Will NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson address the issue?
Today’s story that a club had ‘punished’ away fans by scrapping a visitor’s section for a cup derby is, in isolation, no more than a case of over promoted pen pushers with no idea about soccer or supporters culture.
Fans could smugly dismiss it as happening in the south or at an NASL club or some other arrogant elitist reason to not give it any further thought. That would not be wise or terribly fair on Bill Peterson, the NASL Commissioner or indeed the NASL which in many cases strives to do things well (although the continued employment of a communications director who was sacked for threatening journalists in a previous job remains a problem from a media point of view.)
Here’s why none of us, fan, administrator or writer, can turn a blind eye to the astonishing decision by Rayo OKC.
Any outbreak of in-stadium aggro in Oklahoma or anywhere else will be used by soccer’s enemies to condemn. Any excuse that ‘the Front Office at the home club are clowns who deliberately created the scenario‘ will not deter soccer critics from their stereotypes. It also does not remove from us, the soccer community, our responsibility to take every measure to protect the reputation of the game that we love.
So in trying to calculate where to start on the utter sense of despair created by Rayo OKC’s actions, let us begin with what can be done before the game is actually played on June 1.
One measure now is for Energy FC to ask the local Oklahoma Police to insist on a section where they can safely shepherd away fans who identify themselves. In that way, the supporters can be permitted to voluntarily segregate. This would also allow Rayo OKC fans to watch the game in a safe environment from their regular seats. Failing that, the Grid can invite their members to congregate voluntarily in the area where they were originally to be seated, and hope the home support avoids it.
“Our sport has become too big for key supporter decisions to be left to people with no understanding of the game; or people who are just interested in profit; or people who were appointed for their corporate connections or people who were appointed in a bygone era when no-one else wanted jobs in soccer.”
Energy coach Jimmy Nielsen, while being interviewed for the story, said:
“We have very smart fans (at Energy) and they’re not going to cause any trouble. Our fan group is smart and they are going to take care not to be drawn in.”
Nonetheless, there is a heavy onus on them to make sure they are part of the solution to a problem albeit one they had no part in creating.
OKC Energy’s players and staff have already very nobly done their bit by offering to trade their family tickets to the Grid so the supporters could sit together. A source told us that defender Michael Thomas called a Grid member called Marshall and offered to swap their dedicated tickets for those Grid members who had been forced to purchase among the Rayo OKC supporters. This would have allowed the hardcore fanbase to sit as on, to cheer as one – with the players’ wives and families taking the hit and being scattered around. Sadly however, this only amounts to 40 anyway but the gesture was fantastic.
If the Grid can persuade their fans to take up seats in a dedicated area, they will remove individual potential flashpoints and perhaps give the most concrete reason yet why fans must be involved in big decisions regarding a range of items from crowd safety to what we now know is called “engagement advertising”.
Crowd security is not the Grid’s responsibility but in the face of such corporate stupidity and vindictiveness, they may have to step up. Sadly it occasionally seems that we cannot currently trust the people who have worked their way into influential positions in soccer with the power they have.
Lastly, US Soccer can simply insist on away fans being given dedicated tickets. The Open Cup is their competition after all. If necessary, threaten to throw Rayo OKC out the Open Cup if they do not comply.
WHO WAS IN THE ROOM?
Prost Amerika does not know the answer to the vital question in Oklahoma “who was in the room when that decision was taken”; a question that we have asked for many years when observing the Cascadian scene (and had cause to do so again last week). But it is one that fans from Oregon to Oklahoma must start asking, and asking often.
Our sport has become too big for key supporter decisions to be left to people with no understanding of the game; or people who are just interested in profit; or people who were appointed for their corporate connections or people who were appointed in a bygone era when no-one else wanted jobs in soccer.
Beyond the fact that Rayo OKC have acted dangerously, they have also acted pettily and humorlessly.
We had hoped that Rayo OKC had been upset by being referred to as Rayo Yukon or petty teasing about Vallecano being relegated; something worthwhile for the Rayo Front Office to get their proverbial knickers in a twist.
On the Grid’s Facebook Page, a little gloat towards Rayo’s parent club was needlessly included at the end of the announcement:
“Make sure you get a ticket in our section at an incredible group ticket rate. On Wednesday, May 25th, we’re expected to purchase a 100+ ticket block. Rayo OKC already has our payment information, and will transact after their pre-sale period for season ticket holders.
