To Arms! To Arms!

It is up to us. There have been blurbs. Postings in the finest of print. Whispered mentions of this event. Something like, “fc dallas new england revolution us open final .” Did you get that?! If you are one of the 7 people who read this blog, then maybe you did. However, most folks did not get the message. So, what’s all my clamoring about?

The U.S. Open Cup Championship
FC Dallas vs. NE Revolution
Wednesday October 3, 2007 @ 7PM
Pizza Hut Park – Frisco, Texas
Tickets start @ $8

Make plans to attend this match. And, tell your families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, congregation, clients, tae kwon do sparring partners, pilates instructors, bridge partners, toll booth operators, librarians, the guy who ran you off of the freeway, the teenager you ordered a 99 cent Wendy’s double stack at 2:05AM last night, the dog walker who did not pick up the poop in your yard – again, the mailman, your waitresses and waiters, yourself, the Latino nation, and anyone else you feel is up for a championship match. How often do we get to witness our home team play in a championship in our home town?

The other reason to get the word out is because FC Dallas will not get off its lazy ass and promote this match. They are more concerned about selling out Sprint PCS Night and giving out baseball hats at a soccer match. I am sure I will get an e-mail promoting this match 48 hours before it is played. But, does that really do justice for a championship match? FC Dallas qualified on September 4, 2007, and there has been one article in the Dallas Morning News. Count ‘em, ONE ARTICLE! Hello, PR department! You all ever heard press releases? Inundate every news source. Get creative! Make up some juicy tidbits that will have the stadium a buzz at kick off. Then, let game speak for itself.

The FC Dallas Marketing Department reminds me of high school cheerleaders. As the home team is on the 1-yard line ready to score a touchdown, the cheerleaders start yelling, “De-fense (clap-clap-clap) De-fense (clap-clap-clap)!” They are giving a great, clueless effort. Wake up! Hit the payment! Open doors! Have these people ever seen Glengarry Glen Ross? This is one opportunity that is slipping through their fingers. I can hear them now . . . .

Lester - Dude, the Burn (laughs, then a long uncomfortable pause), uh, I mean, FCD plays in the championship in less than two weeks! Shouldn’t we advertise for this game?
Bob – Corporate is pushing Redneck Night. You know they want 5,000 Bobby Rhine bobble heads and 10,000 t-shirts with Dax McCarty saying “Ain’t Skeerid”. Besides the League is trying to secretly replace the US Open Cup, remember?
Lester - Oh yeah, the Bowl (laughs through nose)!
Bob – That’s right, junior. Beckham Bowl I – where every team will play the LA Galaxy in a series of 10-minute mini-games in one glorious night. There will be a parade and fireworks at the end. Beckham takes his jersey off. A closing concert with Rascal Flatts and Gloria Trevi, you know the drill. Then, after a day a rest, the team that performed the worst against LA will be in the final of Beckham Bowl. The League has guaranteed that Beckham will score a hat trick in each half.
Lester – (speaking to himself – ‘I’m so high. Who’s Betsham? I hate Bob.’) Yes, true greatness. I’m hungry.

Clearly, this match requires a grass roots effort since the League or FCD are not promoting it. If I have miss represented FC Dallas in any way, please let me know. If they are marketing this game, please let me know and all the other aforementioned folks. I am going and I think everyone else should too. Any chance we can have more than 5,000 people show up for this game? Don't be surprised to see a bunch of red seats during FOX's broadcast.