Prior to the upcoming GM Retention vote Sounders FC Alliance Members will get to pick which scarf all will wear in 2013. It is an idea that grew out of the Alliance Council and became reality just this year.
You get the feeling it’s an election year? I’m not talking about in America, but this Sounders nation is getting its vote on. In the past few days Sounders FC Alliance Members received emails to prepare them to vote retain General Manager Adrian Hanauer or show a lack of confidence in his abilities that would result in finding a new GM as well as an email to vote for the 2013 season ticket scarf. While the first vote originates in Drew Carey’s original idea for Democracy in Sports, the second is a concept coming from the Alliance Council.
Council Member Dan Roe initiated the process to select the scarf. The original idea was for a fan design contest, but for 2013 it is a vote between four scarves. Roe thinks it is a good beginning, “this came close to achieving my original goal. Although we are not quite there with Alliance members submitting designs, we will still have a chance to voice our opinions on what the scarf should look like next year. The Alliance Council will continue to work with the Front Office to accept fan submittals for the 2014 scarf.”
This process started because it is something a group of fans wanted and convinced others it would be possible. After Council passed a resolution Dan worked with the team to find a way to act on the decision. It all came out from the fans to the club.
“A scarf design vote would not have happened in 2013 without the input of the Alliance Council – or without the overarching Democracy in Sports philosophy,” Relayed Sounders FC Director of Business Relations Bart Wiley via email. Wiley is also the liaison Alliance Council. “It’s a unique philosophy and one that we adhere to. “
What will the impact be of having tens of thousands of scarves? “There will be 30,000+ reminders out there that we as Alliance Members have a say in what the club does,” Roe emailed. “I hope this vote will get members even more active in the Alliance and generate more great ideas as we further democracy in sports.”
It is a relatively small vote, but it is a vote. It is influenced by people who normally don’t have influence. You get to pick which of four scarves will be in the season ticket package for 2013. The next vote is a bigger deal.
Wiley says, “First a scarf vote, then onto the GM Vote which will begin on Oct 7th. When Drew Carey mentioned a membership model for the first time in 2008, these are the types of votes we envisioned – where our season ticket members have an active say in what happens with club affairs.”
It is a part of what makes you and us and them Sounders. It is our community participating in the club. A club that empowers you to have a voice.