The tickets are only $10! We will be sitting in the northeast sections of the east grandstands (visitor side). We encourage all Energy FC fans and season ticket holders to sit in or next to our section. Our chants and songs need to drown out all noise produced by Rayo Yukon fans. Buy your ticket through us and ensure an unbelievable experience.
By the way, Rayo Vallecano was relegated!!! Ha ha!”
“Away sections are not merely provided as a gift or a privilege to away fans.”
If the dig at the Spanish parent club’s relegation wasn’t the sole cause, the Grid’s continued use of the term Rayo Yukon rather than Rayo Oklahoma, as a slight, seems also to be a sore. The Miller Stadium lies outside the City of Oklahoma’s boundaries. If you check the Rayo Oklahoma website however, you’ll see that even they give Yukon as the address for their stadium.
However, this argument has been a staple of the Manchester derby for a century. United actually play in Stretford rather than the City of Manchester, something City fans and occasionally the team regularly taunt them about.
When Carlos Tevez joined City from neighbours United, the Citizens even alluded to this aspect of the rivalry with a billboard erected at the border between Stretford and Manchester. This ribbing has never however led to a reaction such as the one taken by Rayo.
The point is that in soccer, we jab at each other all the time. But that’s OUR thing. Supporters call each other every name under the sun, accusations of procreation with animal species are normal, crowd numbers are lobbed at one another, and sometimes, even the suits join in.
San Jose Earthquake’s President Dave Kaval is a master at twitter jabbery with opposition fans, as are players Herculez Gomez and Dom Dwyer. Timbers owner Merritt Paulson has called his own fans “idiots and morons” and Sounders fans even worse, but one MLS Cup later has been well forgiven by the his own. In all those cases, the men in positions of responsibility left it at words and never abused their power because they were upset at something said back to them.
Manchester City taunted United’s geography when Carlos Tevez joined the Citizens
In Oklahoma however, a vindictive decision was taken by people who it would now appear have no business running a soccer club. We are told that the USL will make a statement tomorrow. They are the league that Energy play in. It’s Bill Peterson, Commissioner of the NASL (Rayo’s League) that Prost would like to hear from.
He’s normally an outspoken guy who avoids the dreary corporate monotone with which MLS PR sometimes sugmerges the more entertaining side of Don Garber. It would be great to hear Peterson lay down the law to Rayo, and defend away fans’ rights. A fine and an apology would be well in order too although his powers may be limited by the tie in question being an Open Cup game.
IDIOTS AND MORONS?
Is it possible the Rayo Front Office themselves simply misunderstand the point of segregation?
Away sections are not merely provided as a gift or a privilege to away fans. They have more benefits than just assisting to provide a magnificent atmosphere which makes soccer unique.
They are a time proven and necessary security measure. In the second paragraph of their statement, Rayo invite Grid members and other Energy fans to buy tickets for the rest of the stadium along with their own supporters. We can put to one side that these tickets are $19 whereas the original Supporters section tickets were only $9. That Rayo are trying to bilk Energy fans in an amateurish form of ‘dynamic pricing’ is, like their humorlessness, not the greatest of the issues here.
What is most irresponsible is that the Rayo Front Office have upped the tension by starting a phony war with Energy fans, and then done away with segregation so that both sets of fans have to sit together in an unpleasant atmosphere they created for no good reason. This also shows a cavalier disregard for the comfort and safety of their own fans, who we also regard as victims here.
Playing in the same city as Real and Atletico Madrid, their parent club Rayo Vallecano have a century of experience in dealing city rivalry and away fans. Rayo OKC’s actions will eventually seep over the Atlantic and embarrass their parent club, a club widely respected in Spain.
Rayo Vallecano deserve better than to have their name muddied by actions such as Rayo OKC took this week. So does Peterson and the NASL. Perhaps someone in Vallecas or Commissioner Peterson will be the first to ask that question, which as we said, fans must start asking every time they see an oafish or tone deaf decision:
“Who was in the room when that decision was taken?”
and its inevitable follow-up
“how can we get them out the room before the next one?”
To be or not to be is no longer the question.
#whowasintheroom
Also See:
Ray OKC scrap away section after ‘unsafe pitch’ jibe by Enerhy fans
MLS must “Cross the Line” and talk about Trump, Zlatan and Georgia
No going back for Hanauer on corporate sale of supporter culture
