Thanksgiving and US market

[Pogleswoody]

We could have our corners filled in by Dairylea (gue) :scarf:

 

[Lundan Cabbie]

.......but I'd put up with that if we were buying centre forwards for £3 million. :scarf:

I thought you'd be more ambitious than three million pound forwards

 

[IJN]

I'm not greedy.

 

[Chicago Green]

American soccer fans are not necessarily worried about success. They have their own American sports teams for that. What they crave is access and culture. The teams that are shown the most over here are the top teams and therefore the ones that they support. In terms of the culture, there are supporters clubs in the bigger cities for all the bigger European teams. There are bars that open at 5:30 every saturday and are known for being an 'Arsenal bar' or a 'Juventus bar'. Usually led by one or two commited expats, Americans attach themselves to these supporters groups and feed off the culture that watching and socialising with authentic fans brings.

A good friend of mine runs the West Ham group over here and all the American lads love pretending they are in a bar in East London while the English lads have fun regailing them with stories of the Boleyn. There has to be a critical mass of expats supporting a team around a bar or city for the Americans to attach themselves to and feed off the football culture the expats bring. They love singing the songs and always have the latest chant off the internet. It's cringeworthy at times and it kills them that an Everton fan in the pub would rather talk football to a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, than an american who adopted Everton because of Tim Howard, for example.

The point I am making is that I think it will take more than marketing to create and American fanbase. It takes real Argyle fans around the country to be in one place and create a small little pocket of Argyle fanaticism that American fans can latch on to and be part of.

 

[Gary Wills]

Well put, CG.

There is essentially nothing to market here, no selling point content that travels. Some loose connection based on place names, from fact-based stories in "history books". Kids from the 70s might believe whatever's in such books as gospel, and submissive to that being therefore without question interesting; but millennials seem way more savvy to command more relevance to whatever point of interest they're being asked to invest their effort in.

Afterall, we can't have it both ways, to sneer the plastics who're content to watch faraway teams on the telly, yet embrace Americans to snub attending their own local sport to watch low level overseas sport on streaming. Inconceivable.

 

[Green Matt]

I used to think there might be potential for a US support but let's be frank, it won't happen. The interest levels over there in the entire sport must be minimal and how many of our games are screened live? Until we are challenging for major trophies and are on telly every week file this under "not going to happen".

 

[IJN]

They like attacking teams and we’re certainly not one.

 

[Brussels Bureaucrat]

Been there, what a dump.

I dunno, I've been to worse (although the toilets in the away end are awful). I'm just showing my age now but I like a good old-fashioned city centre ground like they all used to be. They're moving to a retail complex three miles out of town soon, which I think will be a shame.

 

[Jimmy B]

American soccer fans are not necessarily worried about success. They have their own American sports teams for that. What they crave is access and culture. The teams that are shown the most over here are the top teams and therefore the ones that they support. In terms of the culture, there are supporters clubs in the bigger cities for all the bigger European teams. There are bars that open at 5:30 every saturday and are known for being an 'Arsenal bar' or a 'Juventus bar'. Usually led by one or two commited expats, Americans attach themselves to these supporters groups and feed off the culture that watching and socialising with authentic fans brings.

A good friend of mine runs the West Ham group over here and all the American lads love pretending they are in a bar in East London while the English lads have fun regailing them with stories of the Boleyn. There has to be a critical mass of expats supporting a team around a bar or city for the Americans to attach themselves to and feed off the football culture the expats bring. They love singing the songs and always have the latest chant off the internet. It's cringeworthy at times and it kills them that an Everton fan in the pub would rather talk football to a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, than an american who adopted Everton because of Tim Howard, for example.

The point I am making is that I think it will take more than marketing to create and American fanbase. It takes real Argyle fans around the country to be in one place and create a small little pocket of Argyle fanaticism that American fans can latch on to and be part of.

This is absolutely spot on. Argyle isn’t ever going to attract fans in the US.

 

[crownhill pilgrim]

Good post. All those teams - West Ham, Everton, Arsenal - even if they're not the biggest team in their prospective leagues, they are playing the biggest teams and also have a history of success.

They might flock to a bar for West Ham verses Manchester United - but Plymouth Argyle verses Peterborough United... nah.