Well, I'm sitting here wracking my brains trying to come up with something relevant to talk to you guys about this week and it's not coming along so well. There's been a whirl of player signings and some word on teams traveling around getting themselves in something resembling playing shape. Meanwhile, I myself have been trying to get into game shape by presenting you with my views on a more consistent basis than has been the case over the last few months.
So where do we stand now? Frankly, I don't quite know, as there's been quite the dearth of steady mail, the hateful kind or otherwise, of late. So what's your friendly neighborhood hack to do? I'll just have to keep plugging away satisfied in knowing that the five times I re-read my article will mean that this article will get at least five hits this week.
Another contributing factor to this block is this innate ability I seem to have to spread myself a bit thin. As many people may or may not know I have been trying to cultivate an environment in which fans in Columbia, S.C. can get more actively involved in soccer. In doing so I've gone about setting up a ramshackle website (can't you just sense the impending plug?) to advertise the desire to see a USL team brought to fruition in this city. Shameless plug alert: If you're interested you can pay a visit at www.angelfire.com/sports/scpdlsoccer/.
The point of all this, though, is not to merely ramble on about what else I've personally been up to but to illustrate that, more and more, the fans are doing things for themselves. D.I.Y.F.C. may as well be a club name these days with the manner in which fans have gotten themselves more involved at deeper and deeper levels of the game. There are recognized moves by fan groups such as the former Fusion fans who run a site at www.soflastrikers.com with the ambitious intent of bringing a pro soccer team back to the Miami area. Their efforts have been recognized by the league according to some rumors and the seemingly strong fan support could lead to a new team in the area as soon as next season, though it is unlikely with current deadlines.
In thinking about how far the fans have come in the last few years you need only look at a site such as www.a-league.com whose slogan is "For the Fans, By the Fans". The emergence of this site as a leading news source among the lower divisions of North American soccer has come from the collective hard work of many fans who have held a genuine desire to get selflessly involved in the game. For the most part it is a solid group of people who fill the site with information with no interest in payment of any sort but instead do it for the love of this game. Those who contribute to this site are not looking for notoriety but should it come their way it will often be greeted with a generous dose of modesty.
One day there will be a great story to tell about that little website that could (and has) hold its own in a crowded market. For now, though, it is enough to concentrate on the work ahead as another season bears down upon us. More fans will be finding their own roles within their soccer community whether that is as a player or coach in a local league or a season ticket holder for their particular club of choice. Now is a good time to be a fan because the possible level of involvement has never been higher.
We are now in a market where the most desired commodity is fans and not necessarily championships. Sometimes it seems hard to tell that this statement is true when an organization releases little to no information for fans but sometimes it just is not prudent for a club to release information until all the details are finished. At the same time, there is now a palpable sense of entitlement which fans feel when dealing with their team due in large part because the fan now realizes their importance to a club and they feel that the club(s) need to know this. Once again, though, as fans we always need to remember that supporting our clubs should come first… well, until the next time we are grievously harmed and/or distressed over the team's actions and decisions.
All in all, what my latest rambling on happens to be about is that the fans have now become an increasingly important part of the game. We, as fans, need to accept that role if we wish to continue to see the games in our own backyards to which we have grown accustomed. Some of us are working harder than others to develop the game but we are no more important than one another so long as we support the game. The major action that needs to be taken is to continue to support the game through its good and bad times. Be thankful for a league to follow, be thankful for the things we've got, and be thankful I'm finished yammering for this week. Oh, and before I forget, make sure you tune in for the United States - Ecuador match from Birmingham on Sunday, that is provided, of course, if it is not pre-empted in your area due to March Madness. Madness indeed.
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