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Austin grew up Saturday night. At least professionally, Austin came of age. This city has joined the ranks of Dallas and Houston and Los Angeles and New York City and everything in between and finally has a pro major league sports franchise to call its own. In fact, this has been said for more than two months. Austin FC had already played eight games, but everyone was on their way until this fledgling Major League Soccer expansion team got home on Saturday night. And what a home it has. In the stunning, state-of-the-art Q2 Stadium, Austin FC met a hearty, physical club of the San Jose Earthquakes for the first time and, frankly, put on a show. That night was just as important for what was going on in the stands as it was on the beautiful, off-pitch pitch. Make no mistake, this was an event. Actually a spectacle. The hum was undeniable. This opportunity took a side of Mardi Gras and featured everything from unique Austin food and music and entertainment to raw energy that never faded. And for the rest of this year it will be a happening place. And maybe the next 25 years. From the moment the Austin FC team arrived on two buses and from members of the La Murga team band to co-owner Matthew McConaughey, completely pounding on the world’s largest bongo drum until the last few seconds in a green suit Another goalless tie was showered with confetti, and it was clear that this was no ordinary evening in Austin. Yes, Austin FC again failed to score. Hey, you can’t have it all. “This should have proven to be one of the most important phases in Austin’s sports history,” said team president Andy Loughnane. “The first ever US competition with the women’s national team on Wednesday and a world-class stadium and our first home game. It’s been a great time. ”It really did. Oh, Austin has seen great events. It has hosted the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament for five years. The Legends of Golf at Onion Creek spawned the Senior PGA Tour. A Davis Cup was held here. The city has its share of major events. Just as Memorial Stadium on Forty Acres was christened in 1924, just as Cliff Gustafson’s Longhorn baseball team swept St. Mary’s in one double blow at the posh new Disch-Falk Field in February 1975, just like the later named Frank Erwin Center Opened two years later, in 1977, with a win against OU, the unveiling of the stunningly beautiful Q2 stadium was also a truly significant event in the city’s sports history. “I always believed it would come,” said Anthony Precourt, majority owner of Austin FC, on Saturday afternoon after a festive dinner for 200 people at Easy Tiger. “It’s proof that positive dreams come true. We’ve had this vision for years and it’s going to be a great day. ”It was. Louisa Flores proudly waved her self-made green and black flag when the 30-year-old former restaurant owner was so euphoric about the event that “I could literally cry”. Her friend Luis Maldonado, who is slated for a place in the fan section, said: “It’s all just beautiful. The support is outrageous, the passion is there. ”The Q2 stadium was clearly a place to be seen. And to be heard. Trust me on this. The crowded house at the $ 260 million dig, more than 20,738 people tall – and loud – puffy with rugged pride and unbridled enthusiasm, let its voices be heard as they greeted them with their beers and their tacos and brisket sandwiches first professional sports team raised to ever grace our city limits. “It was incredible,” said midfielder Diego Fagundez, who headed close to a cross in the first half. “When I was out there, I got chills. I’m sad we go with a tie, but that’s just the beginning. We’re going to make this a fortress and no one is going to want to play us here. “Everyone who was anyone was here, except the governor of our state who was busy building a wall somewhere. McConaughey was in one of … those 27 luxury boxes. Gregg Berhalter, coach of the US men’s national team, was watching from Precourt’s box. Chris Lehman from New Braunfels was barely watching in his wild green wig, complete with Elvis Presley sunglasses and green felt sideburns on the frames overlooked “Ever since I knew Austin or San Antonio looked like they were going to get a soccer team, I’ve wanted to be there,” said Lehman, a 38-year-old IT project manager at Texas State. “Justin (Brooks) and I’m part Oak Army New Braunfels. We’re all about promoting the soccer team. Elvis would have been here tonight if he were still alive. Dozens of them poured into the Verde store, a two-story store full of Austin FC merchandise from specialty T-shirts with artist renders like Chris Rogers’ cool artwork of an oak tree outlined by a spotlight to the best-selling $ 150 primary Rogers also has the Whispers of the Heart mural “made that adorns the wall at the northeast gate. Hell, you can even buy a foosball table in Austin FC colors that Yeto will upgrade for you. Balls