City Send Off - Highly Recommended!

[FootyLovin]

Hi. Finally have a few minutes to describe the City-Send Off that I went to with my 8-year-old after the last game (Colorado).

It's a good event. Wouldn't personally say it was great. Whether it's worth it for you will probably depend on how much value you place on autographs and pictures. It's fun seeing the players, but you don't really get to interact as they don't have enough time to spend with everyone. I also enjoyed hanging out with fellow fans. There is a lot of that, as it take a while for the club to set things up, and there are a lot of dead periods while you wait for players to come out and make their way to where you are. I can say that my kid loved it and got a lot of autographs, so that made it worth it to me.

The Colorado event was particularly crowded. The Club said this was their biggest yet. For some reason, they not only had all 50 season ticket holder spots filled, but others with send off rights chose to come this day. I'd say it was a crowd of around 150. Fortunately, we all got a spot on the barricades, and nobody got stuck standing behind anyone else.

Most of the players came out, but not all.

• Villa came out and did the whole line even thought he didn't play.
• Pirlo was a no show.
• Hat Trick Rick did about half the line and left - and not our side, so we will have to find another way to add the final two DPs to my kid's shirt.
• RJ Allen and both goalkeepers came out and seemed to really enjoy interacting.
• Mendoza, Tony Taylor, Khiry, Iraola, Hernandez, Lopez all worked the whole line.
• TMac came by, and I asked if Howard had gotten any ball when they collided in the box, and he gave a very diplomatic "I don't know."
• Matarrita was there walking around the entire space with an untaped ankle and no limp - so I was surprised he didn't make the 18 the next game.
• Jack Harrison was all smiles, as you might expect.
• Both sides of the Maginot Line came through. Another one of the defenders worked only the other side and then left (not sure who).
• Last, but not least, Coach V came by and gave everyone a lot of time. Clearly it is a priority for him. One fan near me complimented the big win and the season so far, and Vieira quickly said it's early and we haven't done anything yet.

Overall, I am thankful to the players. It was a very big crowd, so you know when they turned the corner and saw everyone it must have been a little hard. They'd just put in a full day's work, gotten a big win, and were tired. Still, with only a couple exceptions, they came around to everyone and gave us some extra time. It took many of them a good 20-30 minutes to get through the whole crowd, and I appreciate it.

Does anyone know if this kind of thing happens in other sports? Is this standard fare or unusual?

 

[SoupInNYC]

Does anyone know if this kind of thing happens in other sports? Is this standard fare or unusual?

I'm a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan and have traveled to a lot of away games. If you know where the away buses leave the stadiums, you can usually go hang out there and try and snag a photo or autograph or two from some players, but its not a set up thing.

Usually the buses are near the exit of the stadium, and the players have to walk out of there way to sign some things. Usually a few will stop by as their family and friends came there to hang out (I was once scolded by Byron Leftwich's mother for yelling at her son that he looked like a giant Gary Coleman). Then they'll usually sign a few autographs.

But it doesn't look like the team puts anything together for run-of-the-mill fans to mingle with the players pre/post game. Note, this could be different for other teams and could be different for home games.

 

[TabascoDiva]

So, here is another question that suddenly became relevant this week.

If a player is not in the 18, do they come out for the send off?

My kid is very excited about this, but he is now worried that he won't get to see Villa.

Is the send off the same as meet and greet? I have been to 2 one last season and- at this one only a few players came out , I remember Poku, Mullins. . .

I went to the the last one on June 30th 2016
let me break into the good and the bad

The good all players that showed are very amenable, give autographs and take pictures happily. Viera was very friendly and answered the only question I could think to ask at that moment( last meet and greet Kreiss was there and the dude was dead serious and no smile at all)

the bad
have to wait a long time. (over 2 hours and I was at the beginning of line)
long line , therefore have to wait and when your turn comes very little time to exchange any thing meaningful
with the players. Its all very rushed. If you take time with one player the other one behind may pass by you and you miss the opportunity if that happens to be your player ( It did happened to me , missed Capitan Villa, he came back though)

the player YOU may want to get that very, very autograph you want may not show up. It happened to the couple that was alongside me.
The husband had a Pirlo biography book and the only signature he was after was Pirlo and Pirlo did not show up.
The wife had a soccer ball with all the team signatures. We enquired and the NYCFC rep said that he had a family emergency and left early. The couple was very disappointed , they had used 2000 points for only that purpose. I felt really bad for them , the rep just shrugged her shoulders when they expressed their feelings

At the end even both my 2 friends felt flat - too much ado for -3- 5 seconds with the players.

and for me I was glad the 1000 points were courtesy gift of my friend Fabio

The funny part at least for me was that my friend Vinnie was taking pictures with all the players and telling us that " hey that guy may be very famous one day - You never know." He is so right and we also started taking pictures with all of them.
Overall having my 2 friends joking and laughing around me the long wait wasn't so bad.
After 8pm Everything around YS is closed . We wanted a drink , we needed the bathroom and thank God for Fabio( he is very persuasive) and roxfontaine , The Big bouncer blocking the doorway at the Dugout, let us in to use the bathroom

 

[Gotham Gator]

Does anyone know if this kind of thing happens in other sports? Is this standard fare or unusual?

I know the Yankees do something similar for season ticket holders, but it is only 1-2 times a season and not as good. You line up in the outfield warning track before the game. The players come out and will shake hands and do pictures, but no autographs. It's also more crowded. Hard to get a spot on line.

 

[NYCFCP]

Did the city send off on Sat. It was great, the players are forced to do it- so you are 99% guaranteed to get your pics and autographs. I got everyone except Mix, who I heard sneaked by early haha...

 

[Viewfrom226]

My daughter and I finally got to do this last night. As others have said, it is a cool experience, especially if you have kids who are star struck (as mine is). Every player came through except Brandt, Mix, Mena, Mendoza and Pirlo. Reyna and Vieira also were there. It was a bit crowded, but the players were all pretty gracious with their time. A few highlights/funny anecdotes:

- Villa came out with his wife and three kids. His wife went off with the two older kids and he went to sign with the youngest, who looked about 3, in tow. So, he's trying to sign, take pictures, etc., while watching a 3-year old who, as they are wont to do, wanders off from time to time. When you are a parent, your kids just don't care if you are a world cup winner and nearly hit the most incredible chip shot an hour or two ago.

- Earlier this year, she had walked out with Khiry and we got a picture of it. We brought an 8x10 of it for him to sign, and he was so cool about it. Talked about remembering that match and how she talked his ear off, etc. It was a classic case of a guy spending literally one minute and creating something for her that she was beaming about. We also had a picture of her with Andre Rawls from when she did the interview with him in March, which was fun.

- We had printed pictures of all the players for them to sign, and a lot of them seemed to like that rather than signing more generic stuff. In particular, it was a good point of engagement for her with guys like Shannon Gomez, who was exceedingly likable.

- Finally, they tend to get killed on these boards for the on-field stuff, but both Hernandez and Saunders had excellent rapport with the fans and you glimpse why they might well be guys who are excellent teammates (even if many feel they should play a bit less).

Fun stuff.