We should apply pressure wherever it can be effective. Furthermore, if the prospect of a monetary reward at our expense absolves Austin, then I guess AP should also get a pass? Austin is not neutral in this matter. In fact, they are passing a resolution to officially proclaim that they are railing Columbus in case we were confused about it.
I still don't see this as Austin screwing Columbus as much as something fell into their lap. What was Austin's first response when they heard this? No public money. They did not court AP or MLS it was the other way around. I just think this will not be an effective effort and it is wrongly placing blame. You're already giving AP a pass if you buy a ticket or pay to park and MLS a pass if you buy merchandise. Again, why the desire to boycott Austin but not MLS or AP?
Boycott Crew and league sponsors that have not yet come out for #SaveTheCrew. Write to the pro #STC sponsors and tell them how you love your team and their support keeps/increases your business with them. Write to the silent or antagonistic sponsors, tell them about your love for the team and why it needs to remain in Columbus. And that their (in) action means your will hereafter avoid their products until they publicly and privately support #STC with their voice and influence, or the end of time--whichever comes first. Write to other MLS owners and GM types and explain that until they come out and use their influence for #STC and/or the move goes forward, you will help lead the charge to remove all support for this league until it collapses under the weight this colossal mistake. We're just getting started; this isn't over; tell everyone you know.
How about boycott the league? What if we pick a game day and ask that SaveTheCrew supporters don't go to the game? Or what about at a specific minute of the game they all leave for 10 minutes? The visual impact of fans leaving the game in the middle of play all at the same time would definitely make a statement.
If this is still dragging out next season I see that as a possibility, but honestly this is all likely to come to a head in the next few months and I don't see getting much compliance to boycott the Playoffs or The Cup.
There was a contestant on a cooking show from A******. Watching with the wife, I screamed at the contestant. That made me feel a little better.
I fully expect this to drag out into next season. The supporters across the league should use the offseason to develop an over-arching strategy and then unveil with a press release announcing the boycotts of supporters before the 2018 season starts: (1) a league-wide boycott of MLS sponsors who do not publicly commit to pull their sponsorships if the Crew are moved; (2) a league-wide, season-long rotating boycott of games wherever the Crew play away from Columbus (ideally with Save the Crew rallies outside the stadia); and (3) a boycott of the City of Austin if elected local officials do not publicly refuse to issue the permits necessary for the Crew to relocate there. This would be in addition to anything Columbus fans choose to do locally in their own market.
With Austin Council having an upcoming vote on Nov 9 and the League set to announce expansion candidates in Dec, I don't think it will. But if it does drag on, I like where your heads at.
For those who would like to write (snail mail can be more effective: the person has to open the envelope & not just hit the spam button...): City of Austin (mayor, council persons, etc): Letters and packages sent through the U.S. Postal Service may be mailed to: City of Austin Name of Intended Department ATT: Name of Intended Recipient P.O Box 1088 Austin, Texas 78767-1088 Austin Visitor Center: 602 E. Fourth Street, Austin, TX 78701 Visit Austin Admin: 111 Congress Ave, Suite 700 Austin, TX 78701 Let them know that your hard earned money will not be going to Austin if they aid and abet Evil Tony.
Dell's computers have sucked in recent years anyway, but here's a list of companies you might send similar letters to (especially if you have reason to do business w/ them and/or a competitor): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_based_in_Austin,_Texas Fortune 500 Dell (44)[1] Whole Foods Market (264)[2] ABM Industries [3] 3D imaging Zebra Imaging Advertising Door Number 3 GSD&M LatinWorks LIN Media (Media General) McGarrah Jessee RetailMeNot Rock Candy Media T3 (The Think Tank) Aerospace and air travel Astrotech Corporation Austin Express Emerald Air Architecture Dick Clark Architecture Lundgren and Maurer [clip -- there's a number of other listings, a lot of them appear to be pretty small/local things, but worth a check to see if you might be able to send a letter w/ some impact...]
Can the current Crew players all boycott the move by agreeing that none of them will play in Austin for AP? That all will decide to play elsewhere or sit out so that Austin will not have one single player who played from Columbus. I’m not sure anything could be more effective and the lawyers can fight and cost MLS a lot of money .I think Josh Williams , Will Trapp and Crognale would be the first 3 I talked too. Has anyone heard from Frankie on all this? He seems to be silent which is odd , maybe I just missed any statement he has made on possible relocation
They could hold out or announce their retirement but they aren't free to go elsewhere and play since they have contracts with MLS. So withholding their services is as much as they could do and I wouldn't expect any of them to do so.
I need someone to come up with creative ideas for me to boycott a city I already was never going to patronize in the first place.
I could see Trapp definitely saying move me after next season, whether it's to Europe or within MLS. Crognale maybe. Williams maybe, though he's played for other teams, but he's without question had the most success in his career with the Crew, and is an Ohio guy. We all know Pipa is out after 2018. Meram might force a trade. Probably too old to transfer to Europe after next season (he'll be about 30 IIRC). Maybe transfers to Middle East? Doubt it though, since the whole reason his family left in the first place was religious persecution. Everyone else, why should they care?
Repped, though I'll say the tentative plans the wife and I had to actually see an F-1 race live has been whittled down to Abu Dhabi and...well... Seriously, like a week before the cluster********, we were talking about doing it next year.
I was thinking the same thing. I could see Trapp maybe trying a league like Scotland, Belgium, Greece...maybe even a lower half of the table Eredivisie team. And if not overseas....I bet Caleb Porter would take him in....and if the Crew disappear, I would be happy for Trapp to enjoy Portland level support. I remember hearing that Meram had options in Asia in the past. His form and reputation has only grown since then. If he was looking for the most money, I bet he could latch on to a bigger club in the Middle East and make almost twice as much money. I also wouldn't doubt it if he was on the radar of some Asian leagues like Australia, Japan, or Korea due to playing with Iraq.
Look through the list of businesses (from Wikipedia). There's likely something on there that would be a place you could at least potentially patronize -- e.g. you at least every once in a while buy a computer, right? Well, tell Dell it won't be one of theirs if Evil Tony gets his way...
Sorry to say, but Dell wouldn't even notice. They make pretty much all their money on the enterprise side.
I hope you understand that Austin and Big Bend are as far apart (this may be a slight exaggeration, but is exactly what you would experience) as Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Fly into Midland or El Paso to access Big Bend.
Fair enough, but I would guess there's somewhere else in there that you might consider writing that would potentially want your business & you could say that you're going to a competitor. (He said he wanted something creative...)
This is not trying to convince you or argue against your ideas. Boycott to your hearts content. But your fact about Austin City Council is inaccurate. Next week Austin City council will consider a proposed resolution to try to review city land that could be used for a stadium. That is so non-committal it should pass. If an actual proposal emerges for specific land the old-school neighborhood association powers will likely emerge to fight it. They will have their own priorities and it wont be helping MLS or Precourt. Precourt does not know what lack of widespread community support looks like til he comes down here to Austin.