The Columbus Crew Rebrand Update W/ The Nordecke

[00:00:00] Rudy is not a non-time person. That is Man true words have never been spoken. So Welcome to the Onlyincbus podcast, but this special edition with under construction. That's right. If you're If you have years you've seen this last couple weeks of the Columbus Crew

[00:00:17] The Columbus SC the crew the Columbus the go-lumbus crew go-lumbus go-go go-lumbus You get the point there's been a there was a rebrand and there is a very confusing rebrand

[00:00:28] We'll say that yes, I am a passionate crew supporter as is Rudy so I'm also passionate about the city Yeah, and go back and listen to the Save the Crew podcast if you don't know the story of the Save the Crew

[00:00:38] We went through some shit and it was it was tough But we came out on top and we had a team that we won that musk up So this that just made this even more confusing for sure. We had Jeff Barger

[00:00:49] Yes, the communications director for the Nordecca. He came in they reached out They they sat down with the ownership group. Yes I'm not gonna give too much away. This was a crazy conversation crazy situation just the whole thing and he release the reaction

[00:01:05] Then then the reconciliation all of it the timeline of what happened and how it happened and what the response was and how to feel going forward Yes, so I'll leave it at that. This is good. This is a crazy episode

[00:01:16] It's something I'm very passionate about and I feel like I got some result resolve resolution there was I feel like it I'm okay If it's all about me But enjoy the episode if you're looking for office space now that we're coming out of this pandemic finally June 2nd

[00:01:34] Is the official if you've been vaccinated no more masks. That's right We could go win five million dollars apparently and we're gonna the circus is just all gonna win money Yeah, apparently and then give it all back in Texas

[00:01:46] Yeah, but if you're looking for office space now with everyone coming back out I've partnered with industrious downtown. Oh, and This is the perfect setup. I literally I don't I don't endorse things that I don't use

[00:01:59] I don't endorse things that I don't like like I will never tell you to go eat seafood because that shit's gross That's right, but the opposite of seafood is industrious and the experience here and I was just agreeing. That's what you do

[00:02:10] I wasn't agreeing. No, I got you to agree that seafoods gross Rudy's over there snacking they got snacks drinks space It's The view is the view is you can't see the view but if you're looking for space hit them up

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[00:02:49] That is here as well the I'll just say this also the space is gorgeous It's not just it's not just the views are gorgeous, which they're all gorgeous because it's all yeah It is like sunset right now like sunset. I really can't it's really but anyways

[00:03:01] I'm rambling check them out. Yeah telling me sent you or don't I don't care. Just cuz just get in here It's awesome. It's good. This episode is Maybe one of the best we've had I would say so enjoy it Tell your friends

[00:03:17] Let us know what you think like I said it was a very confusing situation, but I feel like we figured it out So enjoy this episode Thanks again for coming on Jeff you're a swell guy in all Absolutely. All right. Enjoy

[00:03:36] We got a bit of a hard hybrid today hybrid Yeah, we got the other construction podcast and the only in C bus podcast coming together Because this is a let's be honest

[00:03:48] This is a massive issue in both of our lives, but also in the city correct and I'm excited to get to the bottom of this I've been getting blown up with questions about the crews or a Columbus SC Brand reimagination

[00:04:01] So many things we're gonna dive into it though. We have Jeff Barger The communications director from the Nordeka. That's right which for any of you who are stuges and don't watch American soccer that is the supporters section of the north

[00:04:15] Deck of the stadium, but they are the hardcore drummers Chanters and basically the the life and soul of this the supporters group of the of the Columbus crew I heard I read somewhere and when I read things I typically accept them as facts

[00:04:31] Yes, I read somewhere. It's the greatest supporter group in all of the earth. I've been hearing that too. I heard that I think I heard that as well

[00:04:39] Yeah, but a big real big facts podcast this but this but this last couple weeks have not been so great for Us or the city or names or logos names or So yeah graphic design what I so before we just show everything

[00:04:52] I want to really like give you a chance to kind of introduce what's going on in your experience This I'm hearing all this for the first time too. We saved it for this

[00:04:58] So I'm excited just as any listener to hear, you know, what's been going on man? Yeah, so it's been a crazy couple of weeks So, you know they came out with the initial rebrand. Yeah, the new rebrand. Yes, and the

[00:05:12] Nordeka has a board that's elected every year and the board was brought in to see that on Friday and that meeting Went about as well as you could expect

[00:05:22] Would you would you use the word poorly? Yes, okay. It went poorly aggressively poorly. Oh, this was this was the beginning the first meeting yeah, and That went really bad. I think it's the worst meeting I've ever been to my entire life and

[00:05:39] You know, we knew it was gonna go bad. It just went terrible Have they given you a sneak peek before the meeting? so I was one of two people that got a sneak peek before the meeting and

[00:05:49] We were under NDAs weren't allowed to tell anyone we weren't even allowed to tell the rest of the board I lobbied to be able to do that was told now And I had written a report that was like essentially like this is gonna go really really bad

[00:06:02] I think the word I use was catastrophic. You gave them a heads up. Yeah Yeah, you get up in there and and it just You know that report went where it went and so we went into the meeting on Friday

[00:06:15] And it the meeting went the way that I thought it was gonna go. Yeah, it was traffic. Yeah We left and immediately began planning like okay, what are we gonna do when this thing goes live? Like what is this gonna look like?

[00:06:29] The next day it starts leaking onto social media and everything like that that wasn't us There's been some people like there was like well that was you guys were like nope We were we were good

[00:06:39] But we knew it was gonna leak because the minute they told the press and the rest of the front office They were there was a lot of pushback

[00:06:46] So pretty quickly that blew up and it leaked everybody found out what it was dr. Pete went on TV and confirmed it and Their reaction was what we thought it was gonna be You know I saw you mean the like the the public's reception. Oh, yeah

[00:06:59] Yeah, yeah when when so just to back up just just a half step You know well when you're you're having the meeting, you know You know because we all know how it's going right now, right?

[00:07:10] So this is this is coming out sort of after we know where it is right now But but in that in that was that was the was the meeting, you know more about Hey We weren't Consulted and that's the hardest thing to swallow or was it?

