Does The Club Owe You Anything?

NYCFC_Dan

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Mar 17, 2014
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I feel like this is a discussion we should have based on some twitter outrage I've seen.
It started with the fan appreciation day last week. A lot of people weren't happy with getting screen cleaners and the early entry prize. Also more were upset they didn't get hand selected for the shirts off our back. Saw tons of tweets at the club about how they didn't do enough to recognize perfect attendance and away attendance
Now the club does and decides to do an event for supporters with perfect attendance and I'm seeing more outrage tweets about them not recognizing those who attend away games.
In my time as a NFL season ticket holder and a partial NHL I've NEVER seen a team provide special treatment for attendance. Why should we, as paying supporters, expect the club to do anything more than give us what they already do? Discounts on concessions/merch/tickets and playoff priority.
Why do people genuinely believe they deserve something when they know exactly what they're getting when they buy the ticket.
That blows my mind. If you're supporting a team for the sole purpose of you being recognized, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
If you attend away games you do so to support the players, not for the club to pat you on the back. It's a thankless job.
When I saw the tweets of 'I attended X amount of games' or 'I spent X amount of money' I felt embarrassed that's where some of us still are as supporters after 3 years.
 
I believe I deserve competent and respectful customer service whenever I call/email the club for something. I get that from this club, so I'm happy.
Other than that, it all comes down to the value I get from the game day experience, quality of the team on the field, and other things related to being a season ticket holder. It's nice to get freebies, special recognition, free merchandise here and there, but that's just added value. If I feel like I'm not spending my money wisely I won't renew my season tickets.
Now if I was spending at lion NYC kind of money, then I would expect a little bit more!

Edit: I used talk to type in my original post came up a little funny.
 
I feel like this is a discussion we should have based on some twitter outrage I've seen.
It started with the fan appreciation day last week. A lot of people weren't happy with getting screen cleaners and the early entry prize. Also more were upset they didn't get hand selected for the shirts off our back. Saw tons of tweets at the club about how they didn't do enough to recognize perfect attendance and away attendance
Now the club does and decides to do an event for supporters with perfect attendance and I'm seeing more outrage tweets about them not recognizing those who attend away games.
In my time as a NFL season ticket holder and a partial NHL I've NEVER seen a team provide special treatment for attendance. Why should we, as paying supporters, expect the club to do anything more than give us what they already do? Discounts on concessions/merch/tickets and playoff priority.
Why do people genuinely believe they deserve something when they know exactly what they're getting when they buy the ticket.
That blows my mind. If you're supporting a team for the sole purpose of you being recognized, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
If you attend away games you do so to support the players, not for the club to pat you on the back. It's a thankless job.
When I saw the tweets of 'I attended X amount of games' or 'I spent X amount of money' I felt embarrassed that's where some of us still are as supporters after 3 years.
I honestly thought all of that is a joke.

Hell, I cant even be counted on to return my account reps calls when I initiate a complaint. But that’s my prerogative as I pay for the tickets. No one owes me more than what I bargained for.
 
What 4 413Blue said. I'm on record multiple times that I think the idea that I owe the team any more than what I decide to spend is bullshit. It goes the other way as well.
The only thing for which I still think there is an outstanding balance is how they never explained or even apologized for CookieburgerGate. And that's never going to get resolved so I had to decide what to do about that and I moved on, though I still curse him and Ferran whenever I see them (and fuck man city). The other alternatives were to drop the team, or let that issue bother me unceasingly.
And that's the choice we have with any other disappointments, whether customer service, no stadium, prices, roster issues, field performance, or whatever: you can reduce your engagement and what you spend, or don't. Either way you also decide how much to let that stuff eat at you.

The people bitching about the stuff in the OP just want to officially define "best fans" in the way that happens to fit them. Screw that. You want to travel to a lot of away games -- that's your choice. If it's fun, and you can afford the time and money, good for you. I'm glad you found an activity you enjoy so much. If the club wants to reward that, cool. If not, that too.
 
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I've attended every home game at Yankee Stadium (and Citi Field). I've come at least 60 minutes early to every game except for one game where I arrived 20 minutes early because I drove the 80 miles from school and there was terrible traffic. I even drove to a game from school the night before an exam and drove back after, arriving back at 12:30 AM. I stay at least 15 minutes after the final whistle. I'm a committed fan.

