NEW YORK - Supporters Group Vice-President Jared O’Neil stated, “I’m not burned out… I’ve just made made my entire life about soccer and feel kinda dead inside,” as he unenthusiastically went through the motions to prepare for another home game this weekend.

Friends state that while O’Neil is a fixture at games and always available to chat about the team online or in person that his overall energy and passion for everything seems a bit diminished in recent years.

“He’s just kinda down some of the time,” stated new fan Derrick Borders. “It definitely makes me re-think my decision regarding being more involved in the group.”

O’Neil stated that the constant drama involved in dealing with the league, fellow fans, other supporters and security every single day of every single season finally swelled to an elegant crescendo when he was appointed to be the vice-president of his group. “It was something I wanted for some time and when I got it I realized that I managed to transition my passion into essentially a full time job. Now, instead of going to the game to relax I’m basically working most of the time. The last time I enjoyed I game was because I got absolutely shit faced and told everyone that I wasn’t going to help if they had a problem.”

Mr. O’Neil was then pulled away to mediate a dispute over the cost analysis of t-shirts and whether the pricing they were getting on a product was too high. He was also then delayed to coming back for this interview because his presence was requested to be on a conference call regarding the security of an upcoming away game, and he had a call with the president and treasurer of the supporters group in order to figure out domain registration fees and a non-profit charity that the group is trying to get started.

“I guess I didn’t think about it until too late, but my life went from soccer as a passionate hobby to soccer as a second job,” stated O’Neill as he packed up t-shirt orders for shipping. “I remember when all this was about drinking beer in the stands with my friends, but going to the games now are just a reminder of all the work I need to do when the game gets done.”

The Nutmeg News will have more on this as O’Neil considers giving up his season tickets after his 2 year term as vice-president ends.