The Aztexan

We interrupt this blog's regular programming for a public service announcement. This announcement is nothing new to Aztex fans or regular readers, but they may want to bookmark the permalink and share it with anyone who needs it.

On the other hand, if you've been pointed to this page by someone, that means you blew it. You messed up. You screwed the pooch.

But it's okay. Mistakes happen; we're all human. It's a learning experience. That's what this post is for.

It's simple, really:



Some examples:

WRONG: Aztecs

RIGHT: Aztex

Easy, no?

Just remember: the Aztex are not from 1970s Los Angeles. They're not a youth club from Massachusetts or San Diego. They're also not indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of the 14th, 15th or 16th centuries.

Nothing against any of those folks, but the Austin Aztex are the pro soccer club of Austin, Texas. TEXAS. TEX. AZ-TEX. Aztex.

Thanks for your time, and have a great day.

Labels: media

We have some noticeable improvement to show off this week: paint! And with boards over the doors and windows, perhaps there's more work going on inside, too. You may also notice that Spring is springing in the trees in the background.

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

I missed this preseason exhibition game, though I followed the game live via the new Chantico's Army live-tweet account, @Aztex_MatchCast. Sadly, the Houston Dynamo have won the inaugural battle for the "coveted" Roadkill Cup. Here's a quick rundown of post-match coverage:

• Pre-season Friendly - Aztex 0, Dynamo 1 — Chantico's Army
  

  The Aztex came out a completely different team than what the fans last saw. Not only were the new faces so numerous we had difficulty tracking them, but the style of play was much different. Ball management had been an issue for many fans last season. Numerous were the times that we saw the Aztex fight to win the ball, only to turn it over on a sloppy pass to their teammates. Instead, on Sunday night, we saw clean plays followed by beautiful distribution. Some real highlights for me were Jay Needham, Eddie Johnson, Jamie Watson, Miguel Gallardo and Lawrence Olum.



• Aztex fall 1-0 in second preseason game — Austin American-Statesman
  

  Geoff Cameron's 84th-minute goal, three minutes after he came on as a substitute for the Major League Soccer's Dynamo, was the impetus for more scoring opportunities in the final six minutes . Austin had four clear scoring chances in the final minutes and Houston had one.
  
  . . . the Aztex are still looking for seven or eight players to fill out the team . Six new, unsigned players were on Sunday's roster hoping to make the team.
  
  "We looked a little fitter," Heath said, "we've been working hard and we're not as sharp as I'd like but I thought we were well organized and disciplined."



• Dynamo clip Aztex at the finish, 1-0 — AustinAztex.com
  

  Austin went on the attack all game long, firing off seven shots and earning six corner kicks against Houston, but were unable to put a tally on the board to earn a second-straight tie against its MLS foes.
  
  The Aztex started the match on the offensive and kept the gas pedal on for much of the match with their first real opportunity coming in the 16th minute when Yordany Alvarez placed a free kick just inches out of reach for Jay Needham to send it home. Later in the half, Sullivan Silva and and Eddie Johnson joined in the act, each booting shots on net, but Dynamo keeper Tally Hall was able to save them both from danger.



• Austin Aztex vs Houston Dynamo [photos] — LaVida Studios

Rumors persist that additional pre-season games will pop up; I'll be sure to let you know if those come true. Until they do, however, the next Aztex match will be the first regular-season game, here at House Park on Sunday, April 11, against the Montreal Impact.

Labels: exhibition, postgame, USL-1

This is it . . . almost. It's not quite the real season, and it won't be at the real Aztex home stadium, but it will definitely be the best pro soccer to be found in Austin — no, in all of Texas — this weekend.

Come on out to Nelson Field this Sunday, March 14, at 5:00 PM for one final farewell match at last year's ground. The Houston Dynamo are coming to town for the second leg of the Roadkill Cup (as I'm hoping it comes to be called).

Last weekend was the first game, in Houston. It ended up a 1-1 draw, even though the orange team scored both goals (oops, better practice those back-passes, Tally). Although I attended the game, I shirked my post-game reporting duties. You can get some post-match info from Chantico's Army, the Aztex site or MyDynamo.net.

Why the shirking? I've been in crunch mode on an another soccer/web project. It's not quite ready for prime time, but you'll hear more than enough about it soon (I hope). In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep up with Aztex happenings here.

Much to my dismay, I'll be out of town and miss Sunday's game. But you shouldn't! The weather should be great (60s or 70s) and the game should be good (the Red & White have had twice as much practice time as they'd had before last week's game). I haven't heard whether many Dynamo fans are coming over, but one would think lots of them would jump at the chance to come to Austin (or, more to the point, escape Houston).

So get some tickets ($20 adults, $15 kids), meet up with Chantico's Army at The Nomad about an hour before the game (this game's at Nelson, remember!) and have a blast. Kickoff is at 5:00 PM.

And one last reminder: this weekend is the world premier at SXSW of the soccer documentary Pelada. The first showing is Sunday night at 7:15, with another on Monday at noon and a third next Friday at 3:30 PM (schedule).

Let the year of soccer begin!

Labels: exhibition, gameday, MLS, USL-1

If you look closely — if you really study this week's picture, and compare it to last week's — you'll see absolutely no difference whatsoever. They must just be working on the inside now, that's all!

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

Another week closer to opening day, another picture of the future Aztex locker rooms. Definitely a roof on that thing now!