I've probably spent more than $4K in merchandise (more than half of that is scarves). And I pay 3x more than the next most expensive ticket and they say there are VIP events included with Pitchside Seats. We got a happy hour before the 2017 season started. It was nice to meet all the front office people (well some of them) and the fellow ticket members. I wasn't invited to the opening of the NYCFC House (but I'm probably a tad young for the target demographic). Am I disappointed by that? No. I didn't expect to get invited in all honestly. I'm spend a lot. I'm not entitled.

What I expect is the ticket I pay for and the customer service and hospitality that comes with it. I want my seat by the bench. I want my meal at Legends before the game. I don't want my ass wiped by my account rep. But I would like him to respond to my questions (not the stadium, not the roster, not the bullshit, just the real things like tickets, times, parking, etc.) in a timely manner which he has done amazingly over the past three years. I want to be respected for what deserves respect.

I don't need any damn chotchkies at the gates of games or in a season ticket holder box. That backpack in 2016? It's still in the plastic wrap. American sports is different than the rest of the world and CFG (and NYCFC) is still in its infancy. They are still learning on how to earn fans, treat fans, and respect fans. I want continual improvement from the club on and off the field.

But I will pay whatever it takes to be on the parade with the team down the Canyon of Heroes. I don't expect that to be included. I want to yell at de Blasio.

That being said, I would like more honesty and transparency when it comes to the roster. But that's an MLS issue and not an NYCFC issue. GAM numbers, TAM numbers, actual salary numbers. I want more information when it's ready to be released.

TLDR: No.
 
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Things the Club owe me and all fans: A safe place to watch a team we all support
A club we can be proud of that represents our city that is always competitive
A dialogue between club and supporters to ensure both sides have an understanding of the expectations of the other.

In my opinion, the club has done that. If ppl think the club owes them bc they went to matches is outrageous. I have YNWA tattooed onto my wrist and I don't expect Celtic or Liverpool to fly me over for a game hell I don't even expect or want a Twitter RT. We all make the choice to support a club and how feverously we choose to do so should be out of love for the crest not because you expect something in return other than memories of heartbreak and triumph.
 
There are two things this club owes me:

1. To put a quality product on the field.

2. To provide a fun, enjoyable gameday experience that keeps me wanting to come back for more.

That's it. Just win, baby.
And to your point #1, I don't think they owe me a quality product on the field, but a legitimate attempt to put a quality product on the field and compete for a title.

I've also seen points thrown around about how much money our owner has and they should be spending a shit-ton more on DPs. Just because our owner has a pile of cash, doesn't mean they have to outspend everyone else. Just show me that you are doing your best to put a team out on the field that will compete for a title.

All the players owe me is 100% effort on the field when they play. Sure I'll rag some of them when they don't perform well, but all that they owe me is their 100% committed effort.
 
I feel like this is a discussion we should have based on some twitter outrage I've seen.
It started with the fan appreciation day last week. A lot of people weren't happy with getting screen cleaners and the early entry prize. Also more were upset they didn't get hand selected for the shirts off our back. Saw tons of tweets at the club about how they didn't do enough to recognize perfect attendance and away attendance
Now the club does and decides to do an event for supporters with perfect attendance and I'm seeing more outrage tweets about them not recognizing those who attend away games.
In my time as a NFL season ticket holder and a partial NHL I've NEVER seen a team provide special treatment for attendance. Why should we, as paying supporters, expect the club to do anything more than give us what they already do? Discounts on concessions/merch/tickets and playoff priority.
Why do people genuinely believe they deserve something when they know exactly what they're getting when they buy the ticket.
That blows my mind. If you're supporting a team for the sole purpose of you being recognized, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
If you attend away games you do so to support the players, not for the club to pat you on the back. It's a thankless job.
When I saw the tweets of 'I attended X amount of games' or 'I spent X amount of money' I felt embarrassed that's where some of us still are as supporters after 3 years.


Are people really saying shit like this? My only response is: thank God I don’t have douchebags like that in my feed. And they should be thanking God I don’t either.

Things like shirts off our backs and the like are scarce commodities. They don’t “owe” that to anyone. A nice giveaway to fans is nice because it’s something they don’t have to give us. I didn’t get the utility of the screen wiper either, and I can guarantee you the kids I brought with me definitely don’t get it. But I’m not going to get worked up because the thing I got for free was only worth what I paid for it.
 
this reminds me of the endless messages of people complaining about the Season ticket gift
 
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Are people really saying shit like this? My only response is: thank God I don’t have douchebags like that in my feed. And they should be thanking God I don’t either.

