On October 16, the MLS world was caught off-guard when it was reported that Anthony Precourt, owner of the Columbus Crew, had intentions of moving the team to Austin in 2019, citing poor business metrics and a lack of a downtown stadium as reasons why.

The move prompted outrage from those within the city and the league. Signs with “#SaveTheCrew” were shown at almost every MLS Decision Day match. Many of the US Soccer media such as Grant Wahl, Taylor Twellman, and Stuart Holden have been critical of the move, asking that the MLS original team remain in Columbus.

In the middle of all the mayhem lies the MLS in Austin Supporter's Group, a group founded in 2013 to help educate and promote a potential MLS franchise in the city.

The shock across the league was also felt in Austin, a place that had thought an MLS team was out of reach.

"I for one was completely surprised," Zachary Christodoulides, member of the MLS in Austin supporter's group, said. I know Josh [Babeski, founder of MLS in Austin], I've been working with him at MLS to Austin for a really long time. When he posted that article back in February, I was like yeah, maybe. I did not think that would be the way we got our team."

Austin’s soccer history does not provide confidence that the relocation will be a home run. After the Austin Aztecs came to life in 2008 in the USL, they were relocated. The new team? Orlando City, which has now become a successful MLS side. They were brought back to life again in 2011, before folding in 2017 after a stadium issues derailed the team.

In summary, the Austin teams had relocated and dissolved. That shaky history had Christodoulides and others worried about the top league soccer future in Austin.

“It was a gut punch,” Christodoulides said. “When we lost that team, we didn't know what the future of soccer was in this city. We didn't know what was going to happen, we didn't know if we would ever get a professional team again. We just didn't know. We didn't have any answers. They left basically overnight. But like I said, it was the right move for them.”

There's a reason why Precourt and MLS have an infatuation for Austin. In a country where soccer seems to be loved by the youth, the city's population mainly falls in between the mid-twenties. The reputation around Texas is that Austin is the odd city out with slogans such as "Keep Austin Weird" and its high liberal population in such a conservative state.

“You look at soccer in this city and why I think Austin is a great market for it, is that we got the young population, but we’re also the biggest metropolitan area without a professional sports team,” Christodoulides said. “There’s definitely a need for that and I think that it’s something Austinites don’t need it [sports team] to be classified as a big city but I think it’s the first stepping stone for us. We have soccer fans in this city. We constantly rank high on the rating list for Premier League and World Cup matches. There’s just a lot of soccer fans here. We really want the team.”

The Aztecs didn't draw much in their minor league stints. In both of their stints, the team's highest average attendance was 3,733 in 2010.

“[Attendance] depends on a lot of things,” Christodoulides said. “PSV says this whole deal basically centers around a stadium. I think that’s an important issue that they have to get right. Marketing is a huge deal in Major League Soccer, so they're gonna have to spend money to make it work. There's no way around it. They might decide that Columbus is the option for them. You never know. Obviously, if that's the decision they make, we support them. They’re going to have to get a lot of things right.

Many liken Austin to Columbus, as both cities have major universities right in their backyard and that their sporting events are the main draw. Ohio State drew 107,278 fans for their football games, while UT had 97,881 show up in 2016. The concern is that football would be king, leaving soccer in the dust during the MLS season.

“It’s definitely true,” Christodoulides said. “UT is a big player in the Austin sports market. But at the same time, Austin is a pretty big city, and the closest thing we have to a professional sports team is the minor league baseball team, the Round Rock Express. I think it would be a huge step for this city if we could get a professional sports team in here.”

The attendance of the other two Texas teams has struggled. FC Dallas and Houston rank amongst the worst crowds in MLS even with their recently successful teams, as Dallas won the double last season and Houston clinched a playoff spot this past year. Houston has a downtown stadium while Dallas’ is located in the suburb of Frisco. Grant Wahl made note of this, asking the question of Austin if those two teams have struggled.

Here's the thing about moving Columbus to Austin: What evidence is there from the 2 current Texas MLS teams that decent crowds will come? — Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) October 27, 2017

“That’s the thing you gotta keep in mind, it is completely different,” Christodoulides said. “Austin is completely different from Dallas and it's completely different from Houston. If you look at the problems that Houston and Dallas have, they’re even completely different from each other. There’s nothing to say that a team in Austin wouldn’t be successful.”

MLS in Austin is not guaranteed. No deal has been set into place and the team may stay in Columbus. In that case, a USL side will arise in 2019, with a stadium being built at the Circuit of Americas. While it wouldn't be an MLS side, Christodoulides says the group would welcome the team and support them.

“We want to rally around soccer in Austin,” Christodoulides said. “We’ll take what we can get. This deal with Precourt and Columbus Crew is not a done deal yet. We know there’s a very real possibility that they decide that they can work things out in Columbus. We’d support them if that’s the decision they need to make. If if it’s the USL team that comes in 2019, that’s great, if Columbus relocates to Austin, that’s great too. We want local soccer in this city. It’s something we haven’t had in a few years now.”

It’s been a cautiously optimistic two weeks for the Austin supporters. It’s also been one met with anger from Columbus fans and from fans across the league. While the group is excited, it sympathizes with the Crew supporters, as they have been a victim of relocation once before as well. But by the look of things, MLS may be coming to Austin, and the group is preparing for that moment.

“We get it,” Christodoulides said. “Feel your feelings, be angry. Our heart goes out to the Columbus Crew. We’re not opposed to #SaveTheCrew message. Their mission statement says [to play] ideally Major League Soccer,”

“We are pro-Austin, not anti-Columbus.”

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3rd Degree is an independent FC Dallas blog. Founded in 1997, 3rd Degree has been in partnership with the Dallas Morning News since 2012. You can always find us at www.3rddegree.net and follow us on Twitter @3rdDegreeNet.