I like the new logo. It feels like a fresh start for Austin fans after the misfortune of last season. Hopefully you guys will be either in USL-Pro or in NASL. I hope NASL because i think with San Antonio coming in nest season, it would be a nice Rivalry. I would Also like to see Orlando join NASL because it would be another good rivalry.
Thanks, SoccerPrime. We in Austin appreciate the help in getting the logo changed. It'll be nice to completely wash this page of any remnants of the old "regime".
Congrats Austin Fans! You all deserve this! Hopefully you build off of what I believe will be a strong 2012 season and move up to USL Pro in 2013, because I know an Austin v. Orlando match would be very, very strongly supported!!
I don't think I can support a team called the Aztex at this point, sorry. Which isn't to say I won't go to a few games. Let me put it this way, when there are firm stadium plans, I'll start paying attention. Because otherwise it'll be gone in a couple of years and I'll be pissed all over again. I won't do it.
That crap Dude. Not paying attention until there are firm stadium plans? Please. What exactly are the chances that there will ever BE firm stadium plans until we can demonstrate to people (investors, politicians, voters) that there are diehard soccer fans who will support a local team and fill the stands in Austin? Zero. You're not going to support the new team because a team with the same name hurt your feelings a year ago? Or they might do it again? Jesus man didn't you ever get dumped by anybody? You get over it and you move on and you start dating again, otherwise you'll end up sad and alone. Right now there's a new girl that just moved to town -- she's no MLS supermodel but she's got a nice PDL smile and an attractive figure.... you're not going to go up and talk to her because she reminds you of your USL-1 ex? Grayscale is being kind. If you can't call yourself a supporter right now that's fine. But don't sit on the proverbial sidelines waiting until the team meets all your "conditions" before you can consider yourself a fan. That's not what being a true fan is at all.
That's totally my point, my friend. There won't be a stadium. And without a stadium the team won't survive. History has proven that over and over. Admittedly not supporting whatever team has a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy ring to it. But my season ticket won't be the difference between success and failure. Anyway, true fan? What the sh** is that? I'm a soccer fan. Plain and simple. I don't know what a true fan is, but you can put whatever definition you want on it and keep it. Edit: Anyway, I'm just saying I want to wait and see what develops first. Put my metaphorical toes in to test the waters this time. Rather than jumping in head-first.
LOL, that is a surprisingly compelling analogy. I'd like to hear more about this nice PDL smile we've got...
I'm not trying to make a convert of you, but if this were true, how do you explain that D.C. United (the only founding MLS team that has never moved or rebranded) is still playing in its original multi-purpose stadium? And how many USL-Pro or NASL teams have a SSS?
It is VERY hard to fill a stadium to watch a PDL game. If the goal of this is to get pro soccer back to Austin then those tickets better be dirt cheap. I am talking $5. Phil was always trying to charge as much as possible, even for PDL games, and the attendance sufferred. He finally started to learn his lesson in the last season and was practically giving away tickets. He did the same thing in Orlando because he wanted to get the attendance numbers up and make a bid for the MLS. When you're sitting in an empty stadium watching a soccer game and you can hear every word the players are saying to eachother the atmosphere suffers and you don't feel like coming back.
I enjoyed the Futbol en Vivo podcast today. I thought I'd share some of my reactions (and my questions): Emphasis on local players: This meshes nicely with what Arch was talking about on the soccerATX blog. Is this goal to be achieved primarily through the tryouts, or are there local individuals who are already known to the team who will be actively pursued? PDL age restrictions: So the 23-year-old "cutoff" isn't really a cutoff and isn't going to be a factor in our thinking. It seems to me that, in theory, we'd mostly want younger players for the rank and file, with a few older people thrown in who have played in the league before and can be leaders. Is that how things happened with the original Aztex PDL team? Sticking with the name Aztex: The capital ATX is really nice, and makes the name worthwhile even if it's not my favorite name of all time. Stadium deal in the works: It sounds like this could be the next big development we'll hear about, before things like coaches. Where, again, did the original Aztex PDL team play? The colors of the crest: As I've said, I love the crest colors. I've read about the blue representing waterways, but what about that classy brown/beige? What is the name of that color, exactly? And will these likely be the dominant colors in the kit? Outreach to the Hispanic community: "One of the things that's holding back United States soccer" is the lack of Hispanic players and support - David Markley. I'm sure he's right, but at the same time I'm not sure it's something we can fix (as I wrote on the soccerATX blog.) Arch points out that people can be fans of multiple teams, and that the Aztex can't supplant Mexican or European league teams, but could supplement them. That way of thinking makes sense to many American soccer fans (virtually everyone on BigSoccer has multiple favorite teams, many of which are foreign), but I worry that this attitude is less widespread among people who have preexisting loyalties to top-tier professional teams. On soccer in the U.S.: "It's absolutely going to take generations" for soccer to catch on in the U.S. - David Markley. Another sobering observation that rings true. Price of games: "It's not going to be 20 dollars a ticket." - Matthew Gray. That's good! I'm eager to see what season ticket prices will be, if they will be offered. PDL season: May through August. 8-10 home games. Precious little time to enjoy it! And it's going to be a long preseason.
