What's Your NYCFC Breaking Point?

[JCMore]

After reading through all of the recent Sexual Harrassment forum, I was thinking about posting this topic in that thread but didn't want to clog it up with a different issue. As the members of this forum dwindle, this downward spiral of a year where no one has been able to go to a home game, and the many multitudes of negative press the club and CFG has given the fans over the years, at what point do you personally decide enoughs enough and leave the fandom? And to counter that point, what is keeping you with the club?

 

[JCMore]

Personally I'm sitting on the fence. Ive followed this team since 2015 and have really enjoyed many aspects of the football that is played and that its a local team. But between the oil money, Etihad attachement, no real grass root vibe, and now an attempted hush money move to cover sexual harassment claims, im just feeling really low on the club. I'll probably stick it out and watch next year, especially now that I live in Westchester instead of Albany and can go to games more often (if thats allowed next year) but if the apathy that has been building all year stays, I may need to find a new soccer outlet.

 

[LionNYC]

After reading through all of the recent Sexual Harrassment forum, I was thinking about posting this topic in that thread but didn't want to clog it up with a different issue. As the members of this forum dwindle, this downward spiral of a year where no one has been able to go to a home game, and the many multitudes of negative press the club and CFG has given the fans over the years, at what point do you personally decide enoughs enough and leave the fandom? And to counter that point, what is keeping you with the club?

I think we already have a thread for this topic...

CFG Out

So I was at a BBQ this weekend and NYCFC came up and someone mentioned our owners. Another party guest immediately said, "I'd divest in a heartbeat before giving another penny to those guys." It got me wondering what is my own divestment threshold. In my client work I use what I call a bookend...

nycfcforums.com

On Page 5, the discussion goes into...

1. What would you have to see happen before you would open the spigots to spend even more money on NYCFC?
2. What would you have to see happen to cause you to cancel your tickets and/or divest your interest in NYCFC?

Can I merge these threads?

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

I think we already have a thread for this topic...

CFG Out

So I was at a BBQ this weekend and NYCFC came up and someone mentioned our owners. Another party guest immediately said, "I'd divest in a heartbeat before giving another penny to those guys." It got me wondering what is my own divestment threshold. In my client work I use what I call a bookend...

nycfcforums.com

On Page 5, the discussion goes into...

1. What would you have to see happen before you would open the spigots to spend even more money on NYCFC?
2. What would you have to see happen to cause you to cancel your tickets and/or divest your interest in NYCFC?

Can I merge these threads?

I’d leave it open here. CFG does run NYCFC but the things discussed more recently are based on decisions made by NYCFC staff. There are a lot of people that have been out on CFG since day one but held out hope this club would be different. It’s not.

 

[LionNYC]

I’d leave it open here. CFG does run NYCFC but the things discussed more recently are based on decisions made by NYCFC staff. There are a lot of people that have been out on CFG since day one but held out hope this club would be different. It’s not.

Well, then I had to correct the punctuation of the title. Sorry, JCMore it was driving me nuts.

 

[DeGrozz]

Not gonna lie, it's all embarrassing, but it's not gonna stop me from going to the games or following the team.

I don't follow NYCFC because I rely on them to be a moral compass in my life. I follow them because I really enjoy the game of soccer, I love going to live sporting events with my kids, wife, siblings, and friends , and NYCFC is easy to travel to while being ridiculously cheap.

Unfortunately, if you let the bad things teams, leagues, organizations, corporations, bands, and actors do dictate your fandom/consumer habits, you basically need to give up 90% of what makes up your life.

It doesn't mean we can't be vocal trying to be a catalyst of change, but I'm a fan of the game, the location, and the experiences I have with my family and friends, I'm not gonna give that up because other people are dickwads.

 

[Shwafta]

Not gonna lie, it's all embarrassing, but it's not gonna stop me from going to the games or following the team.

I don't follow NYCFC because I rely on them to be a moral compass in my life. I follow them because I really enjoy the game of soccer, I love going to live sporting events with my kids, wife, siblings, and friends , and NYCFC is easy to travel to while being ridiculously cheap.

Unfortunately, if you let the bad things teams, leagues, organizations, corporations, bands, and actors do dictate you fandom/consumer habits, you basically need to give up 90% of what makes up your life.

It doesn't mean we can't be vocal trying to be a catalyst of change, but I'm a fan of the game, the location, and the experiences I have with my family and friends, I'm not gonna give that up because other people are dickwads.

You said what I wanted to say, except you said it better than I could have said.

 

[JCMore]

Well, then I had to correct the punctuation of the title. Sorry, JCMore it was driving me nuts.