[00:07:27] You made the letter G inside of a yellow flag What was it or was it just a combination of the two or was it was it more like you didn't consult us? And this is not anywhere where we think the fan base before before we dive too deep

[00:07:40] I do want to have a disclaimer. I kind of forget to mention the beginning We are both massive crew fans and have been since day one huge. I love this team every single player

[00:07:49] I love every game I've been to I love like I just love it to the core They have also been very good to us very we went to MLS Cup for free like on there

[00:07:57] They gave us tickets so there is a there is a working relationship between the two of us So none of this is is like sponsored or fabricated in any way But I do also feel there I have very strong feelings towards what happened and how it happened

[00:08:10] So when we when we are bashing this I wanted to it's because we want to fix and maintain None of this is like just for the sake of clickbait or anything like that

[00:08:20] We absolutely support this team. We have to take it. So we are gonna be at the new state We are so I was fucking I was gonna buy that letter G Jersey. I was not you were not I was not

[00:08:31] But I was gonna get one on the internet But I just want to make it clear that there is no interest in this other than People who are passionate about the club the crew a lot of questions a lot of trying to figure out the bottom of why

[00:08:41] Yeah, we the designers in the city weren't used right, you know like if you're gonna redo it And I have quite well get to all that I just want to make sure at the beginning

[00:08:48] There's no motive behind this other than getting to the bottom of it and telling the story I think it's more more to establish that you know now that things are amended the way they are and we're very excited about that It's way more positive

[00:09:00] It's more of what you know, what was the tone going in and also please don't take our tickets away the next Plus season. I love you so much. I have paid for them. Please. Let me keep yeah So anyways back to where you were asking yeah, so

[00:09:12] The reaction the meaning was kind of everything So, you know being one of the few people that had the Then had seen it before I said like you know worst-case scenarios is that we for for the Nordic aboard

[00:09:21] But then for everyone and the crew community the worst-case scenario is is that this comes out or or at leaks and Everybody just feels like they get hit on the head with it. Yeah, you know, there's no response

[00:09:32] There's no transparency. It just boom and I was like and if that happens You're gonna see the most visceral reaction from the fan base possible because it's gonna be a purely emotional one Yep, sure sure and and that's what happened

[00:09:43] It was it was it was just it wasn't that it was any one thing it was that it was everything Okay, okay, that makes sense that makes sense. So that's it's heightened right so it's not one one point of light

[00:09:52] It's like a thousand points of light and that George Bush that me Yeah, the mean that meeting went poor satigery. Yeah, poor satigery that meeting went up and down Full me once and yeah, shame on They just keep going anyway, so we do like an hour of yeah

[00:10:09] but no it went up and down in terms of The stuff because you know people have their initial gut reaction their emotional reaction They calm down a minute. They started like trying to have like a productive conversation, right?

[00:10:21] Something would be said emotions come back up super high like it was just this up and down roller coaster of like What is happening right now? There was there was obviously emotion involved and people are like, well, you're getting so bummed about it

[00:10:34] Yeah, you know so I can see it's like shut up man Also the other thing besides people kept saying you got a new stadium and I'm like you don't just get to punch some in the face

[00:10:41] And then buy them a car, right? You know like that's not how that works Right, but I think like you said that's the biggest thing is how it was rolled out It was as if your family changed something on you didn't consult you and just said

[00:10:53] This is it now. Not like what do you think about this or this is what we're doing Here's why we're doing it and again It's a combo of just dropping it on your head like this is it yeah being confusing as hell

[00:11:03] There was three names in the one social media account and then as and then you had to start digging to figure out who did it Who who like I talked to some people some designer friends and they were like

[00:11:12] I just think that the new ownership wanted to pee on their thing and claim it theirs You know there was like that take and then it was like well who did it and I because I've worked with

[00:11:21] There's some awesome companies in Columbus. I was like who did it? And it was like some guy that we signed a deal with that like left adidas and he's in the UK

[00:11:28] So like what kind of then instantly my brain goes to like nepotism or some sort of backdoor, you know deal money-launder You know like it gets all crazy, but and then I talked to more people

[00:11:39] Peaky blinders episode. Yeah, and then I talked to more people and they're like yeah They use people in Seattle and Atlanta and Nash and I'm like why was the crew Columbus rebrand and we used nothing there

[00:11:48] So what was there? Did you guys get into that at all or what was it? We talked about a little bit and the crazy part is there's a there were a couple of entities that were in Columbus

[00:11:55] That were used and then there were people in house at the crew that were involved. Okay, okay? So that so that they well, you know some of these we've had these questions Yeah, yeah There was there was some like integration of the local stuff and then

[00:12:09] Like what I would say is that they they had some local people They're both in house and then and then locally that were brought in and they were kind of like okay

[00:12:16] Well, you guys will be our experts in the room and then we'll get these other people to be You know involved to do other parts of it and then what you had was you know Just you know a bad branding pitch designed by committee. Yeah, yeah

[00:12:29] And it's almost like you know part of part of the heightening swell of the tension Right is that that just before this, you know, you know, you know in the last two years There had been forged such a good partnership there had been forged such a good relationship

[00:12:45] There had been forged so much trust there had been forged all of these things that are really hard to get right at a club Especially with new owners that stuff is hard to get and you get that and you save it

[00:12:56] And you save it and you say and then you win MLS cup and then you win MLS cup and all of that And so this just seemed a Drastic step departure departure from what had been established with the Haslums with the ownership. Yeah

[00:13:09] I mean it was with dr. P It was the point where we were involved with launching the gray kit the new kit that came out And like, you know, we were like a controversial thing to do a non yellow kit

[00:13:19] Like and you know, they were like well the yellows coming back We're you know swapping out home and away and all this stuff and we're like great cool, you know, I like the great kit I'm just great kids fun. Yeah, and we saw it. We're like, okay

[00:13:29] This looks cool and understanding the yellows coming back will help you guys with this We'll coordinate with it. So to go from that where we're we're Coordinating on that level about something that we know is gonna be a little bit of up in the air thing

