Put The Sidewalk Chalk Down!

[Real Supporter]

I was a little disappointed when I read of the said state Senator's home being vandalized. Then when I hear the vandalism came from the usual taggers device of sidewalk chalk, I immediately ran out and took the sidewalk chalk from my three-year-old daughters hands. My daughter is not going to be a tagger or a vandal.

PLEASE! Sidewalk Chalk! We all know we are the minority here in the US Sports world, but we ought not let things like this bother us. We should not have soccer fans chalking people's driveways. Even though it would have been dastardlier to tie a soccer player teddy bear from Build a Bear to Sen. Bramble's tree out front. Realize this will be an uphill battle for us all. We face the anti-soccer people in the broadcast media, and in print (ie Dougie). As RES stadium attracts 20,000 fans a match this next season, many of us former Blitzz supporters will sit back and say, "Look how many people are here. The stadium is half full." The haters will say, "It is half empty. No one likes soccer."

These soccer haters claim that hooliganism is all that soccer is. Like fights in hockey. You never see this in the major sports here in the US... or do you count players throwing chairs at fans in baseball? Or how about basketball teams exchanging blows with fans, or two American Football teams fighting in the middle of the game? One hater, our buddy Ryan Hatch, scoffed at the US U-23 team when they failed to qualify for the Olympics, "Let's face it. We suck at soccer." He said, little if nothing about the US Baseball team not qualifing for the Olympics. Then he wonders why he got booed at the unveiling of the team name. These anti-soccer people will sit in their newsrooms, studios, and at their desks, sucking their thumbs, rocking back and forth, and repeating over and over, “Soccer’s boring. No likes soccer."

Don't let these people get to us. When John Fischer, news director at ABC4, decides once again not to show the World Cup final live, don't burn the TV station down. Don't chalk outside the gate. Switch to Univision! When our buddy Dougie writes an article about how much he dislikes soccer, and how no one likes it, and the only people that do are hooligans, don't send him a nasty email, and tell him to get a hair cut. Just set the newspaper down and turn on the FSC.

The Soccer haters will always be there. But in this day an age with the FSC, Gol TV, and the Internet, we know we are not alone. So Brothers and Sisters... PUT THE SIDEWALK CHALK DOWN and get ready for April!

[Rover]

Originally Posted by Real Supporter

The Soccer haters will always be there. But in this day an age with the FSC, Gol TV, and the Internet, we know we are not alone. So Brothers and Sisters... PUT THE SIDEWALK CHALK DOWN and get ready for April!

The best revenge is success.

[bordelais7]

So wait, lemme get this straight.

We are the minority. But we are not alone. So if we just sit back and drink our kool-aid and watch our soccer games on television stations that most people don't even receive, pretending to ignore the majority while they hammer away at our cause, everything will magically work out somehow? Or maybe it won't work out, but at least we'll have a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside?

Ok. I can handle the anti-vandalism chatter. That's fine. I don't condone burning buildings or anything of the sort either. But I'm not gonna sit back and let legislation pass un-noticed. I'm not gonna let the media distribute false information without repurcussion. I'm not gonna stand idly by and let that majority think that there is no minority.

This pacifist attitude has been carried a bit to the extreme. Rover is right: The best revenge IS success. And success doesn't happen by waiting patiently and hoping that by some miracle it WILL happen.

We don't need to loot and pillage or take members of the press hostage or anything extreme. But WHAT is wrong with making ourselves heard? Where would this country be if minority groups didn't stand up for themselves?

Don't worry, I still love you all.

[montgjules]

Originally Posted by bordelais7

So wait, lemme get this straight.

We are the minority. But we are not alone. So if we just sit back and drink our kool-aid and watch our soccer games on television stations that most people don't even receive, pretending to ignore the majority while they hammer away at our cause, everything will magically work out somehow? Or maybe it won't work out, but at least we'll have a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside?

