The internet soccer community has been very successful in encouraging MLS (and pro soccer in general) to abide by time-tested standards and play the game the way it is played elsewhere.
Among these efforts have been:
However.....
There's yet one more battle we need to undertake before the season starts:
Canned crap music DURING PLAY.
I just took a look at the latest (May) Soccer Digest and saw an article by Noah Lieberman, "It's All About Marketing the Game to the Fans ".
In an otherwise excellent article in which Lieberman broke down the marketing effort into a number of categories (Games, Players, Media, Sponsors, Image) and wrote of the quite comprehensive efforts that are going on to make MLS popular, there were a number of statements that are cause for great concern.
He quotes Randy Bernstein (MLS Senior VP corporate marketing) who wants to play music during play.
Bernstein said:
"When you have a 45 minute running clock, you have to do some things to keep the fans in the game."
Lieberman also wrote:
"MLS isn't putting many restrictions on the tunes that stadiums can pump out, EVEN DURING LIVE ACTION (emphasis, mine), so teams will be looking to develop signature songs to rouse fans at key moments. Will MLS start to resemble MISL games, which can seem to look like a rock concert with a soccer sideshow? Probably not, thanks to the spacious outdoor settings, but expect MLS teams to make the most of music."
WHAT ON EARTH ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?!?!
Look, I'm happy to have all the music they want before the game, at halftime, and after the game, but doing it DURING the game takes the focus AWAY from the game!
The more crap music they play DURING play, the more they take the fans OUT of the game!
It's the difference between being 'spectators' and 'participants' and folks like Mr. Bernstein apparently don't have a clue.
The whole point of the supporters' groups is for the FANS to generate the noise and enthusiasm. Otherwise all you have is a bunch of sheep who are waiting for the organist (or 'multi-media director') to orchestrate the show.
Take a look at other pro sports to see where this stuff is done (and not done).
Almost universally, this kind of "extra fake enthusiasm" takes place in pro cities without any kind of a historical, long-standing pro sports fan base. You see this stuff all the time in a city like Atlanta with only a 30 year history of pro sports. But try this stuff in a city like Boston, New York, etc. and the perpetrator of this 'music show' during play would need an escort to the parking lot. Hell, the Boston Celtics don't even have cheerleaders!
In virtually ALL MLS cities you have either a long-standing pro sports history, or a substantial base of soccer fans with roots in other countries who will find this 'musical overload' deeply offensive and distract from the appreciation of the game itself, which should be the main 'show'.
This ought to be ISSUE #1 for the supporters groups and we have to act fast.
Back to Chris Allen's "Shots at Goal" Page
Back to Chris Allen's Main Soccer Page