[00:13:39] Sure to this we were just you know, we're like whoa, okay It feels it feels like an organization that's losing and trying to shake things up But we were at the top right so it doesn't make sense. That's what I'm saying

[00:13:51] It's like they're what that you blow up an organization when it's failing And not when you just had your biggest success What I'll say is that having and this is we'll get into the future meetings like the meeting that we had on Monday

[00:14:02] But like because that was very different than that Like that was night and day and also what happened in the week in between but You know, what I'll say is that having had chances talked to them

[00:14:13] I don't think there were any like real bad actors involved in this or nobody was maliciously trying to like You know blow the situation up or be like ask yeah, that would not make sense No it was what it was was just like people were trying to

[00:14:25] Figure out how to elevate the club the brand the marketing and they just got a bad pitch And then everybody in the room was like okay This makes sense and they kind of bought in and then like right and then like at some point

[00:14:36] There was nobody going like this is a really bad idea. Yeah until we were like this is a really Right that was another thing I was confused by is where where is the creative direction and the voice of reason within the

[00:14:46] In organization that big there has to be somebody in there. That was like That ain't it, you know, and how does we you know? How does this these people in other countries get involved and then it just makes this thing and no there's no one

[00:14:59] Qualified consultant that was the part that just made no sense So there has a meeting it goes as poorly as you predicted It goes as poorly as you wrote down going to go this poorly right and then everybody knows that and then that's been acknowledged by both sides

[00:15:12] And all that right and then of course there's the public outcry right then there's like then it leaks out Everybody sees it then dr. Pete goes on there if I do say so myself very solemnly and gives his pitch for the rebrand and

[00:15:28] We're getting Twitter accounts and Instagram accounts changing names very rapidly. We're getting lots of backlash We're getting you know fans Fans feeling like you are our people right so and even though it wasn't intended in this way. That's how it lands

[00:15:43] What happened who called who which which boyfriend called which girlfriend which how did that? How did the reconciliation happen? So We left that meeting and I mean I went home and got on my computer and while we're

[00:15:58] In the board like planning out like okay, here's what we're gonna do first like to strike back at this Because we're like well this is say the crew to like that's we were immediately aware of what was happening

[00:16:08] You know I sent an email to their marketing team and was like hey as soon as you guys are ready Like one. I'm sorry for how bad that meeting went like I'm gonna own that we you know could have been better on our end

[00:16:19] As soon as you guys are ready to talk you have my phone number call me like we'll make this work and They like will figure out how we go forward sure and

[00:16:27] Because like you know we want to support the club and like sure and like we're not gonna support dropping the name crew Like that's a non-negotiable, but like at some point the world is gonna have to get back to normal

[00:16:36] I've sort this out so you know call me when you're ready and You know a couple of days went by and I got a phone call From Steve Lyons at the club and then he was like hey

[00:16:49] You know ownership wants to talk will you guys will you guys talk? Like you know can we can we sit down around a table and talk about this and I was like yeah, we can we can sort that out

[00:17:00] I was like you know at this point because I think this was like Monday or Tuesday So it's after the everything's been confirmed. It's out there I was like we can't just be the Nordic aboard at this point

[00:17:09] Like we we need representatives from the entire crew community and sit down sure cuz like we consider ourselves Representative of the whole community like we don't believe that we just apply to the corner

[00:17:20] We try to represent everyone but at this point like yeah, no, we're gonna need everything So we went out and tried to get a group together to do that and while that was happening

[00:17:31] You know, I had conversations with with Lyons. We had conversations with with other people in the front office with ownership Basically being like look there's some hard line negotiables and non negotiables in here

[00:17:42] And and that you guys are gonna have to realize like if you want to come to the table and talk to us about it About stuff like this is gonna be the very first thing that gets brought up. Yeah, and and you know

[00:17:53] We told them that and and they were like we're listening we understand and you know We were kind of hopeful which is why I described going into that the meeting as cautiously optimistic is the tone. Yeah, yeah

[00:18:04] But at the same time there's a big difference between saying like hey Our billionaire owners need to recognize that they're gonna have to undo a certain portion of this to sit down with us And then thinking that they're actually

[00:18:16] Right well and this was the meeting that happened like two days ago, right? Yes So prior to that though, yeah, there was outcry and then there was a double down Yeah, they they they'd obviously already printed merch and went out

[00:18:26] But then like the sea goes up on a bunch of places stuff like that So that was like when I started getting frustrated. So I'm like go tea right. Yeah, you heard you go lumbus. Yeah Go go go lumbus. Yeah, why does it have a goatee?

[00:18:37] Yeah, but but you heard the outcry and then I know they had already booked these things But it felt as if they were like let's just keep going and ignore it see how we can do it Yeah, and that's that's why like I said

[00:18:50] Before this like going into that meeting there was some real concern that we were gonna end up like Montreal Like dropping the impact and it'd be gone forever dropping the crew and it's gone forever because

[00:18:59] Say what you want about it being a nickname, but like nicknames can change There's no contractual obligation to keep a nickname. Yeah, correct And so there was some real concern about that and I think the thing that concerned me the most was you know

[00:19:11] The G's the seas went up around Columbus Kosai and the Love Mural and then also You know we people were going by Historic Crew Stadium There was a small protest there, you know and and people were like the signage is up like it's it's there

[00:19:29] It's physically right the building. Yeah, and you know again just talking about logistics of stuff There was a whole thing like okay well Merch has been made but you know they have made a there are dollars spent

[00:19:41] 20-foot on the building. Yeah, right. So what's the likelihood they're like, okay? We'll take this 20 foot sign Yeah, sure. Yeah that and again that The conversations we were having were really positive immediately. They kind of were like yeah, we know we messed up

[00:19:57] How do we fix this that's really cool But like a lot of billionaire ownership groups don't do that right exactly So there was ours but ours did right exactly and so there was this really positive

[00:20:09] Momentum as soon as the outbreak happened, but then these other things kept happening and we're like Okay conflicting messages We want to trust you guys, but at the same time Sure sure. Yeah, so it was it was really a dicey thing

[00:20:25] And what I'll say is that everyone that was involved both that went to the meeting Monday And that was that was in Nordeca leadership and that was having these conversations

[00:20:33] Really did an amazing job like this was a whole communal thing to get us back to kind of the place right now Right including everybody on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram that was just ratioing every post into the ground

[00:20:48] Unbelievable. Yeah, because like you know to your point like a lot of billionaires would consider that it wouldn't but at the same time Like if they're not just getting ratioed into the ground like

[00:20:58] Does the math add up at a certain point? Like there's you know real metrics going on there So it was it wasn't just our supporters either like every MLS post about it was just it was out of control and former players

[00:21:10] You know current I mean current players probably contractually were obligated to not speak up But I'm pretty positive that they were not excited about that Was there any talk of going back to the circle is?