I'll tell you what, brother: I for one don't blame you. It was a big emotional investment we had in the former team, and it was yanked painfully away. Some hesitancy to support the new franchise, especially among those of us who cared the most deeply about the old team, is totally understandable in my book. Nothing is ever a sure thing, in the business of soccer or any other business. Look at the Columbus Crew or other "MLS 1.0" teams with long histories, soccer-specific stadiums and all the beer sales we could ever ask for, still struggling for solid attendances. But, all that said, I will support this club (working with David over the last few months, I already have been ). Some lessons have been learned from the former regime, and though it may not be perfect and there may be bumps in the road, I think the intentions behind this organization are just about as good as anyone could ever hope for. So I'm hopeful, maybe even confident, that over time you (and other people who still feel burned) will be able to start getting into it more and more. The rebound analogy really does ring true for me, too. To take this further, I'm kind of *glad* the new girl (or guy for those who want to imagine it that way ) isn't an MLS supermodel. At this point, I'd wouldn't trust her, or my luck with her, in a thousand years. But a nice, modest girl (or guy), who seems at the very least to have their heart in the right place -- well, what's the harm in a little chat? We can see where this goes without offering her or him an engagement ring on the first date. Viva Aztex! Viva soccer in Austin!
I think the name of the color swatch is 'burnt lawn'. As to uniform colors, I believe they're looking at blue and white.
The beige-ish color is close to old gold. As for sourcing players? That's easy. Look to the colleges, including Texas. Many PDL players come from colleges, since the amateur nature of the PDL will not disqualify players from NCAA competition. In fact, BYU actually fields its men's soccer team in the PDL instead of in the college conferences. It's been doing that for years, even before its other sports teams quit the Mountain West. I believe the original PDL Aztex team played at a high school.
It appears a few fans are working with this new club, i for one hope 1 or 2 of these fans have an active fans repesentive type roll within the club. Is the owner looking for investment ?
This is a great question. There are a number of lessons (I hope) that have been learned as a result of the failures of the last owner. The most important (to me at least) is that there needs to be a larger measure of community involvement in a team. If not there is always a chance of a 'fleeing in the middle of the night' scenario. I don't want to see that happen again. So does community involvement mean community investment in the club? And how would that work? What responsibility would that entail? I think these questions are a good topic for discussion.
There's been a significant representation from the supporters, specifically Eberly's Army, in the work to this point. Some examples that prove this: I provided a recommendation letter for David Markley in his original bid to USL for the franchise rights. This letter played a role in him getting the franchise based on comments from Tim Holt. I have been working with David for about 3 months on the project, with other members of the EA Executive Committee joining in August. David spoke to the supporters on Sunday at Mister Tramps, almost 24 hours before the press release was released to the public. David has been to almost every EA meeting since the Rawlins team left in October, and was an active participant. To David's point though, we need to get greater involvement from the non-Caucasian populations in Austin (Hispanic, Asian, etc.). This is why he's had Ignacio "Nacho" Araujo involved from early August, as well as directly contacted many of the Spanish language media centers in the past few weeks to personally speak to them about what's going on. As far as ownership, right now ATX Soccer LLC (with David as President) is the sole owner of the team. However, I do know that he's working with many in the community on both sponsorship and potential owner sharing. So from my view, we've dramatically increased the supporter and community involvement in the team's planning an execution. However, I know that many will still take a wait and see approach. I have been involved with both versions of the Aztex, and this one is dramatically different.
Well stated; Without question this is a new day and new approach for a team in the ATX. I hope the types of involvement listed above may cause those who have decided to stay on the sideline to see this as different then previous incarnations or at least give pause. I'm very interested in the potential for community participation in the ownership of the team, I think it is a great opportunity.
Through the email from Eberly's Army, I found that Austin has a new Aztex team. Congratulations to the fans and good luck to the new owners. I hope the owners of the new and improved Aztex are better to the fans than the last one. It was fun for awhille but the ending for the last Aztex team left a lot to be desired. Go Aztex. I hope you can grow and build an I35 rivalry with the Scorpions.
Crazy Al, thanks. It looks like we're likely to be in the DFW area next year with the new Texas FC coming online next year as well. Hope to catch up with you then. And of course, you and the family are always welcome in Austin!!!
What's Texas FC? And more to the point, what blogs/sites should I be following to stay up to date with that kind of news?