included. Every other person appeared to be wearing some form of green and black. Since it opened on April 1, they have been flocking to the store to buy gear. “It actually met our expectations,” said Meg Lindon, a New York-based transplant senior marketing manager: “Since we opened, we’ve had an average of around 500 fans a day.” There were countless food courts, none more popular than Valentinas Tex-Mex BBQ, where 42 guests lined up two hours before the game. Hell, there was even a little booth under the Westside bleachers where you could sign up for post-game vaccinations. “We’ve long believed Austin was the biggest untapped sports market in the country,” Precourt said. “It’s also the hottest sports market. The support has exceeded our wildest dreams.” And that is just the beginning. We’re still building the legend. ”This was just as big as the day Ricky Williams broke Tony Dorsett’s NCAA career record with a 259-yard tag against the 2018 Aggies, of all things, when Longhorn fans turned on their cell phone flashlights and jam to Journeys “Can’t Stop Believin ‘”. Saturday night competed with so many of those electric nights at Royal-Memorial Field during a winning streak of 30 games and at Disch-Falk Field, including last weekend’s heartbreaking victories against South Florida, for the stage for the College World Series kick-off on Sunday night to prepare Mississippi State. But now the Longhorns have some competition. We don’t yet know how hard. No rival for history and tradition. Austin FC has a long way to go to approach this status. But regarding the entertainment dollar and the “I’m looking forward to the city of Austin,” Texas sports director Chris Del Conte said from Omaha on Saturday. “They are great partners for our city. It’s a big” day tonight, but I don’t see them as competition. I see these things as additions to our great city. Also, most of their season is summer. We’re in Texas and this fall is football season. ”Of course, a home straight with 16 of Austin FC’s last 25 games could get the game’s attention, especially if the club ever scores again. It was their fifth Knocked out in nine games but had plenty of options. “It shouldn’t be,” said Austin FC coach Josh Wolff. “But I think Q2 is extraordinary. The fans, the community, the energy are all impressive. It has reached many heights. This city has a fever for” Austin FC. “Austin and Austin FC became a kind of lover on Saturday night, bonded in a passionate embrace that only gets stronger. And it is a marriage of convenience for those who did not grow up in central Texas and who are not part of the Longhorn fan base, its 600,000 living alumni. I’m not sure if this is a union that will ever be dissolved, but it is in the early stages of the romance. “UT is a longstanding institution in this community, and they are a remarkable community asset,” Loughnane said. “You run one of the most successful institutions and sports programs, and we admire all of your strengths and achievements.” That being said, Austin FC will be pulling some entertainment money and media attention away from Texas, which is fine with many who have immigrated here from other parts of the country and brought no allegiance to the burnt orange. In some ways, Austin FC results may be far less critical to success than the scoreboards in Texas Longhorn Stadiums. You can only market Bevo Boulevard until the fans yell to beat the Sooners. At Austin FC, fans only experience a release of pent-up emotions after starving for professional sport, and initial expectations of the team are modest for a team that is 2-4-3 traveling to Minnesota for a Wednesday game. Austin FC put the finishing touches on Friday, training its nearly 1,000 employees how to line up at the stadium and checking all the boxes. Always busy. “I have vacation plans for 2029,” said 47-year-old Loughnane. “I have decided to do that.” A lot to do until then. Sponsor signs were everywhere as more than 50 sponsors announced their approval of the city’s new big deal. Some MLS teams could reach 20 if they are lucky. This is a franchise that sold 15,500 season tickets from November 2019 to the end of May. But a staggering number of nearly 22,000 remains on a waiting list. This is a paid waiting list. Each prospect must pay an initial fee of $ 50. The dynamic Atlanta United FC, born seven years ago and already one of the flag bearers in the MLS, counted as a reference point, almost 25,000 seats under a deposit in around three months before the actual sale of its first season tickets. Austin FC had 30,000 season ticket requests on deposits in a 24 hour period. “We saw a strong appetite for MLS in Austin,” said Loughnane. I would say. And Saturday was just a start. Four of the next five games will also take place at the new Holler House, which is Q2, and it will likely become a place where memories are sparked and Austin just got a little bigger.
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