Why I’m Back. For the Fans, Not the Board

Justin Crozer: 00:00:18

Hello everyone.

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I've been away and if you heard my last

segment, you know exactly why I stood

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here and told you that I was stepping

back because the club I loved felt like

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it was stopping loving its fans back.

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I talked about the surveillance, the

facial recognition, the pyro bands, and

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the feeling that we were being treated

like data points rather than supporters.

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And I meant every word of it.

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And to be clear, none of

those issues have gone away.

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But while I was sitting in the silence,

something else became very clear to me.

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I realized that while I might have

a massive problem with the club's

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decisions, I have an even bigger

commitment to you, the listeners.

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I've seen the messages in the discord.

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I've heard the speak pipes from the fans

who feel the same way I do isolated,

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frustrated, but still deeply connected

to the football and the players.

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I realized that by stepping away, I

wasn't just protesting the board, I

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was leaving a gap in the community.

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I was leaving the fans without a

voice that isn't afraid to call

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out the corporate side of things

while still celebrating the

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tactical brilliance on the pitch.

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Therefore, I'm announcing, I'm

returning to RBL talk today.

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Not because the club changed their mind,

but because I changed mine, I realized

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that if the club is going to become more

corporate and more sterile, then this

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show needs to be the exact opposite.

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We'll need that space.

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We need this space more than ever.

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So what does RBL talk look like now?

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We're still doing the deep dives.

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We're still using FB REF

data to look at the tactics.

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We're still doing Player Watch, but

we're also going to be loud, honest.

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And a safe space for all fans worldwide.

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I am going to continue being

vocal about the surveillance

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culture without overdoing it.

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I'm going to continue speaking

up for local fans in East Germany

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who feel ignored, including

international fans as well.

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We aren't going to just ignore

the bad stuff because we want

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to see a win on Friday night.

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We're going to talk about all of it.

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The beautiful football and the ugly

decisions because being a fan isn't

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about blind loyalty to a badge.

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It's about the people you stand

in the trenches with, or in

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our case, the digital terrace.

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I'm back in the chair, I'm back in the

discord, although I was never fully

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away, and I want to hear from you.

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Whether you are in Leipzig, or watching

from half a world away like me in

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Australia, how are you feeling about

the direction of the club right now?

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How are you feeling about the

direction RBL talk is back?

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Send in your speed pipes.

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Let's have the hard conversations.

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Let's keep this a community where

the fans actually come first, which

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is what, for me, it was always about

even if the club's board has other

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priorities, the tactics are back.

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The community is back.

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RBL talk is back.

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Thank you.

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Now let's get to work.