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

I'm a day late, but here's another sunny picture of the House Park construction site. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I see a roof!

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

We also had news about House Park this week, via Phil Rawlins' interview on KOOP's Futbol en Vivo (get the MP3 from ChanticosArmy.com or subscribe to the weekly show's podcast in iTunes): all regular season Aztex games will be played at House Park, from the very first! (The March 14 exhibition against the Dynamo will still be at Nelson Field.)

Phil didn't elaborate on whether construction is guaranteed to be done by the start of the season, or if there is some backup plan that will let them play there regardless. Either way, this is great news. It's widely agreed that House Park will be a better home to the Aztex, and the less mid-season moving around there is, the easier and more effective marketing can be.

Labels: stadium

When I first wrote about this documentary project almost a year ago, it had the working title, "Footplay". At the time, it was still a work in progress, waiting for post-production and finishing.

Now it's finished, titled "Pelada", and scheduled to be premiered in March at Austin's own SXSW Film festival.

Here's the description from the film's website:

Two players. 25 countries. One game.

Away from professional stadiums, bright lights, and manicured fields, there’s another side of soccer. Tucked away on alleys, side streets, and concrete courts, people play in improvised games. Every country has a different word for it. In the United States, we call it “pick-up soccer.” In Trinidad, it's "taking a sweat." In England, it's "having a kick-about." In Brazil, the word is “pelada,” which literally means "naked"—the game stripped down to its core. It’s the version of the game played by anyone, anywhere—and it’s a window into lives all around the world.

Pelada is a documentary following Luke and Gwendolyn, two former college soccer stars who didn’t quite make it to the pros. Not ready for it to be over, they take off, chasing the game. From prisoners in Bolivia to moonshine brewers in Kenya, from freestylers in China to women who play in hijab in Iran, Pelada is the story of the people who play.

They're not kidding about the globe-spanning scope of this movie. Some of the locales you'll see in the film (and in the trailer below): Ghana, Uruguay, Iran, France, South Africa, Brazil, Hungary, Kenya, Bolivia, Togo, Argentina, Egypt, China and Peru.

Sports Illustrated columnist and "The Beckham Experiment" author Grant Wahl has this to say about the film:

But what elevates Pelada from a cute highlight travelogue to something more resonant is the filmmakers' ability to find compelling stories and earn the trust of their interview subjects. "Once you play a game with someone, interview doesn't seem like the appropriate word," says [Gwendolyn] Oxenham. "There's this level of intimacy that you don't get if you don't play soccer. Every place we went, you're then invited into their homes. Everyone's mother wants to cook for you."

"[Playing soccer] would change the situation from being an outsider having an interview with them to having a conversation with a friend," adds [Luke] Boughen.

The result is a film that combines eye-popping cinematography (by co-directors Rebekah Fergusson and Ryan White) with human stories: the dreams of a teenage Brazilian girl nicknamed Ronaldinha; a lunchtime kickabout among workers building the Cape Town World Cup stadium; and an Italian writer who pens love poems to the sport. A tense game between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem reveals the benefits (and very real challenges) that come with the sport.

I hope it won't be long before this movie gets wider distribution and returns to town in "regular" theaters. For now, don't miss your chance to catch it during SXSW. As the schedule shows, it's playing on March 14, 15 and 19. (I'm personally thrilled about the third showing; I'll be out of town earlier that week and will miss the first two.) Having a SXSW pass isn't required to see the film, though it is first-come, first-served. If you're lucky, you might even make an evening of it on the 14th, after the Aztex-Dynamo pre-season match.

One last nice note about the production, from Wahl's article:

Yet being accepted into a major film festival isn't the only news for Oxenham and Boughen. After crisscrossing the globe together, they're getting married in June. Part of their honeymoon may involve a screening of Pelada in Cape Town during the World Cup.

Labels: internacional, media

A bright, sunny day at the House Park construction site, but not a lot of visible change to the new locker rooms:

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

Ticket sales were announced this week for the first game of Aztex's 2010 campaign: a home exhibition against MLS' Houston Dynamo on March 14.

“We are delighted to be playing Houston again this season,” said Aztex head coach Adrian Heath. “Last year’s game against the Dynamo was one of the highlights of the year. We know we will be playing one of the favorites for the MLS title so it will be a great game for soccer. Fans in Austin can come and watch top level players, some of whom will be playing for the United States in the upcoming World Cup.”

This date is a slight reschedule from an earlier date that was announced. Unfortunately the new House Park locker rooms won't be finished in time for this game, so it will be held at last year's stadium: Nelson Field. Tickets are $20 ($15 for children, under 5 free).

The Houston games last year (a preseason draw and a U.S. Open Cup loss) were great, and this one should be just as good. The number of orange-clad fans that make the drive over is really impressive. Sadly, due to a mixup in which I wasn't personally consulted about all game dates, I'll be out of town, and will miss it.

On a related note, the full 2010 USSF Division 2 schedule was finally released. The first league game will see Austin host the Montreal Impact on April 11. The first few home games are also scheduled at Nelson Field, while we await completion of the House Park locker rooms. Additional details will continue to come out, but here is my copy of the 2010 schedule/scorecard. I can't wait to start filling it out with "W"s!

Labels: exhibition, MLS, USL-1

More wet and cold weather is coming, which is never good news for construction projects. I grabbed this picture before the sleet started today. A little progress is visible since last week (note the rafter-looking poles sticking out):

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium