going to fill up this post with all of the details of tonight. Basically, I went to Kezar tonight for the Q's pre-season matchup with the Dynamo. I was not allowed to bring my drum in the stadium unless I was part of one of the official supporter groups (which I am not). The person in charge of stadium operations said that it is MLS policy (not just a rule at Kezar). I told him that I have been drumming at Buck Shaw for the past 2 seasons without being sitting with or being a member of any of the official supporters groups and i also have never been stopped or informed about this regulation. I was so pissed - I left. Screw the game and the Quakes.

After getting home, I sat at there fuming as I began to write a letter to Mike Crowley, President, communicating my dissatisfaction and wanting to request a full refund on my season tickets. Just moments ago I decided to look into this MLS drum prohibition outside of "supporter group" sections a little more. Guess what I found? It is written in black and white on the Quakes website - DRUMS are on the list of "Approved Items". What the hell are the Quakes talking about? Apparently the head has no clue what the tail is doing or saying. I am going to point this out in my letter - AND will expect an apology from the Quakes and some gesture on their part for causing me to leave tonight's game pissed off and hating the Quakes organization.

http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/stadium/guidelines/

APPROVED ITEMS:

  • Confetti
  • Streamers
  • Drums
  • Banners (zip tied to railings and no larger then 5' x 32')
  • Flags with 1 or 2 poles must not exceed 3'
  • Backpacks/Bags no larger then 16" x 16" x 8"
    • Backpacks/Bags are subject to search
  • Portable Seatbacks
  • 1 Water bottle per person (it must be soft plastic and sealed)
  • Cameras and video recorders (must be handheld and cannot be set up in seating area)
    • Pictures and videos cannot be used for commercial purpose unless approved by the San Jose Earthquakes and Major League Soccer

San Jose City Council Adopts EIR

Last night, the San Jose City Council adopted the Final EIR for the new Quakes stadium - a unanimous vote at that! Nice meeting coverage by Jay Hipps of Centerline Soccer

Tonight is the pre-season game vs the Dynamo at Kezar. H and I will be there warming up the drums for the season and H is bringing along some friends to introduce them to Quakes fever!

Let's Go Earthquakes....bang...bang...bang-bang-bang!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Dynamo, Timbers, Aston Villa FC

The Q's are gearing up for a couple of pre-season games coming up next week - Wed 3/17 vs Houston Dynamo (at Kezar) and Sat 3/20 vs Portland Timbers (at Buck Shaw). What can we expect from this coming season? I haven't a clue. We will have a completely different team than the one that we started with at the beginning of last season. Playoff hopes? I think we should keep those to ourselves for now.

I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at Buck Shaw and banging our drums loud. Sec 108 - let's rock!

I have been keeping busy with my EPL club - Aston Villa FC. I am actually the chairperson for the Aston Villa supporters club here in California called "AVFC California". Villa is still in the hunt to break the Top 4 and qualifying for the Champions League next season, made it to the League Cup final (aka Carling Cup) - but fell to Man Utd, and are making a run for the FA Cup still (semifinal match v. Chelsea in early April).


Click the image to visit AVFC California!


Quakes beat West Ham Utd


The Quakes beat EPL side West Ham United 2-nil at Upton Park during their pre-season training tour in the UK. Click on image for full story.