Crew to Austin in 2019..(Maybe)

Cheer them at practice.

 

I'd like to echo earlier thoughts: our reporters have done a good job of capturing what we're feeling. Mitchell and Arace have done this for awhile. Pat Murphy shares the perspective of a fan-turned-reporter. King details Precourt's betrayal. Unfortunately, there is no way for any words to fully encapsulate how we feel (18 pages deep into a 24 hour thread).

 

I thought whiskey and cats summed it up.

 

So we've been talking about how Precourt set the team up to fail, and how he's doing his best to drive the fans away.

Let's add in a few more facts:

-How'd you like those Buck-A-Brat nights this year? Oh, what's that? You mean the Crew cancelled the most popular promotion in the history of the club, the one that's been drawing fans for 15 years?

Raise your hand if any of your friends who go to one or two games a year have ever asked you "when are the buck-a-brat nights this year?" We've all heard that question, right?

-Okay, this one might not be a fact, but since there clearly seems to have been a conspiracy in place to move the Crew, let's speculate: who are the marquee opponents? Galaxy and Seattle. We got home games against both the Galaxy and the Sounders this year. Yay, two guaranteed sellouts (or near sellouts), since those games have sold quite well the past few years. Oh wait, what's this, both games were scheduled for Wednesdays instead of weekends? Look, who can say for sure, but if we assume a long-term plan to move the Crew has been in place, is it really that much of a stretch to wonder why our two big games were scheduled for midweek? Where there's smoke there's fire.

 

Walk to the stadium and stand outside the player's parking lot/locker room entrance. That's about it.

 

Now they're posting stories about Austinites and how they offer "sympathy" but are "eager".

******** every one of those Austin vultures. Corpse isn't even cold and they're hosting viewing parties. Eat shit and die in a fire.

 

Frankie finally tweeted.

Just Wow!! Congrats to my dudes @LMSAPanthers on their 1st Soccer Playoff Victory EVER!! #HistoryMade See you Saturday @SFDStallions #😎⚽️⚽️💪 pic.twitter.com/O0R81fA9I7

— Frankie Hejduk (@FrankieHejduk2) October 18, 2017

 

as much as the crew suck

i'd really prefer the crew stay so i can keep on saying...

....the crew suck....

Austin is a tinny sort of word

Columbus is a woody word

Columbus s u c k - very woody

plus Columbus is an original team and it would truly suck if the 'powers that be' contrived to make this move happen...

 

Finally have time to post. I agree with Zip about sports clubs being public trusts and with Bill about what weasels Precourt and Garber have been. Thanks to Dandamanny for the inside info.

The team is likely gone. In theory the city could try eminent domain, paying a fair price, to obtain ownership. The Clippers are publicly owned already. MLS would fight that tooth and nail but it probably wouldn't be hard to get an injunction from a local judge on the move until the case was resolved. Several years of low attendance might force Precourt to sell.

For those who now don't want to buy 2018 season tickets, you can probably get out without too much trouble. I'd expect some local attorney to file a class action case on behalf of ticket buyers. The theory would be simple fraud, in that you relied on Precourt's alleged commitment to Columbus when you agreed to buy the tickets. The Crew would at this time be free to resell the seats so they haven't taken a loss on them. I doubt the Crew would fight the case since it could lead to interesting discovery about the move to Austin.

I wonder if Precourt is planning to simply eat the rent he owes the Exposition
Commission for the next few years? The soccer team and stadium are legally separate entities so the lease won't keep him in town but he'd still owe the rent unless he has an out of some sort.

 

As an Atlanta fan, and not trying to troll this thread, I just want to say I'm sorry and hope that this doesn't happen.

Personally, I think expansion to Austin is a good idea. It's a young, vibrant city and would help create a good rivalry with the other Texas teams and perhaps across the south.

That said, it's dumb to relocate the Crew for infinite number of reasons. One, the Crew are a historic club, but perhaps more importantly, the Crew fill a hole in the geographic region in the Midwest. More, it'll leave a scar on this league that seems like it's unnecessary.

Good luck, I hope the Crew stay.

 

Im a long time Austinite. I'm a 10 year premium MLS season ticket holder for the Houston Dynamo, driving down to every home game, I watch the local soccer scene very closely here. I was a founders club member of the Austin Aztec.

