OT: Columbus Crew (Soccer) moving to Austin.

[TyphonInc]

Anyone else been paying attention to this Sh!t Show?

As I understand it, the Lamar Hunt (founding father of modern professional soccer in America, RIP 2006) Estate had three clubs; they kept the Dallas FC club, sold Sporting Kansas City to 5 Kansas City business men, and sold the Columbus Crew to a trust find baby Anothony Precourt from San Francisco. A stipulation was added that the team can't be move for 10 years. He modified it to say it's can't move unless it's to Austin. 

In 4 years of ownership Precourt eliminated the marketing department for the Crew, and has spent zero dollars advertising the team. He has eliminated 2/3 of the Game Day promotions (stats showing promotions bring in an additional 2,500 casual fans.) Until 6 weeks ago failed to bring in any of the allotted 3 foreign stars each team is allowed. Told Barbosol they were no longer wanted as a sponsor of the team, and planned to run the team sponsor-less; until a 3rd party (Columbus Partners) stepped in and signed the largest Jersey deal in MLS history with Acura America, (Technically it's 2nd largest but Red Bull bought the whole team not just Jersey space.) Then he complained when attendance dropped (~1,400.)

Precourt has also complained that local business do not support the Columbus crew, while the Crew webpage shows 69 sponsors, 2nd only to New York SC's 70 sponsors. Median Local Corporate sponsors in MLS is 45. 

#SaveTheCrew rally had over 8,000 in attendance, while at the same time the Precourt owned mislabeled "grass roots" movement to bring MLS to Austin had almost 80 people.

Also in the last 4 years San Antonio spent 21 Million Dollars to get a soccer specific stadium to reaffirm their expansion candidacy. While Austin has had 2 soccer teams fail. Austin was never a serious expansion location of MLS (their bid was rejected in the 1st round of discussions.) Precourt is aggressively pushing to have the Columbus Crew moved to Austin, screwing over both Columbus and San Antonio. (And most likely the city of Austin by having Tax dollars pay for a stadium.) He has already leased Texas Memorial Stadium for 2019, and MLS has purchased several Austin based web addresses. 

Sucks to be a Crew fan right now, I hope the team can push all the distractions aside and Beat Toronto tonight. 

Have I missed anything? Thoughts?

[Brutus Buckeye]

Yeah, the MLS, and by extension Soccer in general, is officially dead to me. 

[utee94]

Folks down here believe it's a ploy just to get concessions out of Columbus and don't think any such move will actually occur.  



I'd be pretty surprised if a taxpayer funded bond passed, several such attempts for various hockey/soccer/baseball stadiums have failed over the past couple of decades.  People in Austin like soccer but I don't think there'd be enough support to really prop up an MLS team.  The University of Texas pretty much dominates the sports arena in this town, although the Nolan Ryan/Reid Ryan-owned Round Rock Express have carved out a pretty nice niche for themselves.  But even that franchise was supposed to be located in Austin, until voters refused to fund a public baseball stadium.

[medinabuckeye1]

I'm honestly surprised that anyone even noticed.  If the Columbus Soccer team (Crew you say?) moved to Austin and nobody started a post about it on here I wouldn't know.  

[Brutus Buckeye]

The Soccer fan base in Columbus isn't huge by any stretch, but they are devoted.

They are noisy by nature, and currently furious.

[TyphonInc]

I'm honestly surprised that anyone even noticed.  If the Columbus Soccer team (Crew you say?) moved to Austin and nobody started a post about it on here I wouldn't know.  

Not moved yet, but signed a lease to move to Texas Longhorn stadium in 2019.

[ELA]

Yeah, the MLS, and by extension Soccer in general, is officially dead to me.

I think you are the first person I've ever met whose soccer fanhood rode on MLS.
This is like that period in my life when I nearly stopped watching basketball because the Detroit WNBA team moved to Tulsa.  

[Brutus Buckeye]

Heh. Well I only liked the sport at the professional level because Columbus had a team. 

I don't give a crap about the English Premier League. And I'm certainly not going to watch a game broadcast in another language. 

My Spanish is barely good enough to order up a burrito. 