[00:21:22] infinitely better than what they currently have and it has the name has the 96 and it looks pretty cool You know like yeah, I want to go back to the hard hats. That's terrible the best terrible logo

[00:21:32] That's literally the worst logo. It's so fucking right. I am it is it is not it's better than this is where mom and dad are fighting It's better than it's better than what they made

[00:21:41] At least the people have goatees and not the letters the yeah, I'll give you that 100 But yeah, was there any it was like yeah, they walked it back a lot Why not just start again? You know, I think that there was a combination of

[00:21:53] Logistics there like there's only so much that they could do because like and Like getting again getting a little head But like this was one of the cooler parts of that meeting Monday is like they were like okay

[00:22:03] So are you guys on board with this and we're like we can get on board this? Yeah, we'll sign off and they're like okay great And then like JW picked up his phone walked over to the other side of the room and called Don Garber

[00:22:13] And was like this is happening and like they were waiting on us to sign off on it to get the go-ahead with the league But then the league had to sign off on it because yeah name in the crest of the club

[00:22:21] And so there was all these logistics that just started playing out wow I don't think about that. Yeah, they were like just playing out in real time Like well we're on the other side of the room still talking like you know

[00:22:31] Ownership and and the front office Bez and them are over there like calling the league and getting you know stuff together to actually make all this happen So like that was a really cool thing to watch happen and see like in real time

[00:22:44] So there were real time there were real logistics around it like that and I think they kept them from going backwards to

[00:22:49] The other thing and this is nothing they've told me it is things that I've heard just kind of being very involved with with the crew and the crew You know the Nordic leadership and being in the business community

[00:23:00] Is as much as we loved that crest for what it was on the pitch and for the team and you know Zack wore it and will war it and like saved the crew carried it and all that stuff

[00:23:09] It's also the thing that he who shall not be named, you know Yeah, that's that's what we assumed it was like the ping on it to make it our own

[00:23:17] It's I don't even know that it was that see that see things that I've heard and never from the front officer ownership or anything But was that like it's the badge that he wore into meetings with like

[00:23:26] Business partners and a right and when he tanked those relationships like Dr. Pete Then had to wear that same badge in to try to rebuild those relationships and at a certain point

[00:23:35] Oh, when are they like hey look just so you know like we we got an issue here Yeah, and I hear that but I feel like it's kind of a badge of honor at that point I'm like saving something versus like abandoning it

[00:23:46] But then I think of like the south and like the rebel flag right stuff And I like when things get associated Yeah, so is that would that be our rebel flag or is it like our you know, like we're not gonna yeah change the American flag because

[00:23:59] You know we did something wrong or what do you know? I mean? I don't know like we had a bad President so we changed the flag, you know whatever right but which we've thought about We tried that but nobody would answer

[00:24:10] You know a lot a lot of teams a lot of teams old much older teams than us right so so we're you know We're in the grand scheme of things even though we're the oldest MLS club

[00:24:21] We're actually a very young. Oh, yeah organization wise. Yeah, so you've got you've got clubs like you know, you've got Newcastle United right and and they're the magpies right and and and so but they got

[00:24:36] Renamed right and and you've got you've got Everton. You got the toffees, but they renamed right and so You know there is a there is it almost like a Social pressure if you will to dump the name crew and so give us you know

[00:24:53] I know we have our feelings about why we want to keep it But you know give us sort of like the pitch that you gave the pitch that you gave to sell

[00:25:00] When you go into this meeting to stay positive give us, you know your pitch on why keep the name crew So here's I'll give you the pitch we were ready to give and then I'll tell you why this is the craziest part of this entire experience Okay, so

[00:25:13] The pitch that we were ready to give was this is who we are This is our identity is we are the crew we saved the crew We've been the crew before Columbus was even a part of the name like this is who we are

[00:25:27] Heritage is our history as a club. It's who we are as a community right and and We want that to be synonymous with Columbus We want some Columbus to be synonymous with that but that doesn't mean downgrading or denigrating either one like that

[00:25:39] That means honoring both. Okay, it's also a dope name. Yeah. Yeah very true And so you know just from strictly from like a sports team Like all of this matters very much like what you're saying But just objectively it's a it's a cool name

[00:25:51] It's a cool name and and it fits into the American kind of like lexicon of sports Which is like as much as there's this trend and desire in American soccer to be like European soccer

[00:26:03] It's got to be different on a fundamental level because we're a little different on a fundamental level And so like culturally and so like there's there's that whole component too and so we

[00:26:13] We're ready to go in and give this whole pitch of like this is who we are. This is our identity This is this is why this matters and our heritage and go back to all through all of it so we went in and you know

[00:26:26] D and dr. P'd and JW were there from ownership They agreed everybody was to sit down and they said let let us start by you know Just taking you through where what we're thinking where we are and they own everything. They're like we messed up

[00:26:38] They're like they're like I didn't read your report Jeff until you know Monday, and I'm sorry I didn't I don't know what happened like they they owned all of it take Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. This is how you handle

[00:26:53] Good people well the episode's not over yet. So okay. They own it all yeah, they just you know boy That that's a tone-setter right there like we messed up and they're like so let's talk about I'm surprised by that Yeah

[00:27:06] What comes next and they had a real dialogue about the crew and stuff like that That went on for I don't know maybe 10 or 15 minutes not super long and they were like alright

[00:27:15] Can we show you what we're thinking and how the direction we want to go coming out of here today? And we're kind of like okay because you know we just saw the last direction

[00:27:23] They wanted a little concerned, but we just had this great conversation. So we're also kind of like mm-hmm alright to miss again And they they have a display up on the on the side of the room

[00:27:34] They you know hit the thing and just Columbus crew comes up. That's it and they're like this is it This is the name of the club. This is who we are. This is where we want to go. What do you guys think?

[00:27:44] And we're like yeah, that's that's what I'm great Like well, it's hard to argue with that. Yeah, exactly We're like yeah, like we want to they were like we want to bring back the original name

[00:27:54] We want to honor the heritage like you know, and they're like and we're gonna drop SC Like SC is just gone good because it's literally the dumbest addition and look yeah, I I am sort of a You know, I think we should also pay homage

[00:28:09] in some way to To our European heritage of letting us you know bringing this game over here And so it should be called a football club and not a soccer club in my opinion That's what they call it

[00:28:23] We sort of owe us a little bit of homage and when they put the SC I was like boy, that is so silly. So to have that drop Yeah, yeah, I'm not as passionate about that side of it, but I

[00:28:34] I'm like yeah as long as the crews there Yeah, right, you know like I kind of part of me is like yeah like Football versus soccer but in America soccer and we have American football, you know

[00:28:44] So the differentiator but I'm like I said, I'm not passionate either way It's it is the crew though keeping the crew is very important and people brought out a really good thing before you move on is that like

[00:28:52] We are the Columbus crew, but you don't have to be In Columbus Columbus SC was like it felt more limiting You could be a crew fan like I'm a Giants fan, but I don't say I'm a New York Giants fan

[00:29:03] You know if it was like I'm a New York fan like what of the state New York New York foot Yeah, the New York American football the New York American football giant. Yeah, you know like we should make it more more confusing

[00:29:14] To you know, we were talking about what time's the Columbus game tomorrow, you know Columbus What you know, it just it just the whole it wasn't a a natural thing. No, so anyway, phonetically Didn't sound great the Columbus SC game like just saying that over and over

[00:29:30] Columbus see yeah, damn anything about that. I mean I was so mad about everything else. I didn't get to that Yeah, and so like it would you know, but no and so they were in there was a there was like this

[00:29:38] I like everybody's really excited and there was awkward silence where like I think we somebody felt the need to confirm They're like so no SC no FC and they're like yes

[00:29:46] Just to double-check double-checking you brought the name back and then drop the only thing that we didn't like in the name Right before so yeah, that's so so in in essence. Yeah, it's the biggest home run that you could hope oh, yeah

[00:30:00] Right, it's the biggest home run we we are you know, we're dropping crew We're keeping SC Terrible and then they said, you know what we want to do is complete reverse that let's just go ahead and do the

[00:30:11] Let's just do the opposite of that and it's everything that all the fans have wanted anyway right exactly that that's why like and There was this huge collective sigh of relief that kind of went through the room when we saw that because we were like

[00:30:22] Oh good. We're not gonna have to fight today like everybody was geared up for a fight I think on both sides yeah, and the minute that we were they were like they showed it to us and we were like yeah It's good. Everybody's kind of okay

[00:30:32] Sure now yeah the sea is still terrible So I just have to I have to get that off my chest. Well, it's bad. Okay. Here's the other thing though It's real bad. So she better there you and I don't like it however

[00:30:45] You're probably a little more particular about design than maybe the average person Yeah Clothing company and did design for literally a creative director. Yeah What was this is not what I would have directed

[00:31:03] Creatively right so so I just want to put that out there also on the podcast that your level of criticism about it It's also maybe more than the average person. That's fair But that's why they should consult somebody that's on my level when they make it

[00:31:15] That's all because the people that they did but he's in England. Yeah, but that's yeah, but that's a thing It's have you seen The divorce product the movie

[00:31:25] So that's one of my favorite movies because she's like Anne Hathaway's character is making fun of it's just a blue sweater And she's like just a blue and male ship goes Yeah, and that is a real thing right when I designed something people like oh doesn't matter

[00:31:37] And I'm like it does and the reason you liked it is because of all these things that I've paid attention to And the reason I don't like this is for a lot of reasons

[00:31:44] But you don't like it for a lot of those reasons as well. So what how where's the person? And I feel like I'm just like shitting on somebody at the crew, but like how how do we get someone? Yeah, like I got it sounds so arrogant

[00:31:57] Someone like myself that will come in and be particular about that and look at that and be like no And here's why I think from now on yeah, they will yeah

[00:32:05] so here's that that so everybody's talking about that the name change and the logo that came out of that Monday meeting and Don't get me wrong the name change is the best thing. It's the best thing. Yeah, we are happy about that

[00:32:17] That's thing ever the thing that got that I left that meeting feeling the most positive about though was not That as crazy as that's gonna sound hmm it was

[00:32:27] So after that we started having a conversation about how ownership and the supporters are gonna work together going forward and ownership was like And you know D and dr. Pete and JW were like okay So what if we just meet with you guys regularly like regular basis?

[00:32:43] We just sit down and talk to you guys zoom in that makes sense And we were like okay, but it shouldn't just be us And so the Nordeka committed to like creating a fan council where you know people from not just the Nordeka

[00:32:54] But from the entire crew community and ideally all of Columbus like we want to find you know populations that aren't being engaged and targeted by the club and

[00:33:02] And that aren't the club isn't serving in the way they need to and stuff like that and bring them into the conversation And and get them involved and so we we committed to setting that up and the ownership committed to participating in that and

[00:33:17] That right there is huge because like if that if they stick to that if they do the work this will never happen again ever Yeah, and on top of that they said you know we talked about having a supportive liaison before somebody whose job

[00:33:29] It is to work with you guys We're gonna hire one and and we're gonna create a full-time position Whose first job it is just to work with you guys on everything you guys need to do what you do and to make sure this is successful

[00:33:40] And so I left the room feeling super positive Because not only do we get the short-term change that we wanted right, but we got this huge Systemic change in terms of how the community and the club work together that again