Ok. I can handle the anti-vandalism chatter. That's fine. I don't condone burning buildings or anything of the sort either. But I'm not gonna sit back and let legislation pass un-noticed. I'm not gonna let the media distribute false information without repurcussion. I'm not gonna stand idly by and let that majority think that there is no minority.

This pacifist attitude has been carried a bit to the extreme. Rover is right: The best revenge IS success. And success doesn't happen by waiting patiently and hoping that by some miracle it WILL happen.

We don't need to loot and pillage or take members of the press hostage or anything extreme. But WHAT is wrong with making ourselves heard? Where would this country be if minority groups didn't stand up for themselves?

Don't worry, I still love you all.

Wow! I feel like... doing something! For some reason, the tune of "Onward Christian Soldiers" popped into my head while reading that. Strange.

[Aero]

Originally Posted by bordelais7

We don't need to loot and pillage or take members of the press hostage or anything extreme.

Why not? It sounds like fun. :D

[dysko]

Dear Mr. Dysko:

Thank you for sharing your views. I believe that the vandals that visited my home may have misunderstood my position on sports in general and soccer specifically. I have six children who have been involved in competitive soccer for years. As family, we enjoy the sport and support efforts to bring professional soccer to Utah.

I don't oppose bringing soccer to Utah, but rather, I oppose the RDA financing model that has been proposed that takes a significant amount of revenue from public education.

Approximately 55% of the money diverted to the private sector in RDA projects is public ed money, 25% is county money, and very little is city money. Currently, statewide, over $50,000,000 (fifty million) is taken from public ed each year by existing RDA projects, with almost $ 100,000,000 total being diverted through RDA projects. None of these funds have been approved by taxpayers.

As I noted, I am not anti-sports, and I enjoy soccer. I simply disagree with those that would take money from public ed, counties, etc., to fund a professional sports arena.

Among the many alternative available, Mayor Anderson can use municipal bonding to build his stadium, if he can get SLC voters to pass a referendum. Instead, he wanted this to fly under the radar without voter approval. He can use existing tourism taxes to fund the arena. In Utah County, the restaurant tax is paying for the McKay Events Center (sports arena) at UVSC. Mayor Anderson could use Salt Lake City's RAP (recreation, arts & parks) tax to fund the project, he could use other existing city funds, or he could look for more private investors.... The point is that an RDA project that takes money from public ed is not the best, nor the only, solution available to Mayor Anderson to build a soccer stadium.

Respectfully,

Curt Bramble
Utah Senate, District 16

This is the response I recieved after sending a note apologizing for what had happened, on behalf of the Loyalists.

P.S. Anybody know anything about the Blue Collar Ultras? That is the only thing that seemed to be an identifying mark in the information that was released to the media.

[Loyal1]

I only saw the reference to the blue collar ultras in the Provo Daily Herald. Did other sources have that too?

His explaination beats any other that I have seen. It also shows some disdain for Rocky.

[dysko]

[QUOTE=Loyal1]I only saw the reference to the blue collar ultras in the Provo Daily Herald. Did other sources have that too?[QUOTE]

Most sources don't know enough about soccer to know that Blue Collar Ultras was most likely a tag, similar to that used by gangs.

Traditionally (meaning in Europe) Ultras are associated with more extreme, hooligan type supporters groups. But, who would know that if they aren't a big time soccer fan?

When I pointed that out to people here at my station, they dismissed it. To them it seemed unimportant... to me it says who did this.

[montgjules]

Originally Posted by dysko

When I pointed that out to people here at my station, they dismissed it. To them it seemed unimportant... to me it says who did this.

Really? Who did it?? :D

I love the way Mr. Bramble said "$50,000,000 (fifty million)"... Good thing he told us that $50,000,000 means fifty million or some of us who only got the Trustees scholarship to BYU and not the Presidential scholarship may have been confused. 🙄

[Aero]

Has anyone seen this thread on BS? Interesting.

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175258