USL has a cooler acronym. Leave NASL to the history books and as something to read about in "The Development of US Soccer" pages of Wikipedia.
I think the "Austin to the NASL" announcement will come. My guess is after they announce the sanction of the league and USL gives up the fight. Nothing else works for you guys.
Heard something along these lines recently. However, I haven't been able to confirm it with any reliable sources yet. Also, heard that the Aztex will not field an U-23 team next season. Somebody will have to call the team at some point to find out what's up. I would except that I don't work in journalism anymore or have a blog. But I would be willing to.
I talk to the Front Office on a regular basis, and haven't heard anything about the PDL team, so my belief would be that we'll see them in 2010. In general, I believe Phil and Co. will do what is best for the Aztex, and if that means staying in USL1 or going to NASL, they will. For them, the goal is to provide a competitive environment for players to get quality development time in. In turn, that will provide the best product to the Aztex faithful. When I sat down with Phil and new CEO, Djorn Buchholz, about 2 weeks ago, the response to whether they field a team in 2010 for the senior side was, "We will play a senior side in 2010". I believe that there is still a lot more behind the scenes that in front, and whether that's good or bad is something else to argue. However, I think the NASL, although getting a lot of momentum in the team count, also has to address some very serious concerns about teams they have. Ironically, so does the USL.
I just wonder what kind of positives the Aztex would gain if Phil and co. decided to indeed move the pro squad over to the NASL.
I'd peg us for top three if we only have 3 opponents. No way do we finish last. I wonder how many teams make the playoffs?
Thanks for answering my question. I guess I was willing to interview people/research the topic cause I've talked to Phil before and some people at the USL office. Plus the same source that I heard about the U-23 team being out of the PDL gave me some other info that I haven't been able to confirm yet. Either way I'm just hoping for the best solution to the situation. And I happen to think that involves the Aztex and everybody else making the move to NASL.
We in San Antonio want to be in the same league as Austin. With the Spurs locking up the USL down here and no signs that they will ever move on it or relinquish their stronghold, the NASL situation opens the door for San Antonio to get into Tier 2 level soccer sooner rather than wait on the Spurs to move forward with USL. So a SA/Austin NASL derby is more of a reality than one in the USL.
I understand that soccer in the USA has been a roller coaster for the past 80 years or so, but come on, this off season is giving me gray hairs on my scrotum, and my ulcers have ulcers. I don't see how we, Portland and PR don't end up in NASL in 2010. It is really the only choice as I see it now.
I agree, this is really getting to be a untenable situation. The reality is that FCNY is rumored to be so bad, that the likelihood that they'll even field a team in USL1 is poor. That means we have 3 teams in USL1 (I'm not including Detroit or the other expansions since I have heard so little). One of those, Portland, is gone in 2011. That leaves us with 2. USSF has not certified the NASL. However, when they look at NASL and USL1, what are they really going to see? Which one is a more viable Division II league? For teams that are rumored to be in breach of contract for 2010 (Baltimore FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Rochester Rhinos), are legal action best for the Aztex? I seem to change my opinions regularly. However, something has to get settled soon. We're about 4 months away from a March USL1 KO, and 5 months from the NASL proposed April KO. Oh, and the possible MLS CBA work stoppage means that may be in jeopardy for 2010. Thank the soccer gods for the World Cup.
How in the world can the Aztex do any off-season promotion in this situation? They are selling 4 free tickets with a scarf or backpack on their website now. How do we keep the faith that those 4 tickets will be to an actual league game?
My thoughts exactly. But I don't begrudge them for trying to sell tickets no matter how unstable the current situation is. I also still believe we will see a Austin Aztex pro side in 2010 one way or another. Why I believe this, I can't say.
My thoughts exactly. But I don't begrudge them for trying to sell tickets no matter how unstable the current situation is. I also still believe we will see a Austin Aztex pro side in 2010 one way or another. Why I believe this, I can't say.
That's my gut feeling too. I've talked to Phil a couple of times and he didn't sound like the kind of guys who would just quit when the going got tough. But we'll just have to wait and see how things shake out.
When I talked to Phil and Djorn 2 weeks ago about whether the Aztex were going to field a team in 2010, the response was quickly and emphatically, "Yes". I think the issue now is not whether the Aztex are going to field a squad, rather, who the opponents are. I for one find the value of my tickets measured to a large extent by the opposition. I'll pay more to see an MLS team, than a PDL team. At this point, I'd pay more to see an NASL team (all the issues around sanctioning, legal action, etc aside) than a USL2 team. That I think is at the root for a lot of us. The comfort level around purchasing tickets before we know what league we're in and what our opponents will be is very low. Having said that, I've not purchased one of the holiday packs. However, I'm thinking seriously about it.
I feel the same way. It'll be really hard for me to justify shelling out Founders' Club money for a USL-2 schedule. And I have no idea how we'd manage to keep our players. I know the Revs are now without an uninjured keeper since Reis retired yesterday, and so Miguel might begin to look like a good option. I dunno. At this point, yeah, the NASL seems like a better option. But they also have no clear track record on running a league. The USL, at least, does, for better or worse. I'm scared that we'll end up with a one and done league. That doesn't leave the Aztex in much better position for next year than we are in now. Maybe Phil should just man up and pay the MLS franchise fee. More even than the Aztex' situation I worry about what this does to soccer in the US overall...