[00:33:54] It's I mean that's really rare like you know talking about billionaire owners listening versus not listening It's rare that they listen once let alone that they're like okay

[00:34:02] So I'll be on a zoom call every couple of months if you want me to right right, you know the our city kind of has a history of this type of attitude and and so one of the one of the Back when Barack Obama was president miss you

[00:34:20] is He came to Columbus for an event to celebrate the the Columbus business partnerships Relationship to state and federal government yeah because the partnership between local business people local owners local you know investors and State and federal

[00:34:44] The partnerships are better in this city than anywhere else in the country so much So that cities all over the world send representatives to learn how to do it How to do it? How to do it from us because that's sort of how our city likes to work

[00:35:01] We like to do things together. We like to do things in partnership We like to move things forward and you can look around I mean the city of Columbus is always growing always blossoming Doing well. Yeah, this is what we like to do right

[00:35:13] We like to work together and we'd like to make it successful Which is why I think that last week was so difficult for for crew fans in the Columbus community in general because like To your point we didn't want to fight

[00:35:25] We want to go celebrate the new stadium and the MLS Cup and have a great time And it was like okay now. We got to do this again, right? You know so that was that was great. That was crazy

[00:35:36] You know going back to the meeting in regards to the to the cross to the logo and the changes they made You know they went through some logistical stuff and and we're like hey look you know here's what we can do kind of thing and

[00:35:47] And they said you know what changes can we make like you know We're kind of a little locked in here, but what can we do and you know? We were like do this do this you know do that and and yeah, they listened and honestly

[00:36:02] In that moment. That's all we could have really hoped for I think you know it's tough I think it's I think it's a bigger win. Yeah, it's a bigger win than having a rebrand that we like

[00:36:12] Right. It's a bigger win than if we if they had done a rebrand and everyone went great Yeah, you know the nice nice nice rebrand this sort of establishes a new way of Engagement with ownership that maybe also also other clubs other cities other owners

[00:36:29] Take note of as opposed to what happened in Montreal and not just Montreal I mean this happens all the time with owners and some order groups I mean look at what happened. Look at what happened with our super league, right?

[00:36:40] We've got this this is a a blatant example of another thing where it's like owners are just doing a gono Forge ahead and you know middle finger to the fans

[00:36:50] We don't care what's going on with them or the players or anyone else and then that that ended so horribly Yeah, and then to see something like this also horrible But then to come out in a positive way. Yeah, totally new direction. It's it's crazy. I

[00:37:06] Commented on this online earlier on social media and I said like I Visually I have my issues with the crest Yeah But at the same time, you know, I Love the roundel the roundel was was amazing. The old crest was amazing

[00:37:21] But pre-court wore it around and lied to the fans to the supporters to the community I mean fuck that guy Yeah Forever and if what comes out of this is that we get an ownership that that where the an ownership that is

[00:37:34] Honest and transparent and works with the community and yeah keeps it and keeps its side of the bargain You know, I can get behind that that's a good. That's a crest I can get behind yeah, because like you were even saying Tim

[00:37:45] At some point you can wear something as a badge of honor and this new crest represents a new direction with fans a new direction with the community a new direction with ownership and so the badge Can mean more than just representing, you know the team itself

[00:38:02] but also a New forged friendship between owner and support groups. I can get behind that for sure But the creative in me just can't get like I just want to like why not make one that looks fucking awesome And then get behind that, you know

[00:38:18] I have two companies right now in my phone that I've worked with in the last six months That we could do a complete rebrand and make it better than any team in the MLS Let alone better than this and it would be cheaper than they paid for that

[00:38:30] Faster and people would love it and and it's like why can't we just do that? You know Well, I imagine there were some logistic so if you're listening to me

[00:38:38] Give me a fucking call unless I'm dead serious. I will fix the entire crew brand and you will love it I think that they probably did a lot of things with the flag. Yeah, and they can't go back on it We can usually go back on it

[00:38:53] You and I are both eating Tim also has an infinite amount of money. Yeah Yeah, I do not I have no idea. I have no idea which What if one of those statements is accurate? I

[00:39:06] You know, I know that they were committed to it and that there were logistical reasons around it and You know, you know, it kind of is what it is But you know what I'll say is is that they established a way to communicate with them

[00:39:20] And if in yeah six months or a year or two years or three years like however long that time is like You know, they decide to revisit that, you know, there'll be an actual conversation around it Yeah, that's good. I for sure get behind

[00:39:34] Yeah, and commend their ability to do that for just saying the creative and me has a really hard time turning that that that off and like my problem solving Why Jean is like but it just doesn't compute right

[00:39:46] But what you're saying? I didn't know that that level of commitment and that makes me feel better because I was like fuck Are we gonna have another right ownership that's just disconnected does whatever they want and runs into the ground

[00:39:55] And it does not sound like that's the case No, and now that was the thing that I think scared everybody the most right was like this happened You know the the rollout happened and everybody's like a trauma relapse. Yeah, here we go again for sure

[00:40:08] And there was actually conversation in the meeting about that of like hey look You have to understand the trauma of pre-court wasn't just save the crew like it wasn't just going through that right losing team It was having years of ownership that just didn't care

[00:40:21] Yeah, right and like and actively lied about stuff and sabotage and all those things Yeah, it was it was bad and so You know you gotta understand like there's real trauma there

[00:40:31] There's real PTSD in this fan base and like we're gonna have to like get past that yeah And heal and like that's just gonna take a little bit of time. Yeah, but you know, I think it was a good

[00:40:41] Honestly, I think it was a good. It was good. That was As one of the best meetings I went to as much as the Friday before it was one of the worst nice That's a nice little swing of the pendulum. Yeah

[00:40:52] Now usually pendulum swinging is referred to as a bad thing, but that sounds pretty good kind of came back to the I like that. I like that. Yeah, so now we got to start winning. That's I was just gonna say we got score some goals

[00:41:03] Just I feel I feel like that that like just like this just Unrest right bled into the performance of the team You know, I don't know some of these you know athletes athletes in this at this level have a have a level of professionalism that

[00:41:25] They know that in in a year they could be playing for another club, right? They know that right? So so there's maybe at some level where they They're never gonna be as passionate, you know about a team

