New USL soccer team named Roughnecks

[puckbag]

So now we have a city derby in the making. A "Friendly Derby" à la Merseyside I hope. Obviously it's unfortunate that we're splitting our fan base, but perhaps, the rivalry will actually generate more combined excitement and participation. Wishful thinking? Probably.

I mentioned this in a FB comment but is there an opportunity for a true club scenario to do well in Tulsa? True club meaning owned (fully or partially) by it's members. It seems like a campaign launching something like that could gain a lot of attention, generate great support and ultimately lead to a really well rooted club in our community. I would join that club. I would pay dues. I would vote.

I respect and appreciate what Sonny, his organization and the supporters have done in leading the way. I support the Athletics. Even though I don't care for the Athletics moniker (A's? Green & Yellow? not exactly original), I like the motivations I can see in the club. Of course NPSL is not where we want to be, but if the club survives, it will be stronger for starting at the bottom.

As for the USL team, it's great that people with money want to put pro soccer in our community. It shows the interest and demand is there. But, this will always be the owner's team with a priority of drawing a worthwhile profit. With OKC minority owners initiating this, you can see it coming 100 miles away. OKC first, Tulsa second.

It's hard to picture the football atmosphere at OneOK field. I just don't see it. Athletics stadium is awkward and far from ideal but it does work.

http://www.supporters-direct.org/
http://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2013/nov/27/fan-ownership-football-premier-league
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/apr/11/bundesliga-premier-league
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fan-owned_sports_teams

[TulsaRufnex]

I politely disagree.
I just want professional soccer in Tulsa. The Athletics games were fun, but it was not the best product.

The Tulsa Athletics have a team in the 4th division of the American soccer hierarchy.
The Tulsa RINOs (Roughnecks-in-name-only) will play in the 3rd division of the American soccer hierarchy.
Neither will be "the best product," so your poo-poo-ing of an Athletics team that never lost a game in the summer of 2013 rings hollow, Michael.

The A's had better average per game attendance than more than half of the USL Pro's clubs in 2013.

The players were amateurs, the referees let fights happen during the game and on the sidelines, and the games never even started on time.

Three cheap shots in one sentence-- very impressive.

1.  Our squad has the best players from TU, ORU, RSU and NSU along with a smattering of former professionals who have played at both the USL Pro level (Charleston Battery) and the MLS and NASL level (Daniel Wasson played for both the Colorado Rapids and Minnesota along with a couple of German squads).  Current NCAA players lose eligibility if they play on the same team with paid players, so it is to our competitive advantage to be designated amateur.

2.  You're talking about a single game in June where the refs lost control of the game.  If you think that won't happen from time to time in USL Pro, you probably need to have your head examined.  (FYI, the game in question drew over 3,700 fans, which is more fans than the average attendance for all but two of the USL Pro's thirteen teams.)

3.  Our very first game had around a thirty minute delay-- because over 3,200 fans showed up when we figured the turnstile count would be closer to 2,000.  A couple of other games had delays of around 15 minutes to accommodate a surprisingly large walk up crowd, not to mention the occasional snafu with sharing fairgrounds parking lots with horse trailers and Winnebagos.    

The league was two teams from Houston and a team from Plano. To make a season, they played those same three teams four times each. There was no investment into the fan experience. When you sang the national anthem, no one could hear you because of cheap audio equipment.

This season, we play our division rivals twice and four teams from an all-Texas division once each.
To say there was "no investment into the fan experience" is an OUTRIGHT LIE.
Food trucks, fun for the kids, a beer garden... I could go on and on.... were there errors in our first season of play--- yes.
The problems were largely addressed over the course of the season.... if you went to every game the way you said you did, you'd know this.

The concessions were some food trucks parked on the other side of the stadium that no one went to.

Concessions were available where they always have been at the old ballpark.
In addition to those options, food trucks were parked in such a way that you could still watch the game while waiting in line for food or a beer.

It was completely underfunded. Grassroots is a polite way to say doing everything cheap.

You don't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance a first year team in an amateur league... you just don't.
However, I invite anyone reading this to come see us this year... the field is in much better shape, got new kick-donkey goals, and have spent the off season learning from our shortcomings last year.
AND..... the sightlines at our stadium will be infinitely better than having primo seats on the third baseline at OneOk Park only to find out that the sidelines in the soccer setup are way over on the other side of the pitcher's mound... good luck with that...

Compare that to OneOk field with top notch food and beer options, seats with actual backs, a big screen TV, and even luxury boxes. The league is tier three professional (same as the Drillers).

Yes... and all at taxpayer expense.  Lower level seats at the fairgrounds are no different than at OneOk... the upper level at the old ballpark has bleacher seats with "actual backs."  
Comparing tier three soccer to double A baseball is like comparing apples to cadillacs... there is none.
Tier three is the lowest level of professional soccer in existence in North America.
The "amateur" Tulsa Athletics are one step below that..... well... at least for next summer.

The downtown location and new stadium alone will make it a better experience for the fans. It is incredibly presumptious of you to say that baseball fans and baseball teams owners can't possibly want to have a great soccer team and product. Your judgement of others disappoints me.

I watched Drillers fan scoff at our booth at the Blue Dome Arts Festival last May on their way to the game.
After witnessing this first hand, I believe diehard Drillers fans will be doing a lot of complaining about field conditions in summer 2015, especially in the outfield.

The Athletics didn't invent soccer in Tulsa. There have been two other times when teams named Roughnecks have started and failed the last twenty years here. They failed because they tried to do everything without any money (sounds familiar).

