MLS News

FC Dallas has 2, Austin has 1

 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-e...ular-soccer-team-before-ever-playing-a-match/

From Texas Monthly magazine. Article is from March but still a good read and insight as to how the Austin FC front office has moved quickly to market their new team around Austin and as well sell their brand to people in town that are not only new to soccer but sports in general.

Then there is this from a former FC Dallas fanboy who bailed on the team as a season ticket holder for years to go all in for Austin.

Texas soccer has been especially dismal in recent seasons, which heightens the possibility of fans defecting from other clubs to Austin FC. One of them is Chris Murphy, 52, who grew up in Dallas and now lives in Leander. For years, he had season tickets to FC Dallas matches; in 2005, he even got a tattoo of the club’s crest on his upper arm. But last week, he had the tattoo covered up with a brand-new Austin FC logo. “I decided I couldn’t not support the local team,” says Murphy

 

To be fair, I'm going to have a hard time driving by a new stadium with a new team that's trying to win and then going another 4 hours to watch the Dynamo. Especially after they spit the bit again in June.

 

Every man can indeed have a mistress club inside the beautiful game.
I mean you have your wife, the local team a man loves....and then a side gal. Esta bien!
Perhaps not a side gal in the very same domestic league however. That is what I found funny from the FC Southern Oklahoma fanboy from above.

 

I can't even try to like FCD. Especially not to the point of a tattoo.

 

Austin’s ticket policy may somehow be worse than the Dynamo, at least in terms of their Covid language

https://www.austinfc.com/ticketpolicyandwaiver

 

Huh, has MLS condemned this because of this was an African American player they’d probably cancel every game this weekend in protest

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/20...-soccer-goalie-luca-lewis-demand-know-jewish/

 

New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luca Lewis, 20, was accosted by a group of knife wielding Palestinians in New York City Thursday night, according to an Instagram post on Lewis’ account. Lewis says the Palestinians demanded to know is he is Jewish. Seeing that they had knives pulled on him, Lewis said no and was not stabbed. When Lewis asked what would happen if he said he is Jewish, one of the Palestinians said, “I’ll beat the f***ing s*** out you and kill you.”

 

It appears that our man Ramirez is on the radar or Scottish Prem club Aberdeen:

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/f...ng-us-striker-christian-ramirez-to-pittodrie/

 

✅ $260M stadium
✅ $45M training facility

When is #AustinFC going to spend the money on players that this fanbase and city deserve? Injuries be damned, the quality just isn’t there right now.https://t.co/zitKRK1oJj

— Chris Bils (@ChrisBils) July 23, 2021

Once they’re done milking us 🤝 can’t wait!

— WeAreAustinTV (@WeAreAustinTV) July 23, 2021

Respectfully, fans have paid a lot and put in a lot of time to watch a team not using its resources. There’s a lot to like about this build, but up close it could be better.

— Chris Bils (@ChrisBils) July 23, 2021

✅$260M stadium
✅$45M training facility
💔2nd lowest salary spend in MLS

— Mark Bay (@mchbay) July 23, 2021

Interesting narrative developing down 290

 

Let's just fold all three Texas teams into a "Texas United" We will then have it play in neutral ground on a home stadium rotation in College Station, Temple and Waco.

The Austin comment I think is premature. There's something to be said about running out a cheapo team and using that as a guide to decide where you want to splash cash in the succeeding transfer windows. Way too soon for them to express unease. That said, they may have to come to terms with the fact that they will never be a big spending team, just like us and Frisco.

 

It's amazing how short sighted and impatient people can be. It's literally their first year, good God! I think Houston will get an NHL franchise soon, the same thing will happen here. Tons of initial excitement and then panic and complaint when there is no Stanley Cup. Things take time, and there is only 1 Cup and everyone is chasing it.

 

Waco *vomits*

The key difference is that Austin’s fanbase is definitely not paying a Frisco or Houston cost for their tickets. That could work out for them as the only pro team, especially once UT football starts going 4-8 in the SEC every year, But realistically if they stay on the cheap path that stadium will empty out in 2 years.

 

people don’t see LAFC, Atlanta United and Vegas Golden Knights as the exceptions not the rules.

 

And only 1 of those teams have a Cup.

 

fair but you can’t deny those teams hit extremely above average for expansion teams.

 

There's nothing wrong per se to be vocal about wanting a higher payroll as a fanbase. Healthy pressure and all that. Given that some of the more passionate Austin area soccer fans I assume may have had an interest in FC Dallas or the Dynamo pre-Austin, they might just be a tad bit more jaded regarding spending than others.

Although if any Austin fans thought they were going to compete with the deep pocket teams in the league in spending, I'd say they were delusional. Totally justified, as it is here, to ask that you at least spend around the league median in payroll though.

 

Austin people are cute like this. Demanding the Moon from their city's very first run at Tier 1 pro sports in our nation in less than 6 months into their very first season.

Every fan and supporter in MLS needs to know their owner/market size and where their club fits as well. Combine the vocal outcry and club dedication to winning.

This or having been to Houston Hurricanes FC and Houston Dynamo away matches in Austin over the past 20 seasons, their minor league teams had zero type of support that this new Austin FC set up is getting. So their local soccer junkies must have just been sitting on the sidelines for decades.

 

I agree with this, very hard to win in modern MLS if you don't spend or mess up your DP selections

You need at least one killer. Vela, Almiron, Giovinco, Ruidíaz, Zelerayán. You can put it off, but you’re not going to win shit in this league if you don’t spend (wisely) on DPs.

— Chris Bils (@ChrisBils) July 23, 2021

 

You can't get a cheap mortgage/secured bank debt on payroll. Its either an LOC or short-term debt to fund operations. This is where the deep pockets of ownership show. The old term before mortgages got dirt cheap) was called "house poor" - you had a nice house but it ate up so much of your income you couldn't furnish it properly and it became a burden. Not saying Austin FC is there but they clearly invested in the hard tangible assets to start. Seemed like they would be bigger spenders.

They have only 10 goals in 13 games and 5 of those came in first 3 games. Just can't score.

The lack of true competition in the pro sports space and the Austin-cool woke soccer fan factor probably extends their honeymoon out for a while longer. Lot more corporate types there now, much more than ever before. I do think some of that 18,000 season ticket waitlist is a bit artificial.