Well, you guys made quite the impression, didn't ya? You've done something for soccer in this country that only Beckham and Blanco have done before: you put it in the 24-hour news cycle. Congratulations are in order for that, I suppose. But quite honestly, if we knew that a fracas was all it would take, we would have rather just chipped in and sent DVDs of "Football Factories" to all the major media outlets. At the very least, we would have offered a Danny Dyer autograph signing/poser-fest at the local pub.
But instead, you had to go and bring us this dustup that has kept your famous West Ham in the press for 24 hours more than they got from the British media this past year. Wigan and Bolton, watch your ass! WHU is aiming for ya! Look, we're flattered and all that you sent some lackeys over to the most historic soccer facility in the US to get some pre-season mojo working over in the UK, but next time, go somewhere you'll be appreciated, like Chicago or Toronto. At least there, they already have groups of self-important bastards who think the game of football was invented so they could talk about how awesome they are. And in Chicago's case, you get the added bonus of having drooling skinheads who have no problem robbing the opposing fans of their personal possessions. I mean, was their a match more made in hooligan heaven?
In all sincerity though, I actually have to thank you for one thing you did, whether you were aware of it or not: you showed us just how little protection our stadium "security" truly offers the Hardest Working Fans in MLS. To put in lightly, if Crew Stadium Security were a rubber, your girlfriend would double or triple wrap your Alan Dicks before hopping in the sack.
Thin is a nice way of putting it, then. The Crew front office has decided to leave it's event protection in the hands of Contemporary Services, or CSC as they are often called. The people in the yellow shirts that have no Crew markings on them? Yeah, that's CSC. During yesterday's fracas, by all accounts, they moved into action at the last possible moment, narrowly averting a bad situation that could have become worse. You might have been wondering how it was possible that you could just walk over to the Crew Supporter's Section without anyone standing in your way?
Send your regards to Scott "Joe Swanson" Dibolt and the rest of the guys wearing CSC shirts. Yes, these are the same guys who have been kicking Crew fans out of the stadium for lighting smoke bombs and throwing streamers, but are the last to join in the proceedings when other teams fans (like yourselves) come into the section and start doing things they have no business doing until the last possible moment. CSC tend to employ the old addage that an ounce of prevention is just a BIG STEAMING PILE OF CRAP! Who needs things like "security guards at the top of the section" when you could have "security guards kicking ass and taking names after 14 broken noses!" Sure, prevention of these acts would make everyone feel a lot safer while watching the game, but the CSC policing procedures bring that tinge of excitement you can't get in normal life. Besides, it's not like there are 8,000-10,000 empty seats already for each home game; with CSC running the show, they could easily push that number up over 12,000 empties by the end of the season.
And if you're sobering up this morning and wondering why the Crew continue to employ such knuckleheads to run their security, you might not need to look any further than Mark Glaser, VP of CSC operations who also happens to be a member of MLS's Safety and Security Committee. Coincidence? Of course! Why would anyone think that MLS badgers it's teams to use inferior security forces, simply because the VP of said organization happens to sit on the board that would be in charge of awarding such contracts? After all, look at his impressive security resume, from CSC's official website:
...Mark completed the Disney Institute’s People Management class and received the 1998 CSC Manager of the Year Award....
I mean, the guy actually has his training from a Mickey Mouse organization! Does the fun ever start!?!?!
Unfortunately, as far as we know, Glaser has never shot one of his friends in the face with bird shot. But he has used the phrase "you're doing a heckuva job" in reference to the undercover work done by CSC a few weeks ago.
Of course, Mark McCullers, Crew GM and honestly a guy who falls in between "inept accomplice" and "hostage" in this whole situation, has released a statement saying roughly that the Crew Stadium security "intervened and immediately began to escort those West Ham Supporters to the concourse". So fortunately, even though CSC doesn't have the Crew Supporter's backs, the Crew has theirs, probably at MLS's Safety and Security Committee's prompting.
Sounds like MLS may have a little conflict of interest, no?
At any rate, thanks to the West Ham Supporters, some people who actually care about soccer, possibly including US Soccer itself, will have to think about looking into who handles the security in the stands. After all, MLS is finally attracting a decent player pool and adding stars to it's teams by the handfuls. With that quality comes a larger fan base, and certainly, more of a possibility for something to go wrong, if for no other reason than the law of averages. Fans who sit in the stadiums know how piss-poor CSC has been for years; to that end, DC's Barra Brava made sure they got DC Metro police to take care of their section. Says something when a group of soccer "hooligans" would take the cops over the alternative.
Thus, consider this my thank you note, since I wasn't there, and couldn't thank you personally for getting the Crew FO to pay attention to something other than streamers and umbrellas. As long as the Crew and MLS officials don't screw this up, and do something idiotic like blaming the Crew fans, I'm sure we'll all be thanking you before it's all said and done.
So, basically, I'm taking it all back...
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