The New York Red Bulls are moving to Harrison, their brand-spanking-new, under-construction stadium a stone’s throw and 33 second PATH ride (I timed it) from Downtown Newark. I’ve got to think local restauranteurs are giddy over the notion of more business thanks to another nearby sports venue, and it’s probably exciting for the local rabid-for-soccer community to be so near the action.
Leave Penn Station and you'll be greeted with the Red Bulls' new stadium.
Not the Red Bulls' new stadium.
Having lived and/or worked in a handful of states on both coasts, there are a few common factors I’ve noticed among the locals of their respective regions: a ferocious pride in ones hometown/city/state that borders on an insane religious fervor. Nowhere in my travels, from the Golden State to the Silver State to Motor City to Brick City, have I seen that hometown pride as evident as in Jersey, and based on my recent experiences (and comments on this blog), there’s a microcosm of that here in Newark.
New home? How about reflecting that address change in your actual name?
So I’ve got to wonder, what is the general consensus on this team in our backyard calling themselves “New York?” It’s sort of a slap in the face, no? I get that New York is the #1 market on the planet, and it makes sense to want that association, but once upon a time, this team tossed the Garden State a bone when they were called the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Then again, this is the same sports franchise that so blatantly whores itself out product placement it makes you want to vomit, which incidentally, is also how I feel about the drink these futbol-ers are named after, and probably how you will feel if you ever had to endure their boring games. (And this coming from a Devils fan raised on “boring!”) Imagine if the Devils were renamed the Pabsts. Or if the Rangers called themselves the Blow-Pops. At least that would be accurate.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:09 am
What a waste of money, succor is so boring. It’s like watching paint dry.
“A ferocious pride in ones hometown/city/state that borders on an insane religious fervor”
LOL!!!
July 27th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Succor, lol, I see what you did there, you sir are the epitome of wit and humor. If only one day I could be more like you!
Baseball is like watching paint dry. Did a a soccer play sleep with your sister?
July 27th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I love Soccer and think it’s great to have a Hometown team. Problem is I will not support a team that plays in NJ and says they are from NY. Just one more issue I have with this glorious state. Why don’t we just tell them you play here you say your from here it’s that simple. Thank god we have the NEW JERSEY DEVILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 27th, 2009 at 10:31 am
They are probably just capitalizing on the NY Giants name. If Big Blue can do it, why can’t we?
July 27th, 2009 at 10:42 am
If the arena is in NJ then the should definitely reflect, I agree.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
If the arena is in NJ then the name should definitely reflect, I agree.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Owned by an Austrian conglomerate, with headquarters in, Secaucus??? When did NYC annex Secaucus?
July 27th, 2009 at 11:32 am
seriously! thats annoying. whatever- no one will go to their games anyway- soccer IS boring!!
July 27th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Have to disagree. Soccer is thrilling but just not the way the Red Bulls play it. Team’s the equivalent of the Nets – stripped of its leaders and likely to struggle unless more investment and more attacking ideas are introduced. Naming it after NY is understandable – ask the Giants and Jets.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
The Giants and Jets began as NY teams, so I give them a pass. The Red Bulls/MetroStars were formed in NJ, have offices in NJ, and continue to play in NJ. Since they are painful to watch, they can keep the NY in their name. Want to watch exciting soccer in 2010? Watch the World Cup!
July 27th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I was just about to comment that at least the Giants and Jets once called New York home before moving to Jersey, but got beat to the punch. I understand the marketing purposes of the name “New York,” but there is nothing New York about them at all. I regularly see bus shelter ads for them in Newark, but I’ve never seen one in Manhattan. Why is that?
July 27th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I think quade put it best…they say NY but don’t market to there, the same applies to the pathetic junk the nets have done. Barely put a team on the floor tell everyone your leaveing and then wonder why they have been bankrupt for the past 5 years.
July 27th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
To add to the conversation, i live 5 minutes from Penn Station and the Path in midtown, and I’ve NEVER seen ads for the Red Buls.
July 27th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Couldn’t stop laughing when you referred to the Rangers being called blow pops. That truly was funny!
You are right, what’s the deal calling yourself an NY team but you play in NJ? That to me is truly WRONG!!!
July 27th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Am I the only one who thinks the G.I. Joe insert was so forking funny?!? I couldn’t stop laughing at that! I so agree with this article. Why don’t people realize that Jersey Rules!
July 28th, 2009 at 8:47 am
All the more reason to root on the only team that is proud to be from New Jersey, the Devils! Jersey’s Team! I bet NY wishes they were playing in a new stadium there and reeping the benefits from ticket sales, concessions, parking, and not to mention all the people eating at our restaurants! NY even tries to call Rutgers their own! When they had their big season a couple of years ago, the Empire State Building was lit up in scarlet red! come on! Its the state university of NJ! Lets Go Devils!
July 28th, 2009 at 9:47 am
And here I thought the Cobra Terror Drome™ would be lost on everyone… Thank you, jerseyrules for making my day worth living.
Glad you liked the slam on the Rangers, J! It really doesn’t take much to put them in their place…
July 28th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I totally agree with nj based teams calling themselves ny being BS, and its not like that stadium will be fully rateable anytime soon, so why are we giving tax breaks to an organization that is denying its zipcode?
July 28th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Quade you are exactly right! I can not stand that the Giants and Jets and now the lowly Redbulls refuse to admit that, oh wait a second no we don’t play in New York we play in New Jersey. The only team that seems to actually care that they are here is the Devils! Forget about the Nets they are so eager to get out of New Jersey I heard they are thinking about moving to North Korea because apparently that is the only place that will let Ratner build his Atlantic Crap project.