This whole thing just reeks to high heaven. It makes no sense. There is no possible stadium situation in Austin. There is no way university of Texas is sharing their stadium with an MLS team. Even if they did, it's not an MLS standard stadium. There is no significant demand for professional soccer here in Austin. The USL teams never drew that well. Our hipsters are a complete different breed of hipsters than populate Portland Seattle Kansas City and Atlanta.

MLS will. not work here in Austin, and Don Garber knows it. Something is very very very wrong with these reports. I don't believe these reports for a second.

 

You forgot to mention the amount of national TV games we get.

 

So let me get this straight -

I take my family to the first game in 96. Still have my jersey from that season and wear it only on very special occasions.

We dutifully renewed our 9 club season tickets for 2018, plus the playoffs this year of course.

I can't even count the amount of money I've spent on Crew and CrewSC paraphernalia over the years - not to mention that of my family and friends we took to games. I went especially overboard after the re-branding. I thought we were in love with each other....

Heck, my bar tab alone on game days is a number that I'm sure would depress me.

At least as often as not, I would not recover my full voice until the second day after a game. I did my best to get in opposing player's heads - even earning a blown kiss from Drogba, the game after he took out Stevie from behind.

I beamed with pride over the years as so many Crew players made our nation proud on the international stage.

And I cried at the US Men's team games. Dos a Cero. My God. I never thought I would see that atmosphere in this country. THIS city is where that happened. THIS city built the first stadium. THIS city was the first team. Although the Men's team is somewhat otherwise distracted at the moment, I fully expect them to come out on this. We were here for you. We need you to be here for us.

I actually had visions of passing all my jerseys on to my grand kids, who attend the games regularly. Our tailgating has been our largest, most popular and most frequent family outing.

And now I'm being told that my 9 tickets WILL NOT BE REFUNDED!!!???!!!???!??

Oh...........this is going to get good. If I don't get that money back - I will NOT miss a game! I wasn't ashamed to make a spectacle out of myself in the good times. But for someone to come in and rip this all away from us...........well lets just say that I will unleash the full extent of my creative rage in an attempt to get on television and in the news every single game. And by the way, given the above history of this team and city, don't think this sacrilege isn't going to be newsworthy.

The baby faced, trust fund punk's mug will become an iconic image for evil, rich twit. If you wanted to build a team, okay. But why did you have to come take our team? Why did you have to come take THIS team? Because you don't understand anything about what you are doing to us. Your caviler attitude toward this move says much. I pity Austin. I bet a lot of the good people there were hoping for an owner who loved the game.

Look for me in 18 my brother's and sisters.

 

I can't imagine what the players are feeling..these guys had to know something...

Sundays match might suck

 

I agree the Wednesday night games hurt our attendance and the league is culpable there. Sunday afternoon at 1pm? There were multiple things that didn't add up.
Ohio as a market is as large as Southern California. 11Million+ I just don't see why the league would walk away from that.
I know more info will trickle out, but Aces has completely blown it. I don't see how he'll ever be loved in Austin. He'll get roasted anytime he hits twitter. That's our duty to ensure. He may end up an even richer sob, but that's all he'll ever be.

 

Also, I really want this board to stop saying "Crew" when related to Austin. Crew is Columbus. There is too much history to associate anything Crew with that scumbag and his Austin fantasy.

 

I find this a curious post indeed. I don't know what to make of it.

Also, there are a lot of very wrong people here, with these pictures of demon spawn awaiting the day they can feast on their owners' lifeless corpses. Dogs are far, far superior, especially puppies.

 

Pweeze wuv me, @Timon19

 

Ooooooooo, just look at this mug! Looks SOOO the part! This won't require any photo-shopping at all!

 

Okay guys, I'll bow out, my intent was not to pour any salt in the wound. I don't see it happening in the first place, but nonetheless don't want to see the Crew relocate. My intent was to show universal support from around the league that this is a bad idea.

 

Dude.. read a room. If a buddy of yours gets divorced and the chick finds a new guy, do you say.. "hey man I wish she wouldn't have left you... but this new guy, he really is amazing and will expand her opportunities." Cause that is what you just did. Get the eff out.

 

I don't have anything to add (that I can think of) that hasn't already been said. However, fvck Anthony Precourt, fvck Dave Greeley, and fvck Precourt Sports Ventures.

 

I hear ya, Jay. I hear ya.

I am seeing a lot of fans of other teams coming into our corner on social media. We will see. I am doubtful that it will coalesce into anything of real measure. But it is appreciated, and meaningful. And heartening.

It is absolutely insulting for someone to come here on THIS DAY and "explain" to us why this makes sense. Full stop.