NASL wanted Austin, But Phil wanted to join his Buddies in USL and Screw over Austin. Good luck on getting a stadium with your history of commiting to a city.
I'm finding some solace in the fact that fans of other teams are coming in here and extending their support to Aztex fans. That's very cool. Thank you.
You always hate to see a team fold up shop, but this one really stings... a team averaging over 3,500 with a ton of potential... flushed down the toilet...
Here is an article from our Australian Crocketteer in SA: http://www.examiner.com/soccer-in-san-antonio/san-antonio-loses-derby
First, thank you to all of the Aztex fans who opened their hearts to my wife and me this season. We only missed one league game this year. Traveling from Fort Worth to Austin on week nights was a bit of a pain, but I looked forward to seeing Austin play and being among friends. The fans should be proud of their efforts and support. We truly had home field advantage this year. A special shout out to Chantico's Army and the drum line. What a great atmosphere you gave House Park! Second, in the end, it is all about business. From what I understand, this new set of investors are bringing a very different game plan than Phil had in Austin. They want to move to the MLS. For that they need a soccer specific stadium with larger seating and a proper sized pitch and the chance for the revenue from beer sales. Moving to Orlando also gives the MLS a shot at the long desired and once lost Florida market supported by a strong investment group. I hope that Austin finds a new team in the near future. Maybe in two years the NASL / USL war will be over and the San Antonio franchise will be paired with Austin and a couple of Oklahoma / Louisiana franchises to form the base for a SW region D2. My heart goes out to Arch, Matt and the rest of you die hard supporters. Keep the faith. Our support (only three hours north) will always be with you.
The move is a shame. Congrat to the fans who showed up. It is hard to go to the games when they do not serve booze and the game is on a high school football stadium.
The changes in ownership and the MLS issue are immaterial. USL would have been quite happy to sell that group a team with or without Phil. The fact of the matter is, he threw Austin under the bus. He said he was making a commitment to Austin, he probably even meant it at the time, but he got what he thinks is a better offer and took it. That in and of itself isn't such a bad thing. The problem is that he didn't have the balls, the morals, or the common decency to admit as much. Instead, he lied about the future of the team for months and took our money, time, and the volunteers' labor under false pretenses.
Even though I am an Orlando resident my heart goes out to the Austin fans. I hope you all get a team again sooner rather than later.
I'm sure one day Phil will regret leaving Austin. Maybe he will prove me wrong, but he will have a much tougher time in Orlando and will be hard pressed to recreate what he did in Austin. Maybe Burnley and Stoke are putting up some serious money, but we all know how other 'partnerships' have panned out. But the icing on the cake is getting into bed with Donner... yikes! Talk about desperation.
Want to feel even worse? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_City_S.C. (Sorry, can't get link to work. It won't pick up that last period at the end. It is Wiki's new entry for the Orlando team, listing all of our old familiar names as the current roster.)
I would like to think, considering how much activity we have here (solidly more than every other remaining NASL and USL team), we won't go 'boom'. Hopefully they'll do something smart and move us to the 'USL expansion' forum. Cleveland got moved there, and aren't likely to get any expansion team any time soon. I expect the change will happen after the USSF decides whether to sanction the NASL or not. Not much point in reorganizing the forum before we know what's going on there. (Always thought it was a stupid thing to create a new separate NASL forum.)
Nobody should be surprised about that. Something like this hurts all the soccer fans in the US. Especially Austin and in 2nd place San Antonio that was hoping to have a heated rivalry with Austin that would have helped NASL tremendously. Soccer is not about the teams, is about the fans. You don’t see much of that here in the US, but around the World many players, coaches and even high ranking people in teams have been fired because the fans protested in their stadiums. That’s what I love about soccer that you don’t see in any other sport. And that’s why I support you guys and would never support anything about that Orlando team.
Everyone, come on down to Mister Tramps tonight (Research Blvd) starting at 6:00 p.m., as a large group of us will be meeting there for a funeral. Be with your brethren, and drown your sorrows in a pint or twenty. I'll be the bearded one in the corner rocking back and forth saying, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home..."
tough break guys. I was bummed intially when Charleston dropped down but I would have been devistated if the team folded, I imagine I would have been even more gutted if the team relocated.
Especially without so much as a peep out of the owner, who asked for your commitment and service, only to leave you behind like so much trash. Mikey mouse, I'm looking forward to the Battery kicking the shit out of Orlando in 2011.
You guys have a great supporters group, a decent amount of local talent, and a ton of ambition. Form your own team. The Southern Premier Soccer League would welcome your group with open arms, and the games are not all played during the summer. http://thespsl.com
On the plus side, I bet the 2011 Aztex season tickets will drop in price soon; they're still on sale for $190 as of now.
Now, just because they're getting a nice, bright, shiny new stadium next summer, there's NO reason to move to Kansas City, Matt.
Y'know, I've been thinking about this, and I can't think of a single soccer team that this has happened to this suddenly since the NASL. San Jose at least got a few warnings and threats before hand. Now I know what Baltimore Colts fans felt like.
Well hey, we're actually getting a team back, just not sure if it's for 2011 or 2012. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=153077274704441&ref=ts
Once again so very sorry guys. Classless move by ownership. I sincerely hope that since the team's name was the Aztex that some sort of "Montezuma's Revenge" strikes Mr. Rawlins for a good while. I also hope that if NASL gets sanctioning and the league moves forward that Orlando plays the Strikers in the Open Cup next year so that us Ultras can make a big sign deriding the punk ownership that took your team away. And hopefully someday soon Austin is back in the pro soccer game. R.I.P. Aztex
Condolences from Portland. This USL/NASL/A-Leauge/USSFD-2 is a cruel monster that I am glad to be getting out of. Austin, and you the fans, deserved better.
If I was with you guys, I would do the traditional (in LatinAmerica) burn of the Judas. Dress him up with an Aztex jersey, and when is burning, just throw him to the Colorado River. Just do a search in Youtube for "Quema Judas" for ideas. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkoIV9VBbzY"]YouTube - LA QUEMA DEL JUDAS[/ame]