[00:41:37] Maybe maybe with the exception of somebody like a will trap or something that who always loved Columbus But for the most part They're pros they're gonna play and they're gonna play their hearts out because they love the game. I

[00:41:50] Mean I will see if they win the next game after this Yeah, this is science and yeah, it is science everything. We're real big science podcast It's the data just data-driven You know, I don't know. I don't know how it impacted the team

[00:42:05] I don't know how I'm back to the players. I think it's hard for for me to say because I know It would impact me but you know who knows so

[00:42:14] You know, but yeah, hopefully we go score some goals and win this thing. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna repeat that's gonna happen I did learn the insane run it back. Yeah, I did learn the insane statistic

[00:42:23] The killer porter has only ever won eight road games and the one in his entire coaching career He's not a big road game winner. Really? Ever a lot of for the crew or in general in what a lot of ties doesn't seem possible a lot of ties

[00:42:39] Oh, yeah, there are there are draws in this American soccer and I don't think he's he hasn't In college he did but as a coach But didn't he's never won the supporter shield Right, I don't I can't remember did just a cut. He's a cup winner

[00:42:57] So Portland didn't win it in 15. Yeah, so he's able he's able to Win cups which is you know, that's the big deal here in the United States But supporter shield that you need to win away games. Yeah, we had yeah

[00:43:09] We had a shot at that last year too, which is which are his injuries Yeah, the injuries killed us and that was brutal to watch because we were so close and then You know that fell apart and

[00:43:20] That was a fun time last year too because they almost didn't didn't give it out And then we had to go fight and get it back and then we did back We another fun stat though. Oh

[00:43:30] Actually, it's not true anymore. Yeah, it was that oh no it is the DC has scored more goals on themselves In that game then we have scored the season So that was that was a fun stat in one in one game against us

[00:43:44] They scored more than our own goal then we put in this entire last season We also just point out the fact that by the way, right Phillips right now. Yeah, I think is our top score told you

[00:43:54] Just told you but did I not when we started I told you to top score this year. Let's go This is a big BWP fan. Yeah, big one

[00:44:00] He's he's he was thrilled to be on belief to have him join the club. He's a good signing. I mean he's a great sign yeah, and There is very little if any there's no drop-off when we put him in when we put him in and

[00:44:14] If anything his touch his skill and his experience Sees the ball he moves the ball well and he can you can control with his head I mean see what you want about the rebrand, but but building the team they've got on the pitch

[00:44:26] That's what I'm saying. We're taking away from such good. I'm like stop talking about the bad stuff Yeah, let's talk about our awesome ass players And our acquisitions in and how good we are and let's go win some let's go win some soccer match

[00:44:38] I mean like I was talking to somebody the other day and I was like We were talking about and I was like you realize that like we have like

[00:44:43] starters just like million oh and people like that that it just haven't started for the club yet because of injury reasons and When they take the pitch like, you know, we're gonna have like layers of starters that we put in

[00:44:54] That's what yeah, like Bradley by Phillips could start for a lot of teams right and they're talking about him all these so your Your most Which new signing this year are you most excited about we got time we've got Malino. We've got BWP

[00:45:12] We've got you know, we've got a lot of great signings. Yeah What's your what's your favorite new signing this season? That's tough because you've got you know BWP and Malina who have just unbelievable experience and translate a lot A lot of games

[00:45:26] But I'm really excited about my time because I think that guy's got such a future That like you know bring him in develop him turn him into something and I mean I feel like that guy's got such a future that like he might be the most exciting

[00:45:39] Person we've brought in even when you stack them up against some of the other incredible signings. We have this offseason Yeah, yeah, we have such a stacked team right now What I hope happens is we had this gets behind us

[00:45:49] Yeah, just in time because we were opening that That new stadium real soon and that kind of kick starts and jump starts and we kind of forget about this

[00:45:56] Yeah, we move forward as one complete group and then just trailblaze the rest of season trailblaze with the hell I talk about Blaze the trail. We just we light a fire. We steamroll that was the word we just steam we just at the word you're okay

[00:46:08] Fsu the rest of the season And we just we just SC all over. Yeah, we just see all over the FC All over the Columbus the go Lumbus the go Lumbus I mean that's to get to be a thing forever now like go go Lumbus

[00:46:23] I mean I saw people Lumbus I saw people online start trying to start a petition to rename SC who is the mascot who now had faces a very uncertain future Just did he formerly known as the mascot formerly known as I think that would be badass

[00:46:42] Well, I saw petition to rename him triangle and The crew triangle I think we should name him the goat. Yeah, he's just the goat Could we could we make him actually be a goat cuz like he's just

[00:46:59] Like there's no reason for a cat yeah, just make him a goat I think we had a cat because of alliteration. I really think that was the entire Columbus crew cat

[00:47:07] They're cat triple C's. Yeah triple C's well now it's a G so the go look go Lumbus grew goat I love that so we've got we're real big predictions podcast. Oh, yeah, okay Big sports betting to Rudy bet for the first time ever on this podcast

[00:47:26] That's right, and he bet both sides So you couldn't lose and still lost and I did lose lost both bets I mean it was awesome for me So We we love to make predictions on the podcast we got we got some games coming up

[00:47:45] Give us give us your your best prediction on the next couple of games. I think we're gonna tear We got Saturday, right? Speaking of we play Montreal on Saturday. Yeah, which is I think we're gonna I mean I

[00:47:58] Feel bad road ninth road win for yes, so is that the prediction? Wait? Yeah, we don't play do what do we play them on son? I think I'm wrong Wait, let me let me check big facts. We play a YCFC NYC FC

[00:48:12] So we have CFC CFC CFC whenever we talk about NYC FC FC They just need to add an SC at the end of that. Yeah, well we gave them ours

[00:48:22] We gave him a couple letters the contract gotcha best traded it for an international roster spot. Yeah. Yeah, let's do it So we play NYC FC and then and then we have Toronto right after that and then we have Toronto bastards

