Monday, 16 January 2012 03:12
Last Updated on Monday, 16 January 2012 03:14
Written by Administrator
We're back!
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We've been gone for a while, we know. We're not really all that responsible. We tried to podcast a couple of times, but ended up drinking instead. Hard to believe, eh?
Well, John sits in the Kyle chair on this episode...the boys recap the end of the year, and talk about what's coming up in 2012. A "State of the Louliunion" if you will.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out!
Monday, 02 January 2012 15:58
Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 03:05
Written by chickenhead
2012 is gonna be great!
Happy New Year my fellow Louligans, 2011 was great and 2012 is destined to be even better. It’s been a while since we’ve updated the site. We haven’t been sitting by idly waiting for the next Lions game. We’ve been living the silly season. Some of us started an indoor team and have managed to go two whole sessions without winning a match. We’ve also been going to Illinois Piasa games and rooting on our local Pro Indoor Soccer team. As always we’ve been active on our facebook pages and updating our fans via twitter on a fairly regular basis. Our podcast has been on hiatus, but we’ll be starting back up soon. All these things are just spokes in the wheel of the St. Louligan master plan. Our main goal continues to be to grow the fan base of St. Louis soccer and to get together with like-minded individuals to have a great time.
We know the pain of losing teams. Our numbers definitely took a dip with the demise of the St. Louis Athletica and A.C. St. Louis- but its time to put that chapter of St. Louis soccer completely behind us. The St. Louis Lions are our team. A team that believes in doing things the right way and have consistently made smart decisions to ensure the future of the club. (The biggest of which was becoming an affiliate of Glasgow Celtic F.C.) We need to continue to grow our group and put all of our support behind the Lions. Why? Because they’re our team and they are the best chance we have of bringing Professional Outdoor Soccer back to our city.
Let’s take a look at the last several teams that have gone into MLS. The Seattle Sounders, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact. One thing that all these teams have in common are massively supportive and active fans. And the fact that, while everyone automatically assumed that the NY Cosmos 2 would be the next MLS expansion team, Orlando City has quietly moved up the ranks to be one of the favorites to take that spot. Orlando City was the NASL team in Austin, TX two years ago- they made the move to Orlando, FL and the USL-Pro last season and won their league. They did so with great fan support and should be a blueprint for us all. Obviously, the Lions are doing everything they can and we have to help them. The economy is in the dumps and there aren’t a ton of millionaires lining up to invest in soccer- but we have to make it attractive for any potential investors. Trust me, a stand filled with screaming passionate fans will impress someone with money to spend more than a small group of people quietly clapping on the sidelines. So here’s your challenge.
GET MORE PEOPLE OUT TO THE LIONS GAMES. I don’t care how we do it, but we have to do it. Tony Glavin (owner/coach/cool guy) has made no secret of the fact that he wants to bring Pro Soccer back to St. Louis. Obviously the first step would be to take the Lions up to USL-Pro. That is a completely achievable goal. If one of us wins the lottery we’ll beg for your money- but until then all I ask is to help make some fans. If you hang out with other soccer fans, get them to commit to at least one Lions game this summer. All we can do is expose people to the fun we have. If they don’t like it that’s their loss. I’m willing to bet that if they come out to Glavin Complex they’ll have fun and come back. Also, don’t limit it to soccer fans. If you know someone that just enjoys having a good time, a few beers and tailgating- they’re fair game. It’s a Saturday out with the boys (or girls). Who doesn’t need that in their life? There are a ton of soccer fans in St. Louis. Every Saturday morning bars like The Amsterdam and Barristers are full of people who are passionate about their English team- we have to keep trying to get them interested in their local team. I would like nothing more than to cause our friend Jim Shipley a giant headache by trying to figure out how to accommodate all the St. Louligans wanting to watch the team. Lets make him buy us our own stand. (I’m sure Jim would love that problem.)
A few of us sat down with Tony, Jim and Michael last week and were discussing the upcoming season. They had just returned from the Annual USL AGM. They even got some complements about the St. Louligans. That’s what we’re here for- to make a difference for our team. We had a great first year as a group with the Lions and they are excited to see what we’ll bring for season two. Obviously banners and beer and singing and chanting will be back, but we need to take it up a notch. We need to do a better job of getting the regular Lions fans to join in with us on the singing and chanting. We need to be louder. We need to do more things in the community that will help spread the word about the Lions and the Louligans. And most importantly we need to have more fun. I believe we can do it.
So, here’s what it looks like for the upcoming months. February will be tryouts for the Lions and Tony will get a chance to look at some new talent and fill out the team. We’ll be there to check it out and maybe have some interviews with potential players. The USL-PDL season starts in May. Maybe another road trip for the season opener. Podcasts, Piasa Games and Pinball. So many things to do. We’ll probably have a pre-season season ticket party like last year- I don‘t know if we‘ll do a special shirt or scarf for this season, but we‘ve always got our CafePress store if you want some schwag. The Lions are kicking around some ideas and really want to do some special things for us this season. All in all, things are great and getting better. The Lions see us as partners in this rather than just customers. That’s all we can ask and lets return that respect by treating them as more than a just a team. They’re OUR team.
To anyone who might be reading this article who hasn’t joined us at a live game or is just following us on twitter or facebook, I really hope you’ll join us in person. It’s a great time and you’ll meet some great people. Following a team with a Supporter Group is addictive. I’ve met people that I consider great friends that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. The level of the soccer is not the same as the EPL or MLS, but its good and getting better. The number of MLS players that have played in the PDL is pretty impressive. This is your chance to see the next big things of American soccer. Some of these guys will be stars in the future and you can see them closer than you’ll ever see them once they make it big. I love the intimacy of the PDL. I like being friends with the coaches, players and management of my team. I think every other Louligan feels the same way. So. Please join us at the Glavin Complex this season. We sold 40 Louligan season tickets last year. I want to sell over 50 this season and I want at least that many in regular attendance at the games. Come to the park and bring a friend. I’ll see you there.