Thats alright! No worries

 

[mgarbowski]

The team needs to win something soon, and/or break ground, or it will just keep bleeding support. That’s not specific to me, but my view of the general situation. Logically, those things shouldn’t solve ethical qualms, but they will, and the failure to have even middling playoff or tournament success (like never winning 2 rounds in a row against a first league opponent in any competition) had probably done more to shed interest than any of the non-sporting stuff.

 

[413Blue]

I'm a Jets fan. I hate everything about the team and barely watch now, but it's still my team. I hope for new owners someday.
Same can go for this club. While I think the club is better than many on here give them credit for overall, it's got flaws. Fortunately, unlike following the Jets, this club is not an exercise in futility as we have generally been competitive.

 

[Kenny]

It's not all bad, from CFG. They came to the City, partnered with a local club (the Yankees), created a gorgeous crest and an identity that well reflects the city, its culture, and its history; they've done outreach to local youth clubs and communties; they put the NYC flag on their shirts and corner flags; they've built tens of pitches in underserved communities thoughout the city and funded programs; they do Pride night, Hispanic night, etc. They won ESPN's Sports Humanitarian of the Year this year.

Do I wish the tippy-top of the ownership group were not in fact the royal family of a repressive, theocratic state? Yes. Yes I do. But good luck finding a modern owner of a sports club that aligns with your value system and ethical standards. Here in NYC, the other option is Red Bull; fuck them and their obnoxious branding and Nazi owner. They are more focused on New Jersey anyway.

 

[Kenny]

...and let me add, before anything is misunderstood--- I think the sexual harrassment incidents are horrendous, they've turned me against Villa for sure as well as those responsible for allowing this bullying and this culture to metastasize. I really would like to see/hear some evidence, not just lip service, that measures are being implemented. It's a fucking embarrassment and needs to be put right, to the extent it can.

 

[adam]

You know I’ve thought about this. It’s not like i have so many years of attachment to this team that I feel I’m just stuck with them like NY teams that were there before I was born & just have to sit through the misery (Jets). I was a Spurs fan before NYCFC, and the $2k i used to drop on season tickets could easily fund an annual trip to London where i used to live. Catch 1 live game a year and see old friends. I watch most games on TV anyway. If I want an MLS team to root for, I like to visit Miami and can go with my brother when I’m down there. I’m still here, but I’m am thinking about other options; which in my experience is the first step in a breakup. Oh, and now QBFC is out of the question.

 

[ZYanksRule]

As horrific as this recent sexual harassment story is, I really don't think things are as bad with this organization as many on here. Five straight postseason berths, last year we were tops in the East, we're probably one of -- if not -- the most consistently good team in the East over the last five years. Someone should look up the best records in MLS over the last five seasons. I bet we're right up there. Yes we haven't actually won anything, but things are not as bad as people seem to think.

Yes, this story is horrific and it should give all of us pause. But people are acting like this is the "last straw." For me, while the club is not as customer friendly as we all would like, they give us a damn good product on the field. And that remains the most important thing in sports fandom. I don't like how the team is run and I wish they would improve a number of things when it comes to customer relations, but I care about the on-field product far more than the ownership and management.

 

[Davo15]

I suppose it's The NEW YORK part of the name and the fact that when Pre and presumably Post pandemic this is by far the easiest to get to high level soccer live experience for me that keeps me here and not the ownership group. Do I wish more clubs could be like Saint Pauli? In some ways yest but sadly their extremely few and far between out there.

 

[FredMertz]

an identity that well reflects the city, its culture, and its history

What does this mean? Honestly asking.

 

[mgarbowski]

Oh, and now QBFC is out of the question.

They got the short end of this, didn’t they? I feel bad. They probably had no idea and no way to know, and now they’re stuck with an extremely damaged club owner/ambassador.

 

[ManhattanValley]

They got the short end of this, didn’t they? I feel bad. They probably had no idea and no way to know, and now they’re stuck with an extremely damaged club owner/ambassador.

Why feel bad for them? It’s Villa’s project.

Remember when people talked about QBFC as a serious challenger to NYCFC? Great times, great times.

 

[mgarbowski]

Why feel bad for them? It’s Villa’s project.

Yes I'm sure nobody else at all is involved in the team and affected by Villa's misdeeds from before the team existed. Good point.

 

[ManhattanValley]

Yes I'm sure nobody else at all is involved in the team and affected by Villa's misdeeds from before the team existed. Good point.

QBFC has fans/players/staff? They have their own forum on here if it’s tumbleweeds you’re after.

It’s a white elephant vanity project of Villa’s, it rises and falls with him. Maybe a dozen or so people now feel like they backed the wrong horse, and if so I feel embarrassed for them, but what difference does it make? The team was already flirting with total irrelevancy long before these allegations.