Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Revolution are NOT a Club

If there's one thing that pisses me off it's when someone calls the Revolution a Club. The Revolution are NOT a club. The Revolution is a team, which is owned by an owner, Robert Kraft. Robert Kraft has the final say on anything that goes on with the Revs. He has that right, he owns the team. If he wants to fire everyone in the front office and release players, he can do that, he's the owner. If he wants to raise or lower ticket prices he can do that whenever he feels like it. I think you get the picture, he can do whatever he wants with the team and not worry about losing his job because he owns the team. The supporters have no say whatsoever when it comes to running the team or choosing who runs the team. We as supporters have two options, show up and support the team on game day or not show up.

On the other hand, a club doesn't really have an owner, I guess you could say it's owned by its supporters since they are the ones voting on key issues. The supporters pay a monthly due and are often season ticket holders (some clubs require you be a season ticket holder, others don't). Clubs have elections to fill important positions such as president, vice president, and so on. These people are voted in by the members of the club to run the club on a day to day basis. They face re-election every so often as stated in the club's by laws. Supporters hold these people accountable. If the supporters feel you are not doing a good job, they will not vote for you during the next election and you are stuck without a job. On the other hand, if they like you they'll vote for you and you get to keep your job. Kind of sounds like a democracy, which I hear is a great thing. Sometimes there will be things which require members to vote in order for the President to go on with the final go ahead. Some examples include taking on a bank loan, building a new stadium, approving the fiscal year budget, and so on. Each club is different and has different rules in regards to these types of issues. So, I think you get the basic picture of what a club is.

Last time I checked, I as a supporter of the New England Revolution do not have any of these rights. Sure, I can email them a suggestion or go to a meeting in which the front office is present, but I don't have a vote which is binding. If they want to, they can ignore everything I have to say and at the end of the day they have a job regardless if the supporters approve of the job they're doing.

So please, don't refer to the Revolution as a club. Don't call them the club. Please, please don't. Because they're not a club, they're a team, which is owned by an owner.

Thanks,
-Andrew

P.S. I shall remain Unseen until Thursday.

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