None of those teams averaged 3k per game... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Roughnecks_%281993%E2%80%932000%29
And the Tulsa Roughnecks team from 1997-99 were???... wait for it........ third division, which is why so many of the Athletics fans don't like the idea of calling them the Roughnecks.
I will support the dreamers (Sonny & Dr Kern) over the schemers (the Drillers).

[RecycleMichael]

good luck rufnex.

I didn't start this fight and I haven't seen the Drillers or the new Roughnecks comment at all. The fight has been all from pissed off Athletics fans who have gone hooligan because someone else wants to bring soccer to Tulsa. I am now in a position to support something I have no connection with, no more knowledge than what I read in the papers.  

I was an Athletics fan. I went to more games than probably any one else on this forum besides you. I had fun. I took a lot of people with me. They had fun.

We like soccer.

I also like OneOK Field. My wife hates baseball, but she loves to go to OneOk Field. The Drillers are good people.  Yes, there are some OKC people involved, but the majority owner and the General Manager are Tulsans. The fact that you spread gossip that this is all a ruse to benefit OKC is the real lie on this thread.

I understand you are not happy. Get over it or don't. I plan to watch soccer. You plan to pout about it not being what you want.

[TulsaRufnex]

Dale Hubbard... http://www.homesteadfarmsnh.com/
Jeff Hubbard... http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hubbar001jef

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Drillers

In December 2010, Lamson sold his stock back to Hubbard. This transaction made Hubbard the sole owner of the team; his sons, Dale and Jeff, became co-chairmen. Went and Dale Hubbard are residents of Walpole, New Hampshire; Jeff Hubbard, a former player (in 1987) and coach (in 1991) for the Drillers, lives in Durham, North Carolina.[7] Went Hubbard died in September 2012.[8]

[TulsaRufnex]

And one more thing, RM... is this really your definition of "grassroots?"

Grassroots is a polite way to say doing everything cheap.

Because if it is....



If you want to see the level of play USL Pro offers.... http://www.orugoldeneagles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17000&ATCLID=209420879

ORU will take on the OKC Energy on March 12 at 6 p.m. Following the match, there will be an autograph session with the teams. The Energy is an expansion professional franchise that will compete in the USL PRO, a league that will feature the new Tulsa Roughnecks FC in 2015.

[RecycleMichael]

I watched Drillers fan scoff at our booth at the Blue Dome Arts Festival last May on their way to the game.

I get the feeling that this is the real reason why you are upset. Some kid in a Driller shirt hurt your feelings.

Buck up buttercup.

[TulsaRufnex]

I get the feeling that this is the real reason why you are upset. Some kid in a Driller shirt hurt your feelings.

Buck up buttercup.

Not "some kid in a Driller shirt."
Full grown adults who should have known better.

And no, that's not it, smartypants.

I'm upset because Sonny deserves a chance to succeed.
You need to ask yourself why the Drillers are doing this NOW when they don't even start playing until 2015.

In contrast, Oklahoma City didn't name their 2014 USL Pro team until last November... but they DID secure Tulsa Roughnecks FC as a trademark a couple of months prior to that.
Funny how that works.
And I'm not the only one who smells a rat...

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Got my popcorn, love it when a couple of houligans square off and a soccer match breaks out!

[RecycleMichael]

You need to ask yourself why the Drillers are doing this NOW when they don't even start playing until 2015.

In contrast, Oklahoma City didn't name their 2014 USL Pro team until last November... but they DID secure Tulsa Roughnecks FC as a trademark a couple of months prior to that.

I see. You are mad that the new soccer team actually started working on their product and name in 2013? How dare they plan ahead!

Or is it that they named themselves the Tulsa Roughnecks and bought the name instead of you? I guess if someone trademarked RecycleMichael and had the nerve to recycle in Tulsa I would go on internet public forums and whine too.

[TulsaRufnex]

Got my popcorn, love it when a couple of houligans square off and a soccer match breaks out!

You might want to grab an appropriate hooligan beer to wash it down... just sayin'   

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/scene/whattheale/what-the-ale-dead-armadillo-brews-a-hooligan-brew-for/article_57246d28-7256-11e3-973a-0019bb30f31a.html

[dbacksfan 2.0]

You might want to grab an appropriate hooligan beer to wash it down... just sayin'   

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/scene/whattheale/what-the-ale-dead-armadillo-brews-a-hooligan-brew-for/article_57246d28-7256-11e3-973a-0019bb30f31a.html

Thanks, but I'll pass. Bitter and a dead armadillo on the label reminds me of cheap Lone Star beer.

[Conan71]

Thanks, but I'll pass. Bitter and a dead armadillo on the label reminds me of cheap Lone Star beer.

Actually Dead Armadillo is pretty good beer.  It's being brewed in Midwest City by some Tulsa boys.

[cannon_fodder]

Beer?  In the spirit of English Hooliganism I'm grabbing a cider.

The Athletics are great for Tulsa.  There is passion.  There is diversity.  I had a blast every time I went.

What the drillers bring will certainly be a more commercial product. No doubt.  The two will go head to head and we will see who comes out on top or if both survive.

Clearly Tulsa messed up BIG not grabbing a MLS team when we had the chance.  That's done.  MLS is probably never coming to Tulsa.  We are a third tier sports town I'm afraid.

[sgrizzle]

I just want to point out the fact that USRufnex:

1. Is a huge fan of Tulsa Roughnecks
2. Is named after the Roughnecks
3. Was one of the first pointing out soccer could be played at OneOK
4. Has been an advocate of professional soccer returning to tulsa for years
5. Is now mad there is a professional soccer team playing at OneOK named after the Roughnecks.

[rebound]

Actually Dead Armadillo is pretty good beer.  It's being brewed in Midwest City by some Tulsa boys.

+1 For Dead Armadillo.  Good beer, and seem like good guys.