Right now, Austin does not have an MLS team. It doesn’t yet have a stadium, any players, a coach or anything you might associate with a soccer club. It does, however, have a shield, a color scheme and a name. An Austin MLS logo was unveiled at a gathering of about 300 fans on Wednesday evening in Austin, an event attended by Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt.
The Austin MLS logo is black with “Austin” written in white lettering above a green tree with FC in green letters. As the shield suggests, the team will be named Austin FC, though the club said it’s open to the possibility of adding a mascot and nickname.
In a city of legends, something new is rising. It’s time for #MLS2ATX to #GrowTheLegend… pic.twitter.com/wma9fYUKIu
— MLS2ATX (@mls2atx) August 23, 2018
While the unveil trailer gives some background before devolving into a cliché Game of Thrones appearance to actually show off the new logo, the shield needs some explanation, similar to Miami's logo.
The trees on the Austin MLS logo are representative of the live oak, a prominent tree in central Texas, particularly Austin. If you take the time to count, there are 11 leaves on the trees — yes, there are two trees — representing of course the 11 players on the pitch.
Here’s a full rundown of the symbolism in the logo.
It’s a badge for all of Austin. #MLS2ATX #GrowTheLegend #CultivaLaLeyenda pic.twitter.com/MELEuSEd20
— MLS2ATX (@mls2atx) August 23, 2018
Austin FC would be the third green-flavored team in MLS after Seattle and Portland. The bold green in the logo is more reminiscent of the Timbers, who may cherish an opportunity to metaphorically chop down the new Texas club.
Of course, Austin couldn’t go for yellow, because that’d be too mean to steal a team and a color. Orange, blue and red were off the table as well as the colors of the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas. Maroon wasn't an option because that’s the color of the rival to the University of Texas at Austin, the far superior Texas A&M.*
So in reality, green was just about the only color available for the Austin MLS logo, although pink would’ve been a unique way to garner interest.
But all of this is for a club that may not ever actually have a franchise.
Austin is attempting to pry the Columbus Crew from Ohio because apparently that’s the MO for Texas cities trying to gain MLS franchises after Houston stole the original version of the Earthquakes. Precourt tells Columbus he wants to make things work in Ohio but turns around and celebrates a vote approving a term sheet for a new soccer-specific stadium in Austin.
“A momentous step forward was taken with the successful outcome of city council’s vote on Aug. 15, and the opportunity to share the brand with supporters in Austin represents yet another step forward,” Precourt said Wednesday in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman.
But Columbus isn’t giving up, with politicians vowing to fight to #SaveTheCrew. State law could require Precourt to allow local investors to take over the club — and Mark Wahlberg of all people mentioned the possibility of him buying the team.
So for now Austin has a logo but no team while Columbus has a team but no future.
* — Superior as determined by an in-depth investigation by the author of this article, who may or may not be a Texas A&M graduate, not that that’s relevant at all.
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