FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In the buildup to the season opener on Sunday, New England Revolution chief operating officer Brian Bilello and vice president of player personnel Michael Burns carved some time out of their schedules to meet up with a group of the club's most fervent supporters.
Bilello and Burns headlined the Revolution's annual supporters' summit at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night. Members of the three Revolution supporters' groups – the Midnight Riders, the Rebellion and the Rev Army – and other fans piled into the Fidelity Investments Clubhouse to query Bilello and Burns about on- and off-the-field matters.
“It's really important for us for our fans to see and feel that being a Revolution fan is about constant interaction with the club,” Bilello told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday night. “We're not behind a fence. We're out there shaking your hand.”
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The supporters' summit is one of several formal and informal events held by the Revolution front office during the course of the year. All of those interactions help the club to engage its fans and foster more investment in the club, according to Bilello.
“It's not just at the game,” Bilello said. “It's making people feel connected to the club in all aspects. You don't watch the game on TV, you go to a viewing party. You don't read about something in the paper, you get to come here and hear it right from Michael Burns' and right from Brian Bilello's mouth.”
Bilello and Burns fielded questions on a variety of topics – including the arrival of homegrown midfielder Diego Fagundez, the search for a Designated Player and the scheduling of summer friendlies – for approximately 90 minutes before the night ended.
While both men interact with fans during the course of the season in a variety of ways, this event serves as yet another way to further the relationship between the Revs and their fans. The experience shared by fans across MLS is one that is fairly unique within the professional sports landscape, according to Bilello.
“The overall experience is a different – and we think better – experience,” Bilello said. “It's an experience for a fan that wants more from the club or wants more from the organization they support. They don't just want to watch the game on the field. They want interaction. They want to know what is going on. They want to feel that relationship. We want to have relationships with people.”
