Anthony Precourt and Crew leadership are pushing a narrative that Columbus is a market that doesn’t work for Major League Soccer.

They have said that Columbus corporations haven’t been sufficiently supportive, and that the community hasn’t supported the team enough.

Governor John Kasich added to this, with his opinion that the team “hasn’t created the spark” in Columbus.

Crew supporters have pointed out the lack of marketing of the team since Precourt purchased it, as well as his lack of overtures to the Columbus corporate community.

There’s clear evidence that an MLS team should work in Columbus, even apart from the historical support the Crew have enjoyed from the community. That evidence is the massive amount of Premier League soccer that is watched on television in Columbus.

We watch more Premier League soccer in Columbus than is watched just about anywhere else in America.

Here are the nationwide rankings of which cities watch the most Premier League soccer (numbers are from NBC):

2015: 3 – Columbus

2016: 5. Columbus

2017: 4. (tie) Columbus

So now the question that should be asked:

How does an MLS owner fail when handed a market with this kind of hunger for soccer?

Sources: 2015, 2016, 2017