Initial Response

Montez sent out one of her "Quakes Insider" emails this morning, but she did not respond to the email I sent to her yesterday re: drums issue. I replied to her Q's Insider email by aying I was disappointed that I received no response from my email to her.

I did finally get a reply later in the morning - she said that she is working with stadium operations on the issue and was certain that a resolution can be found + that I coould continue to bring my drum to Buck Shaw. Then she asked if I was coming to the Sat. pre-season game against the Portland Timbers - and if so, she would personally escort me and my drum into the stadium.

I replied and thanked her for her email. I am waiting to hear from someone higher on the Quakes food chain and I said that I wanted to hear something before the home opener on Mar 27th.

Waiting for a response

This morning I sent an email to one of the 'Fan Relations Specialists' for the Q's to give them a heads-up about the letter that I wrote to communicate my dissatisfaction with all that occurred last night at Kezar (drum prohibition). My letter was addressed to Mike Crowley (club president) and cc'ed owner Lew Wolff, exec vice president David Alioto, manager of stadium operations Ramon Estevez and Matt Pellegrino, ticket operations manager Scott Wallace, and sr. fan relations specialist Montez Harrison.

As of this writing, there has been no reply to my email from Ms. Harrison. The letter (and cc copies) were sent out via US Mail today.

The waiting begins. (I hope that waiting is not against stadium regulations like having a drum!)

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER - DRUMS OR NO DRUMS?

I am not going to fill up this post with all of the details of tonight. Basically, I went to Kezar tonight for the Q's pre-season matchup with the Dynamo. I was not allowed to bring my drum in the stadium unless I was part of one of the official supporter groups (which I am not). The person in charge of stadium operations said that it is MLS policy (not just a rule at Kezar). I told him that I have been drumming at Buck Shaw for the past 2 seasons without being sitting with or being a member of any of the official supporters groups and i also have never been stopped or informed about this regulation. I was so pissed - I left. Screw the game and the Quakes.

After getting home, I sat at there fuming as I began to write a letter to Mike Crowley, President, communicating my dissatisfaction and wanting to request a full refund on my season tickets. Just moments ago I decided to look into this MLS drum prohibition outside of "supporter group" sections a little more. Guess what I found? It is written in black and white on the Quakes website - DRUMS are on the list of "Approved Items". What the hell are the Quakes talking about? Apparently the head has no clue what the tail is doing or saying. I am going to point this out in my letter - AND will expect an apology from the Quakes and some gesture on their part for causing me to leave tonight's game pissed off and hating the Quakes organization.

http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/stadium/guidelines/

APPROVED ITEMS:

• Confetti
• Streamers
• Drums
• Banners (zip tied to railings and no larger then 5' x 32')
• Flags with 1 or 2 poles must not exceed 3'
• Backpacks/Bags no larger then 16" x 16" x 8"
• Backpacks/Bags are subject to search
• Portable Seatbacks
• 1 Water bottle per person (it must be soft plastic and sealed)
• Cameras and video recorders (must be handheld and cannot be set up in seating area)
• Pictures and videos cannot be used for commercial purpose unless approved by the San Jose Earthquakes and Major League Soccer

San Jose City Council Adopts EIR

Last night, the San Jose City Council adopted the Final EIR for the new Quakes stadium - a unanimous vote at that! Nice meeting coverage by Jay Hipps of Centerline Soccer

Tonight is the pre-season game vs the Dynamo at Kezar. H and I will be there warming up the drums for the season and H is bringing along some friends to introduce them to Quakes fever!

Let's Go Earthquakes....bang...bang...bang-bang-bang!

Did you feel that?

Huh? Is this the 2010 marketing phrase?

Dynamo, Timbers, Aston Villa FC

The Q's are gearing up for a couple of pre-season games coming up next week - Wed 3/17 vs Houston Dynamo (at Kezar) and Sat 3/20 vs Portland Timbers (at Buck Shaw). What can we expect from this coming season? I haven't a clue. We will have a completely different team than the one that we started with at the beginning of last season. Playoff hopes? I think we should keep those to ourselves for now.

I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at Buck Shaw and banging our drums loud. Sec 108 - let's rock!

I have been keeping busy with my EPL club - Aston Villa FC. I am actually the chairperson for the Aston Villa supporters club here in California called "AVFC California". Villa is still in the hunt to break the Top 4 and qualifying for the Champions League next season, made it to the League Cup final (aka Carling Cup) - but fell to Man Utd, and are making a run for the FA Cup still (semifinal match v. Chelsea in early April).


Click the image to visit AVFC California!

Quakes beat West Ham Utd

The Quakes beat EPL side West Ham United 2-nil at Upton Park during their pre-season training tour in the UK. Click on image for full story.