01 September 2005

How to Lose Friends And Alienate People

A situation involving Barra Brava individuals and private security employed by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission has now led to a discussion over at Big Soccer of the Dissolution of Barra Brava. That would be a tragedy. If, as Don Garber once said, MLS feels that the DC market is the "most authentic" in the nation, then this is a situation they should not let stand.

Now, it's possible that this is just a moment of tempers running [justifiably] high, and all of this will blow over. Or it's possible that Barra will formally start trying to send a message. This is a difficult situation, and as far as I can tell, it is all the fault of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission and their private security firm.

Update 5:05 PM -- So far this seems pretty serious. It should be noted that there is DCU involvement in this matter at the Executive level, but that the bad apples here are the DCSEC and CSC Security personnel. While I'm not convinced that the Barra is gone for good, the Barra leadership, by and large, seems to be indicating that they won't be showing up in the stands. Very, very sad.

Update 9:10 PM -- No immediate word on what is going to happen. But the fans in the Barra are pretty upset, and seem to be getting support from SE, LN, and unaffiliated fans. Again, this entire thing may blow over (see Joe's comments) but people are justifiably angry at DCSEC and CSC, and not just Barra people. I do hope that this all gets worked out, since Barra and all of the supporter groups are integral to the atmosphere at RFK.

2 Comments:

At 01 September, 2005 17:47, Blogger Eric PZ said...

Why was security objecting to the banner in the first place?

 
At 01 September, 2005 18:02, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Because it was touching the precious grass. This is indirectly tied to the fact that both United and the Nationals have complained about the quality of the grass.

There's 12 nights until another DC home game. I hope our brothers and sisters in Barra can sleep on it for those 12 nights before making any rash decisions about disbanding. That's a long time for things to shake out. Hopefully that security guard will be fired.

 

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