Wait ‘Til We Get to the Hills

During this offseason we had a chance to get Joe Cannon to answer a few questions for us. If were lucky this will be a regular update with different members for the team and staff. We thank Joe for taking his time to give us his insight on the state of the Earthquakes, supporters and the game in general.

Joe Cannon

1906 Ultras: Were you upset at the way we lost O’Brien and Lima last season when it seemed everything had come together?

Joe Cannon: I was not upset. I was very optimistic that the players we brought in could do the job for us. In hind sight, we missed both these players last year and I think our front office has learned the importance of keeping the squad together. You see this in their efforts to resign current players.

Ultras: Lew Wolff gave the approval to bring a Designated Player (DP) to San Jose for the next season. A DP can contribute with his skills, leadership and experience and attract more fans in the stands, but he can also divide the locker room because of his ego or salary disparity between him and the rest of the players.  As we saw in that polluted city down south. Do you think that bringing a DP to San Jose is the key to success, or should we focus on local talent and cheap international players and build a winning team that attracts more fans in the stands with its spectacular style of play? If this was your decision, what DP would you pick? 

Joe: I believe that great players, no matter how much they get paid would help our team. Our locker room is such that money would not separate us apart or be any kind of distraction. I would not see this as a “key” to success. I think consistently good teams are built on a foundation of a group which has a good tradition of playing together mixed with the right attitude. An intelligent DP can compliment this foundation. As far as a DP goes, I’d love to see Steven Gerrard. However if we are being realistic, a strong finisher who has played in a quality league and still in his prime would be ideal. If you know of any, please let Frank and John know.

Ultras: What’s your favorite part about San Jose and being a Quake? What keeps you here?

Joe: To be honest, my favorite part about San Jose is my family. I will not make any qualms about that. In saying that, I grew up here and believe that one of my passions is to help this sport (and ultimately, this franchise) succeed here in the south bay. I recognize that I want this to happen both on and off the field. I believe my vision and my passion and my love for this franchise would help me if I were to ever work in management. However, before that time comes, I am working hard to try to make our team successful on the field. I do this by improving my own game and to ultimately help our team try to accomplish its goals individually and as a group. How I will do this varies and is personal so I won’t go into that much. To get the most out of my teammates and myself is my current goal and I hope that it can manifest itself out on the field this upcoming year.

What keeps me here is the fact that I love my family, I love our fans, I love this sport, I love my teammates, and coaches. I also love the potential our organization has to help not only promote civic pride for the south bay, but to create memories for everyone involved with our team in every capacity. One day I want to generate this passion to help the Earthquakes become the brand that we have the potential for fulfilling. The Earthquakes should represent so much more than a soccer team in this area and hopefully one day i’ll be able to help make this happen.

Ultras: You say that you want to continue to be a part of this organization after your playing career is done. What interests you more: a coaching job or being part of the management? 

Joe: Maybe both. However, I feel my energy would be best utilized getting out in the community and using my passion to expose our team, and our brand to new and current soccer fans. I keep tabs of ideas that one day I may be in a position to utilize to fulfill these goals.

Ultras: Where do you see the League being at as far as competitiveness/quality in the next 10 years?

Joe: It will get better all the time. As a player in our union, I hope that we will create a platform which helps invite more talent into the league, and keeps existing talent staying abroad. The allure of Europe will always be there. However, the quality of life, this country, and especially our city provides is second to none. Players will play for less money to play in the United States. However we must make these players feel as if they are being treated as the professionals get treated over in Europe. This will take time, but will improve over the next decade.

Ultras: In a recent interview, Lew said that he wants the Quakes fans to be more involved. In your opinion, what can the Quakes fans, not just the Ultras, do in order to help this organization establish itself in the South Bay and get the new stadium built so we dont have to worry about relocation? 

Joe: I honestly believe this has more to do with how our organization can facilitate the fans support and provide the right avenues on feedback to help our fans feel more apart of this franchise. The first thing we should do to help get the fans involved is sit down with all of them and have a town hall meeting to generate feedback on all areas. It would consist of not answering questions, but listening to suggestions all night long. The answers would be in our reactions and actions after the meeting. At the very least, it would give fans some sense of having a say which I believe our true fans should all have. As an organization it would never hurt to listen.

As far as what fans can do…that’s a tricky question. I believe that by wearing Earthquake stuff out in public, talking to their friends and co workers and just sharing their positive experiences can help in the short term. The ultimate thing our fan base can do is to understand that they are the catalyst behind all change. To demand accountability in all areas and to give feedback and inform our franchise if things can be done better. If we do not listen, or do not make the appropriate changes, than I believe we have failed as an organization.

Ultras: How important is for the players to have a strong supporters group behind them?

Joe: I can honestly say that this is very important. There was one moment this last year when the fans really could of turned on us and they did not. We let in two early goals against DC United and rather than boo our team our fans decided to cheer us on and support us through the rest of the game. That energy not only helped us earn a draw but inspired improved form from our team the rest of the year. The proof is in the results and our fans can definitely take credit for helping this improvement. To me, the fans are my favorite reason to play. I used to be one and in a few years I’ll be forced to be one again. (not playing that is) It’s important to have this support on and off the field. 

Ultras: Do any of the players know any of our chants? What is your favorite?

Joe: Almost all of our players know your chants because you can’t ignore them during our games or warm-ups. They will sing them in the locker room to make light of a player or just to add bravado to the situation. My favorite chant is the “piss on galaxy” one. I believe this rivalry is very important for our fans and believe soccer is built on rivalries. They do have great players like David Beckham and Landon Donovan which makes them an easy target as well. I know their fans are very good and give me a hard time every time I go down there so it’s good to see us doing the same thing.