Fan Forum Tonight

The Niners are holding one of their silly "Fan Forum" teleconference calls tonight. Unfortunately, the only participants from the organization are Harbaugh and Baalke. I really don't have anything against these two guys. I can't even blame them for the potential return of Smith (Alex), since they'll basically have no other choice if there is a work stoppage. With that in mind, I'll skip the festivities this time around, but if anybody does bother to call in, please feel free to share anything interesting that they hear.

For those of you unfamiliar with the 49ers' Fan Forums, I can tell you they are largely a waste of time if you are looking for answers to questions that real fans actually have. And, they aren't open to the general public - you have to receive an email invite (which, incidentally, can be forwarded to anybody) and pre-register a week in advance. A day or two before the event, you receive a prerecorded reminder phonecall from Ted Robinson, who moderates the event (nothing like receiving a call from Ted Robinson during a Valentine's Day dinner, I might add - good timing, Niners). When the event takes place, you'll receive another phonecall and be placed into the conference. At any time, you can ask a question by pressing a button and get screened by an operator who will decide if you can be added to the queue.

I attended one of last year's forums for the chance to hear what Lil' Jed had to say about the upcoming 2010 season. I was still ticked off about the ticket increases for THAT particular season, and was hoping he would field some questions about the new pricing. After listening for a couple of minutes, I realized that none of the sycophantic callers were talking about anything relevant, so I managed to get placed into the queue by telling the screener I wanted to ask an innocent-sounding question about the stadium "enhancements" they had previously announced. I was placed into the queue with over 55 minutes left in the hour-long teleconference, but didn't have an opportunity to ask my question.

By the time the forum was over, I hadn't heard one question about ticket prices or stadium facilities, the two things that all fans had been talking about for the past few months. Instead, Lil' Jed and co. handled "tough" questions like this:

• "Can you play 'We Built this City' after Niner wins like you used to do? I think it really gets the team fired up."
• "I live in Hawaii and think Colt Brennan reminds me of Joe Montana. Why don't you sign him?"
• "How awesome is the new stadium going to be?"

You couldn't make up anything stupider. "We Built this City?" Really? The worst song of all-time? And, not to burst your bubble, Big Kahuna, but at the time, Brennan was under contract with the REDSKINS. Awful.

It was one softball after another. There wasn't a single question that addressed any of the issues ticketholders were facing (and still are). As I sat listening to insipid question after insipid question, I realized that the organization had no inclination of answering anything that required honesty and deep thought. When the forum ended, I hung up disgusted and embarassed for the dumbassed fans who I heard on the call.

When my buddy forwarded me the invite to tonight's call (I think I'm starting to get blackballed by the Niners), I signed up again, thinking I'd take another shot at having Lil' Jed answer to his critics/customers, but he's decided to show off his new toy instead and let Harbaugh handle football questions. Of course, all speculation and discussion about next season is pointless until a new CBA deal is reached, so I couldn't care less about onfield stuff. What I want to know is how the organization can justify increasing prices for a below-standard product. And that's a question I'm afraid will never by truthfully answered.

UPDATE: The phone rang shortly after 7pm with my invite to participate. I ignored the call...