[Brutus Buckeye]

Also the WNBA analogy is terrible. It's not the top basketball league in the nation, and all of their teams are in NBA cities, where they play second fiddle. 

Now if you were some short haired woman that preferred women's basketball, then it would be understandable if you stopped watching basketball because your WNBA team moved away. 

The better analogy to the MLS would be the CFL, as it's the top men's tackle football league in their country, but not in the entire world. If the BC Lions moved to Quebec City, then I wouldn't blame the people of Vancouver if they stopped watching Football. 

[ELA]

Also the WNBA analogy is terrible. It's not the top basketball league in the nation, and all of their teams are in NBA cities, where they play second fiddle.

Now if you were some short haired woman that preferred women's basketball, then it would be understandable if you stopped watching basketball because your WNBA team moved away.

The better analogy to the MLS would be the CFL, as it's the top men's tackle football league in their country, but not in the entire world. If the BC Lions moved to Quebec City, then I wouldn't blame the people of Vancouver if they stopped watching Football.

Both leagues are nowhere NEAR the top leagues for their sports (soccer/basketball) in the world, and in both cases I've never heard a fan of the sport identify themselves primarily as a fan of an MLS team or a WNBA team.  I'm not criticizing you, if you love Columbus Crew, I get it, that sucks.  I just literally had never heard anyone base their soccer fanhood on MLS

[utee94]

Both leagues are nowhere NEAR the top leagues for their sports (soccer/basketball) in the world, and in both cases I've never heard a fan of the sport identify themselves primarily as a fan of an MLS team or a WNBA team.  I'm not criticizing you, if you love Columbus Crew, I get it, that sucks.  I just literally had never heard anyone base their soccer fanhood on MLS

I think most people in the US-- at least most people your age or older (like my age)-- first found their enjoyment in professional and international soccer outside the US.  So for those people, which is likely the majority of Americans, I'd say you're right.



However, if someone developed their enjoyment for soccer based on the MLS and not the world version of the sport, and especially if it were based on a local team like Columbus, then I can completely understand the attitude.  And that sure seems to be where Brutus is coming from.   I'd just say that the nature of his fanship for soccer is the exception in this country, because most people here that like soccer, probably enjoyed the world versions of the sport first.

[Brutus Buckeye]

 I just literally had never heard anyone base their soccer fanhood on MLS

Well, as my Father would say, you won't ever be able to say that again.

[Brutus Buckeye]

I think most people in the US-- at least most people your age or older (like my age)-- first found their enjoyment in professional and international soccer outside the US.  So for those people, which is likely the majority of Americans, I'd say you're right.



However, if someone developed their enjoyment for soccer based on the MLS and not the world version of the sport, and especially if it were based on a local team like Columbus, then I can completely understand the attitude.  And that sure seems to be where Brutus is coming from.   I'd just say that the nature of his fanship for soccer is the exception in this country, because most people here that like soccer, probably enjoyed the world versions of the sport first.

I liked soccer because I played it up until HS. 
I remember going to Columbus Zoggs games, a professional team that predates the MLS. They played at my HS, albeit before I was in HS.
The Columbus Crew burst onto the scene shortly after I got my drivers licence. They played their games at the Shoe. It was one of the first activities that I would do with my friends where we didn't need to be chaperoned by adults. 
I've watched the league develop from scratch into what it is today. I've seen the Crew win the MLS Cup, the Supporters Shield, etc.
They had the first soccer specific stadiums ever constructed in this Country. 
I had no need to get into English Soccer. We've always had a professional team right in my proverbial back yard. 

[ELA]

I think most people in the US-- at least most people your age or older (like my age)-- first found their enjoyment in professional and international soccer outside the US.  So for those people, which is likely the majority of Americans, I'd say you're right.



However, if someone developed their enjoyment for soccer based on the MLS and not the world version of the sport, and especially if it were based on a local team like Columbus, then I can completely understand the attitude.  And that sure seems to be where Brutus is coming from.   I'd just say that the nature of his fanship for soccer is the exception in this country, because most people here that like soccer, probably enjoyed the world versions of the sport first.

Yeah, like I said I totally get it.  Plenty of people think we are nuts for preferring college football to the NFL.  It's just a take I hadn't heard before, not one I didn't understand.