Earlier this year the MLS community became engaged by the #MLS4RSL Twitter tag. Not everyone supported the idea of cheering for Salt Lake in the CONCACAF Champions League, but almost everyone was talking about it.
Today another Twitter tag appeared. This one is less likely to be pushed by MLSSoccer.com, but far more likely to be fully supported. That tag?
#BlatterOut
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For those too distracted by the mess in Vancouver, the return of the Winnipeg Jets, or who think the Support Local Football initiative is a CFL marketing ploy, #BlatterOut refers to Sepp Blatter and the desire to kick his (ok, fine, allegedly) corrupt, old and arrogant ass out of the FIFA presidency. About the only resistance I've seen to the movement is from the yeah-but-who crowd that suggest that there is no one in FIFA any better.
Who cares, that's who. The devil we know is not better than the devil we don't.
The initiative appeared to start in the UK and has quickly gained a foothold worldwide. It was trending internationally at the time of this writing.
FIFA is a mess. It's become a bloated parody of itself. The only way to return the game to its roots is for someone to step up and be brave and strong enough to end the backroom and back-scratching politics that currently exist. And that can't happen until the old guard is gone.
Clearly a Twitter feed is not going to change things on its own. However, we should not be so cynical as to think that we can't make change. If the public makes enough noise the sponsors start to ask questions. There won't be a dramatic GOTCHA! moment, but maybe Ole’ Sepp will want to spend more time with his grandkids after all.
Qatar. Bags of cash. Match-fixing. Forced white elephant stadiums.
We could go on all day. FIFA is broken. Only we can fix it.
#BlatterOut