Hurst66: From what I understand, we're already living in your scenario. I was told that when the CESA U16G team lost in the state championship, that the behavior ran along the same lines as your description. That's not a criticism of any other club; I just think that the victory is "extra sweet" when it's against CESA. I was also at some younger games this year in challenge league where CESA was beaten by a South Carolina team and you'd have thought that the team had just won the world cup.
As you say, I think it's natural for most people to cheer for the underdog. I never have -- I've always cheered for the team I perceived as working harder in practice and in games (note: another of my biases is that I love hard-working character-oriented people/teams more than relatively less hard-working people/teams.) But I think I'm in the minority on this.
In any case, I personally think it's smart of CESA to do what the other clubs do and promote their success. The fact is that in South Carolina right now CESA typically is the target for other teams/clubs. CESA trying to ignore that fact won't make it go away. And while there is added pressure on CESA due to the attention, it's a relatively small thing versus what their ambitions truly are -- to be consistently ranked as a top national team.
I'm hoping that here in the Columbia area that CUFC will continue to promote itself (e.g., web site, billboards, etc.) as club for elite players. I hope that CRSA and LCSC will continue to promote their results for their top teams in challenge league play. I hope that CESA-Columbia will continue to grow their relationship with SOAR and other recreation clubs to get more kids involved in soccer. And I hope Lower Lexington just increasingly grows!