Things like shirts off our backs and the like are scarce commodities. They don’t “owe” that to anyone. A nice giveaway to fans is nice because it’s something they don’t have to give us. I didn’t get the utility of the screen wiper either, and I can guarantee you the kids I brought with me definitely don’t get it. But I’m not going to get worked up because the thing I got for free was only worth what I paid for it.
There are people like this unfortunately. I don't have them in my feed, but there was this encounter I once had in 237 earlier this year, I believe in the game against the Revs where we drew.

The bleachers were filtering out, but there were still several fans hanging around for the players to walk on over and they usually throw those mini-balls into the crowd. This one particular guy (who I've encountered before and isn't a very bright person) was yelling that if he catches one of the mini-balls from the players, he was going to throw it back at them.

I asked him why he would do such a thing and he rambled on about how the team sucked, yadda yadda. Well the team ended up not walking over and throwing them into the crowd. So this same individual got even more pissed that they did not do so and that it was a big F you to the fans and made a huge stink about it.
 
Does the club owe me anything? Not above and beyond what we already get. I think we get great value for having season tickets. The organization does a serviceable job providing unique opportunities for those of us who have children. We regularly go before the games to get faces painted, which is free. My daughter got to meet Brandi Chastain earlier this year and we got tickets to the City Send-Off just by reaching out to our ticket rep and asking. I don't really care to much about the free gear we get in our season ticket box. I don't need another scarf, but I appreciate that we get something. They also give us the flexibility of trading in games, which is just amazing.

The only thing I would say that I think they owe us as season ticket holders is to keep the value in the price of our ticket and not undersell us. This was something I mentioned to Patricoff when I met with him over the summer. I told him it was not a good idea to sell those standing room only tickets for $15 because it undercuts season ticket holders who might want to resell a game they can't go to. He agreed and told me they were just testing it out but weren't going to continue it. On that note, I appreciate them reducing the number of seats available for games next year but I don't think they went far enough. They should cap capacity to drive up demand for tickets.

I'm sure I went way off topic... sorry.
 
Unfortunately I have seen these tweets in my timeline and it is outrageous. Like Lion, I’ve attended all the home games played in NYC and just being there to support the team from NYC is all the reward I need. Some people are so damn entitled it is sickening.
 
On that note, I appreciate them reducing the number of seats available for games next year but I don't think they went far enough.
Did they go through with it? I saw it mentioned in one of the renewal emails but never any confirmation. The rep didn't try to talk me out of downgrading either.
 
Did they go through with it? I saw it mentioned in one of the renewal emails but never any confirmation. The rep didn't try to talk me out of downgrading either.

They removed all the seats behind the dugout for next season. I think they were available this season but were rarely used. I'd go further by taking out sections that are blocked by the foul poll on the main level. If we reduced capacity to 26k for games outside of Red Bulls I think it would help immensely.
 
I'd rather not have the club giving out crappy swag, but that's because I think it's low-quality and the world doesn't need more junk produced with materials and energy sources that are already scarce.

Apart from that, I'm having a hard time with the way the question is framed. Strictly speaking, the club only owes me what they said they were going to give me on any agreement that I signed, probably without reading it. Conceptually, I don't like to think of fans and clubs as separate entities that interact in only a transactional fashion. One corollary of that is that the club and the fans don't owe each other anything or do anything out of only obligation but because they understand that doing certain things can improve the happiness and cohesion of the fan - club "compact". Subconsciously, I think that that's what guides my actions regarding the club.

Applied to the particulars of the scenario that prompted this thread - I don't see how fans complaining about trifling issues optimizes for happiness or cohesion. I'm also embarrassed on behalf of the fans. I also don't think that the things they're complaining about missing out on do much to enhance the bond between the club and the fans. It all feels a little gimmicky to me, but that's just my opinion. They're trying. It's hard. My stance on this if I felt like I was a jilted fan would be something along the lines of "hey team, I know you're trying but this left me disappointed.". It's sympathetic but assertive. Any kind of anger or vitriol can't be helpful.

Can anyone link to the offending tweets?