July 28th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Honestly I could care less about soccer to me it’s slow and boring even during the World Cup but I wouldn’t say no to see a local pro soccer team do well. Since it’s a NY team that didn’t move from NY like the Giants and Jets than I hope they flunk. Unless they decide to change NY to NJ since the biggest market of soccer fans is in Northern NJ area (Harrison, Newark, Kearny, North Arlington, East Newark, Lyndhurst, etc….) and especially in the area there putting up that nice Stadium.
Otherwise the only team I’m going to route for is the Real Jersey’s Pro Team LETTTSSS GOOOO DEVILS!!!!!
July 30th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Soccer is a sport of building your attack and counter attack, if quick plays and hard hits are your thing then by all means hate on soccer, but if you can see past that and see the true beauty of the sport then hopefully you could appreciate it.
August 1st, 2009 at 8:57 am
Not to trying to sound rude or consdescending by any means, Arbitro, but you’re asking me to look beyond “quick plays and hard hits” aka action, to see the true beauty of soccer, which is… a slow lull that although strategic, is as exciting as watching paint dry? I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree here. Enjoy your futbol. I will enjoy my hockey.
August 2nd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Say what you will, but at the end of the day, soccer is the most BORING game EVER. Id rather watch badminton on every channel for a year than see soccer. A lot of standing around, or running in circles. Not much else.
Oh, and my brother had that GI Joe base!
August 12th, 2009 at 10:30 am
A senator or assemblyman or someone along those political lines just proposed a bill that would tax all these teams in Jersey that aren’t paying homage to the state in which they live. The Giants and Jets were specifically mentioned, as were the Nets, whose removal of “New Jersey” from their road uniforms prompted the tax (or at least that’s what I gathered from the article I read). No mention of the Red Bulls, but they deserve to be lumped in that crowd as well. The summation of the article was that if these teams want to dip into the NJ pool, they need to pony up. I couldn’t agree more.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:45 am
Can’t understand why their building a 25,000 seater. Anyone who ever been to a game (since they became Redbull) draw no more than 10,000 and usually get 5,000. If they wanna be a NY team, they should have built it in NY… Who’s really gonna pay money to watch a team dressed up like soda cans?
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:06 am
You hit the nail on the head, Diablo. I expect this will turn out to be a colossal waste of money, but I hope I’m proven wrong.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:39 am
Unless it’s World Cup, Bergen County isn’t a mecca for soccer. Having MLS in Giants Stadium made no sense, hence the move. But I agree on the NY thing though. Shoulda been built in Queens or something.
December 11th, 2009 at 8:47 am
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December 16th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
You have to think of it from a marketing perspective. Plus look at the Giants and Jets they do just fine, I think most people prefer to associate with NYC as it is almost a blanket name for this region. Plus soccer is awesome, im sure the community will embrace it being this close.
January 6th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
I know this is off the topic but I found this blog by searching on Yahoo for hotel marketing. How did you optimize your webpage to place so high in the search engine results?
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:01 am
you guys do understand that north Jersey is part of the NY Metropolitan area right¿
you do understand that there is a high percentage of people who live in NOrth Jersey that work in NY right¿ you do understand that North jersey is a suburb of NYC…
ignorance, now you tell me where the fuck they have the room to build a stadium in NYC that is close enough for all fans to attend.. QUEENS¿ come on Harrison, Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City are closer to manhattan than queens. lets be honest here. soccer is not boring, you just did not grow up with it. and let me tell you something if any one of yous here is proud of your heritage of being of European Descent- then let’s not forget that soccer is from where your ancestors came from..
Football is a variation of rugby, from europe..
ignorance. thats all it is. if soccer was so boring, the rest of the world would not follow it. you know like the rest of the worl follows baseball right¿… hahaha
February 11th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Mike, your commentary reaks of a bias that alot of Jersey people get irritated by, specifically not recognizing NJ is not NY. Yes NY is the 800lb gorrilla but those of us that are not transplants consider ourselves to be from NJ not the NY area. Incidentally this is not in Philly where people are more apt to say they live just outside Philly (even if they are an hour away). Typically if a North Jersey resident is asked where they are from or where they live, they do not respond, “just outside NY” but rather, North Jersey.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
New Jersey is not some little podunk town that nobody ever heard of. It’s a friggin state for crying out loud. It’s teams like the Giants, the Jets, and the Red Bulls that help give New Jersey a bad name, or worse, no name at all. The fact that our elected representatives even let those teams set up shop here while pretending to be playing in New York should tell us all we need to know about how messed up this state is, psychologically. … It’s time to take pride in where we live. Elect people who actually give a crap!
March 18th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
95, I’m with you all he way, I’m proud to be from Newark NJ and I LOVE that the devils have taken that as their own. NJ probably hurts itself with it’s rediculous # of muniipalities that prevented a place like Newark from having the size of a Philly. I can only hope that more teams will embrace NJ and be willing to stick around to grow a fan base.
March 20th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
If soccer is like watching paint dry, you’re watching the wrong teams. The problem is that most Americans are not athletic enough to run around for 90 minutes, sprint when needed, and be aware of the entire field. Hockey still relies too much on fighting and less on skill. Plus “athletes” get a chance to take a break every minute or so.
NJ born-and-breds like myself find the NY pandering distasteful, but par for the course. If something in NJ is sold because of the NY name, then fine, we’ll take the money. Look at where the kids on the RBNY academy teams are from, it’s not mostly NY. Our kids benefit, we benefit.
April 3rd, 2010 at 10:54 am
newarkdevil1: No matter where I am around the USA, when someone asks where I am from I say,”Newark” nothing else. I’ve yet to find someone that hasn’t heard of us.I do not say ‘North Jersey’
April 7th, 2010 at 11:24 am
robert,
Just to clarify, I always tell people that I am from Newark now that I live here. When I lived in the burbs I would say North Jersey (that is if I was talking to non-NJ people).
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