Never before had I cried after seeing a movie until I saw Waltz With Bashir. The surreal moments, the outstanding visuals that really captured the horrors of the 1982 Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila Massacres, and one hell of a sountrack to go with it. The last ten minutes of the film were just so depressing and sad that I was moved to tears. It's a shame it can't win Best Picture at the Oscars and can only be nominated for Best Foreign Film. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and definitely the best movie of the year.
I should make a two-pole flag with Ari Folman's face on it from the movie. That would look awesome.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
RBA Virtual Tour
Virtual Walk Through of Red Bull Arena
WARNING: You may experience something wierd in your pants.
I can just imagine banners unfurling from the second tier as confetti and streamers pour onto the pitch and flares and smoke bombs go off and flags are being waved. This shit is going to be sick!
WARNING: You may experience something wierd in your pants.
I can just imagine banners unfurling from the second tier as confetti and streamers pour onto the pitch and flares and smoke bombs go off and flags are being waved. This shit is going to be sick!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
More Passion in the Stands!
Yesterday I was reading an article by Glenn Davis in the Houston Chronicle about raising the level of passion in the stands at MLS matches. What the article failed to do is point out how to do so. It did point out how successful supporters groups are in places like DC, Toronto, and Columbus, but why are they so successful?
Well when you look at the three clubs mentioned you'll notice how all three of them play in stadiums within the city limits and are much easier to get to than these new suburban soccer grounds in Frisco, TX (FC Dallas) and Commerce City, CO (Colorado Rapids). The so-called soccer mom crowd that MLS has tried to draw does not go into the city for safety reasons (life in the big city is just oh so hard with crime everywhere!). Who comes? A diverse crowd that comes from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds who import the passion for soccer seen in their native countries.
It's obvious that urban stadiums are needed in order to expand the MLS fanbase and passion for the game of soccer. But what's also needed is a new kind of stadium. Enough of the boring old bowl design with the open concourse, box seats on one long end and possibly a second tier on the other with some cover over the longer touchlines. Bring in the terraces. Bring in a roof over the heads of all the fans (RBNY is getting it right).
MLS has a partnership with Bundesliga right now. What it needs to learn from them is that cheap tickets, terracing, and relaxed stadium policing that allows the ultras to operate creates a successful league. The Bundesliga is the best attended league in Europe, and MLS needs to learn from them.
To sum this all up:
1.) Urban stadiums
2.) Terraces
3.) Roofs
This will lead to passion in the stands.
Well when you look at the three clubs mentioned you'll notice how all three of them play in stadiums within the city limits and are much easier to get to than these new suburban soccer grounds in Frisco, TX (FC Dallas) and Commerce City, CO (Colorado Rapids). The so-called soccer mom crowd that MLS has tried to draw does not go into the city for safety reasons (life in the big city is just oh so hard with crime everywhere!). Who comes? A diverse crowd that comes from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds who import the passion for soccer seen in their native countries.
It's obvious that urban stadiums are needed in order to expand the MLS fanbase and passion for the game of soccer. But what's also needed is a new kind of stadium. Enough of the boring old bowl design with the open concourse, box seats on one long end and possibly a second tier on the other with some cover over the longer touchlines. Bring in the terraces. Bring in a roof over the heads of all the fans (RBNY is getting it right).
MLS has a partnership with Bundesliga right now. What it needs to learn from them is that cheap tickets, terracing, and relaxed stadium policing that allows the ultras to operate creates a successful league. The Bundesliga is the best attended league in Europe, and MLS needs to learn from them.
To sum this all up:
1.) Urban stadiums
2.) Terraces
3.) Roofs
This will lead to passion in the stands.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration Day
Well today is historic. We have finally seen a black man become president of the United States. Other than that... not much. I'm waiting to see if Obama's "stimulus" package or TARP goes through and how much it will cost. I'm going to keep my eye on the exchange rates for the next few months and if I see inflation is going to hit, I might just move to the Swiss Franc.
Obama's speech was pretty good. His oratory skills are excellent and he seemed pretty confident. But the message, not so much. More market intervention? Puhlease. We don't need more regulation, what we need is in fact less regulation. Let's do something with the Federal Reserve and use the Swiss National Bank as more of a model. It's partially private, partially public. Let's not spend our way out of this recession, rather let's let the cycle work itself out and allow people to save their money and by the end of it all the economy would be much stronger. But that won't happen with the military Keynesians in power. Forever hoping to expand the US Empire and government control of the economy, not to mention the people.
Obama also said that terrorists hate us basically because we're free and then went on to extend a hand to the Muslim world. Unless we reevaluate the consequences of our foreign policy and thoroughly reform it, the Muslim world will never except the hand of the US. This mean withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan and our 700+ bases around the globe. It's time to move on from the Cold War and thinking up new enemies to face in order to keep the Military Industrial Complex going.
Am I optimistic? Not so much. I'm bracing for the worst.
At least Obama is a soccer fan, although a supporter of the wrong club, West Ham United (Fulham is my English club). Rumors are that the DC Scum are trying to get him to come to the opening match of the season at RFK and have a whole extravaganza. Haha. They're still waiting to get permission to build a new stadium. Dumbasses.
Obama's speech was pretty good. His oratory skills are excellent and he seemed pretty confident. But the message, not so much. More market intervention? Puhlease. We don't need more regulation, what we need is in fact less regulation. Let's do something with the Federal Reserve and use the Swiss National Bank as more of a model. It's partially private, partially public. Let's not spend our way out of this recession, rather let's let the cycle work itself out and allow people to save their money and by the end of it all the economy would be much stronger. But that won't happen with the military Keynesians in power. Forever hoping to expand the US Empire and government control of the economy, not to mention the people.
Obama also said that terrorists hate us basically because we're free and then went on to extend a hand to the Muslim world. Unless we reevaluate the consequences of our foreign policy and thoroughly reform it, the Muslim world will never except the hand of the US. This mean withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan and our 700+ bases around the globe. It's time to move on from the Cold War and thinking up new enemies to face in order to keep the Military Industrial Complex going.
Am I optimistic? Not so much. I'm bracing for the worst.
At least Obama is a soccer fan, although a supporter of the wrong club, West Ham United (Fulham is my English club). Rumors are that the DC Scum are trying to get him to come to the opening match of the season at RFK and have a whole extravaganza. Haha. They're still waiting to get permission to build a new stadium. Dumbasses.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Beginning
I'm a libertarian (note the small "L") ultra. Enough said. My libertarian beliefs lead me to despise regulation and centralised power. I love soccer (or football or whatever you want to call it, but I call it soccer), my club is Red Bull New York, but I refer to them as the Metros. I will discuss politics, soccer, and ultras culture and why MLS needs to do something to let it work here in the US.
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