[Addick]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

And if I can get a bit philosophical here - what I think is happening is a culture clash between the North American sports mindset, and with what we see with soccer in other countries.

In Europe, supporters are seen as stakeholders in the club, but in North America, they are simply customers of a company. Buy a ticket, get entertained, but that's where your investment ends. Spruce Meadows, of course, is quite used to the model of "bring your money, watch some horses, go home" and aren't yet accustomed to the culture of soccer, where supporters will support, but also criticize, cuss, boycott, bleed the club's colours, and become deeply emotionally invested. Supporters demand and deserve a say in how things are run, within reason of course, and won't be satisfied to just buy in, clap politely, and observe passively.

It's very interesting that you mentioned this because just last week, David Ornstein brought this up in relation to Arsenal and Liverpool. The American owners both had moments where they realized the difference between the fan culture to which they were accustomed in North America and the supporters of their English football clubs.