MATCH REPORTS
On Cheering and Enabling
April 23, 2007
By Aaron Stollar
So some folks out there weren't thrilled by my article last week when I took DC's defense out to the woodshed. There were some good reasons not to be thrilled by it (my soggy notes betrayed me on some names) and some less-than-good reasons. Today, I focus on those less-than-good reasons.
To those who say that a "true fan" never rips his/her own team, I say that you could not, in fact, be more wrong. If you truly support the team and have expectations of the team beyond them providing a seat under your rump and something resembling entertainment in front of your eyes, you absolutely must be willing to criticize and even embarrass the team in order to get them to improve.
That's right, I believe that fans are major actors in the operations and success of the sports franchises they support. If your team is consistently embarrassing you, your fellow fans and even your city with their lack of effort, competence or class; it is your responsibility as fans to let the world know that what is happening isn't right and must be fixed.
I am not talking about reacting to occasional bad play or some bad seasons. I am talking about year after year of mismanagement, greed, scorn for fans, and/or cheapness.
In today's era of pliant, corporate media and sophisticated team PR efforts, fans are the only bullhorn left to tell the teams that they are in fact accountable.
I have supported and covered enough bad teams to understand how important it is for fans to get "toxic" and to get active to get what they want done.
In many cases fan criticism and even action is the only way anyone will notice problems. If your otherwise incompetent coach sucks up to beat writers and cheerfully returns their calls, they won't notice it. If your otherwise useless and greedy organization runs a sophisticated PR operation intimidating and paying off media, they won't notice it.
It's a very, very fine line between cheering for a team and enabling it. What makes it even tougher is that you never know that you've crossed that line until it's too late.
Sometimes in order to save the village, you do in fact need to burn it down or at least light some fires. I know it's tough. But fans pay a lot of good money to see more than incompetence. We wouldn't accept the Redskins' displays of incompetence from our insurance companies, realtors, or restaurants. Even in an entertainment context, you wouldn't accept it if your $120 theater tickets were spoiled by actors stumbling, bumbling and falling all over their lines. Why should sports be any different?
Redskins fans infuriate me. If this were New York (a proper sports town - yes, I said it) there would be fans trying to kidnap Daniel Snyder for what he has done to that team. Now, I am not endorsing kidnapping, but why not go picket outside Redskins Park after they miss the playoffs? What is the worst that happens? Snyder can do a lot of things, but he can't send you to Gitmo. Where is the outrage?
If things have gotten truly toxic - and goodness knows they have for quite a few teams around here - make some noise. If you are an Orioles fan and you are sick of Peter Angelos turning your team into a laughingstock, join Nestor Aparicio's campaign against him. If you are sick of the Redskins embarrassing our city with their incompetence and disdain for the fans, fight back. Be creative, be noisy, and be clever. If you give the media a story, some of them will in fact notice. At least the blogs will. And then maybe, just maybe, things will get better.
England fans have gotten the message. Woefully underqualified Steve McClaren and his band of spoiled underachievers deserve to be jeered mercilessly. Good for England fans. Your voices can do more than your Doc Martens ever could.
Now, please let me say that DC United is not anywhere near this level of toxicity and I have no expectation that they will come close to it. But I and the gentlemen at the DCenters are in agreement here. Fans have to be willing to criticize their teams in order to reform them. Supporting your team shouldn't feel like a battered spouse stumbling foolishly back in search of love. Don't ever forget that it doesn't have to be that way.
You and every fan out there still have a say.
Other Thoughts
My story last week was linked twice by the DCenters and commented upon in their usual intelligent manner. I thank them and all those who commented (critically and otherwise) on message boards last week.
I know I am a bit late to the party here, but New York looks like a really good side, possibly its best ever. If Juan Pablo Angel can form a partnership with Clint Mathis and healthy Claudio Reyna, they will be the toughest team from that area since the Giovanni Savarese era.
Again, I am not the first with this thought, but United's match with Columbus, while not a must-win, is truly a bellwether for this team and the coaching staff. DC has every advantage but home field (and to call Crew Stadium a home field advantage would be charitable), and simply have no excuse for not beating this team. United has better talent, especially up front, and will be considerably better rested. A loss (especially a high-scoring one) will be tremendously disappointing.
PAST REPORTS
DC UNITED 2:4 KANSAS CITY- 04.14.07
DC UNITED 3:2 CD OLIMPIA - 03.02.07