Kyle Dies, We Make Fun of Sideshow Bob Again, and We Review a Lot of Games.
Friday, 08 July 2011 19:07
Last Updated on Friday, 08 July 2011 19:08
Written by Administrator
Kyle's not really dead. He's recovering from a car accident.
But Mitch and Brad are here to discuss a bunch of games, a cartoonish midfielder (no, not Jonny Brown), and how the players are doing on field. Download and listen to the sweet sweet sounds of your earholes getting massaged by our velvety tones.
It’s been about a week since our last St. Louis Lions game of the 2011 season (our first full season with the Lions). Lots of great things happened this season and lots of fun was had. True, the soccer on the field wasn’t always the greatest. We did take a step down from the lofty heights of Division 2 pro soccer to Division 4 semi-pro soccer, but I also believe we gained a lot of pride and respect as supporters. We didn’t quit. It would have been easy to throw in the towel after the demise of AC St. Louis (many did), but those of us that truly appreciated the fun of going to a match and hanging out with like minded individuals had to keep going. The St. Louis Lions of USL-PDL were always a part of the plan for 2011, even when we were clinging to the hope that AC STL would return. Several Louligans had extolled the virtues of Glavin’s club in Cottleville and had already convinced us to add them to our list of teams to support. The fact that AC died led to a full embrace of the Lions. I, for one, do not see this as a bad thing. We formed an excellent partnership with the Lions front office and have been taken care of from day one. Whenever an issue came up it was taken care of by the staff at the Lions and I’d like to personally thank Tony Glavin, James Shipley, Michael Harshbarger, Pete Gowran, and Beth Causey for helping us with everything this season. (plus all the rest of the Lions staff and players) I think it was a pretty successful first season together.
Just counting in my head I would say we had an average of around 30 Louligans at every game. Some others came to one or two games, but consistently the core of the group showed up for every game. We also added a few to our crew as the season went on and even some of the original Lions fans joined us (in spirit) by chanting and singing with us at games. That’s pretty cool. We heard from several sources that our efforts were noticed by other teams in our division. The Lions players were always available to chat after games and on facebook and twitter and said we made a difference to them on the field, and that’s really the highest praise a supporters group can receive. Would we like to have had more of the crew there? Definitely. And we tried. We continued to invite them to games and events. We worked with theLions and others to give everyone a reason to come out. We planned viewing parties for USA games and the Champions League Final in conjunction with Lions games, we had a screening of the Jay DeMerit film at the park before a game, we had tailgate parties, we offered to buy tickets, we had family day, etc. In short, I think we did our part to bring fans to the games. We had a target audience of people that enjoyed coming out to AC games last season and it should have been more successful. But it wasn’t. I really don’t know what more we could have done. I think we just have to admit that maybe live soccer is not a priority for everyone. That’s ok. We’re paying our dues. We know who the true St. Louligans are and our numbers will continue to grow. When pro soccer returns to St. Louis, whether that’s USL-Pro, NASL, WPS, or something else- we’ll be ready. We are building our own movement. For now, the Lions are happy to have us and I’m happy to have them.
The only real downside to this season is that it was so short. We need more games. Luckily for us there are other outlets. We’ve been asked to come out to SLU games and SIUE games so we’ll organize a few outings to those games. Piasa will be back later this Fall so we’ll be there too. I know there are other local colleges with teams that I’m sure we could have some fun with- Lindenwood, Webster, Wash U., etc. So what I’m saying is there are plenty of local soccer teams to support. I encourage you to attend any and all the games you can and to invite friends to go with you. If they have a good time, make sure they come back next season to the Lions. I can’t wait until next season to see what the Lions have in store for us and the rest of their fans. I have a feeling that the Celtic affiliation is just the beginning and we are lucky to be in on the ground floor.
So keep watching our Twitter feed and our Facebook pages for what’s next. Podcasts will continue to be recorded no matter how silly and useless they are. St. Louligan FC indoor team season is about to start so you can always come and yell and scream for us and see how bad soccer truly can be and that should make everyone appreciate the Lions even more.
Finally I’d like to thank those of you that cared enough to support our movement. Those of you that took time out from your family or jobs to come out for a couple hours on a weekend and stand in the heat and have a few beers with friends are all appreciated. For spending $20 for a scarf or a t-shirt to show your support. For bringing a friend to a game. For giving a ride to someone that couldn’t drive. For just being a soccer fan. Thank you. Without all of us we would have missed out on something great. It takes us all to make it work. Even if you just sit silently in the crowd, just being there means a lot to me.
FOUR Lions Games, a Road Trip, and a Player That Looks Like Sideshow Bob
Saturday, 04 June 2011 01:35
Last Updated on Saturday, 04 June 2011 01:40
Written by Administrator
Bubba Tight Pants Told Kyle Not To Smoke
We've got a long podcast this week!
The Lions played 4 games, including one the Louligans road tripped to in Des Moines. The boys talk about the HORRIBLE officiating in the USL, how the Lions players are responding to us, and the upcoming day of soccer at the Glavin complex.
And, of course, we're drinking and cursing. Kyle calls Brad a c*nt. Tone set.
Earholes, prepare for sweet, sweet lovemaking.
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