[00:48:36] That was a bum. Give us give us a couple of predictions here I mean no honestly, I think we go on a one honest trick here I think that the team is there the talents there, you know, they've obviously had stuff dealing with off the pitch

[00:48:48] We've obviously had some some injuries which they're getting over I saw the injury report today that that almost everybody's getting cleared and back in so except you aid Morris rip

[00:48:57] Yeah, dude Zach Morris man come back come on back to us. Come on Zach Morris get that cell phone Yeah, I yeah, that just that's heartbreaking. Yeah, we joke about it But like we joke about him because we love him, but that was such a bummer

[00:49:10] Yeah, we were all watching that together actually and we saw him go down. We're like that's it right away We're like that's a see-all snack. So I mean that the match right after that in Columbus where he

[00:49:20] He was standing on the pitch at the end of the match on crutches. I like Fucking lost it. Oh, yeah Yeah Yeah, I missed that passion. I haven't seen you know the kid that we haven't seen the Caleb Porter

[00:49:31] It just feels the team feels deflated and I think that that's the community and the and the organization's fault And we need to get that back my So I want that shield my thought maybe maybe the organizational stress is part of that for sure

[00:49:45] My my thought is the team. I think really expected to go on in the country conca cap Tournament and and how that ended. I think that's what has deflated them. I think that's what's that was a big bummer

[00:50:01] And so it's all right. I'm being allowed and it was a 4-0 at the end like that's just really really hard Couple tough goals at the end of that as well. So for me, that's where I'm thinking the so so what do you think?

[00:50:13] I forgot about that. What do you think is going to take to get these guys up and at them? We're going away. They're going just the NYC FC FC SC I see here's a miss. I think that they're gonna go into this this coming week kind of

[00:50:27] Knowing they need to win with the with the team kind of coming back together after injuries and like getting some rest after playing Just back-to-back-to-back back games for yeah for yeah since the start of the season and and and

[00:50:40] You know, I think you know, I you know, I don't know how they reacted to the The Columbus SC rebrand. I don't know that I think that there's gonna be some guys on the team that are that are you know

[00:50:51] Motivated by the Caribbean back like I you know, you got Josh Williams who loves I mean, who wears the hard hat crest around and it's free time like he's kind of weirdo. I love him

[00:51:02] Yeah, and you know, you got some people like that and and I think that they're gonna You know that they're gonna kind of get a little psyched up to be to be there and to be the crew again And yeah to go do it

[00:51:12] And so I think even even more than than last season because you know last season season we were Columbus, Koresi And now to be just the crew again. I think they're gonna be a little psyched up

[00:51:21] They're gonna be feeling good after that had a break and yeah, they're gonna go at it Time to go in New York. What's really gonna do it is BWP just burying one of the back of that net

[00:51:31] I think so what so I want to know I want to know a score prediction for both games Yep And in the form of a total how many goals are gonna scored both games? Okay, not who's gonna score?

[00:51:40] I'm just total goals total goals scored between the next two matches three For both sides or a crew just crew goals or total goals in both matches 2 0 1 0 Okay, we're gonna shut them out 2 0 go against NYC FC FC SC and 1 0 1 0 against Toronto at SC every sentence

[00:52:03] Got cock a calf. That's me a three three goes total. Okay, that's that's that's me I think that my prediction would be BWP for sure scores in one of the two matches for sure

[00:52:12] This is like he put he buries one and I think him and Zell around for sure score I don't know if it's the same game, but they both for sure score. Okay, and then the other will be as artists or

[00:52:25] Santos on Pedro. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I think it's gonna be very chalk scoring But with with BWP total goals I think the guys who the guys who score for us are gonna show up and I think that the defense is gonna shore up I mean

[00:52:37] And Nagby's nagging in right? He's playing. I think I think that back line we got we got our boy back We got the yeah, I love John. So we have the I

[00:52:48] Won't say Scandinavian, but it's wrong of a lawyer and what where they were they from? Oh well He was answer another in Holland. Yeah. Yeah, so we have our back line. We had like three players

[00:52:58] There was like four in the MLS. We had like three on our team from there It was pretty sweet the crew loves to bring in people that that have played together and from that I mean, I think at one point we had like five gunands on the yeah

[00:53:09] We did five. It was like it was like manay Yeah, we only had so many and we had like all of them. That's yeah, that's what we did with with yeah So I think the defense I Think it's a little under

[00:53:21] Rated just because they do such a good job. You don't talk about it, right? I think veto and and and John Boyer are gonna establish the partnership that we always hoped that they would have but even if

[00:53:33] One of them is out. There is no drop-off with Josh Williams. So I feel yeah, yeah Stud solid 6-3. So you gotta give me a goal total for both games. I

[00:53:46] Think we're gonna give I think we're gonna give one up to Toronto just because they find a way Okay, but I think we're gonna score a total of four. I think it'd be 202 2 1 okay 2 0 2 1 and For sure BWP has at least one of us wait

[00:54:00] Just just to be clear your prediction is he's gonna be attached So yeah I'm gonna go for I think we just two and two two and two shut it out I want to see some scoring because once you get in the net you feel good

[00:54:13] You put it back in the start put them in and we do that we are streaky as hell We will score one for three games, then we'll score four and a half

[00:54:21] This out there. I think Pedro is gonna do one from distance. I think he's yeah, I could do yeah He's do he is well over dude to put it in he is a small bottom small and I love that little yeah

[00:54:31] He hit a crossbar last game right somebody hit across pretty deep. Yeah Oh, yeah, so so I'm always a big fan of the small bottom smalls. That's you know, they're they're that's a that's a great

[00:54:42] That's a great soccer. He's a little guy low center of gravity is super light. You blow on him. He falls over gotta love that man So so I'm a big big Santos big real big Santos fan. Yeah

[00:54:54] Love those boys. We've got our in our predictions. We've talked about Our current not great streak So what's what's our take on so to close up this this thing? Yeah Yay community they listened cheers The takeaway is positive

[00:55:12] Correct. What is the what is the move forward for us as fans? Do we is there is there like is there an action if you're listening in your crew fan?

[00:55:20] Do you just go to the games and then get over it or like what's the you know, like yeah, we got more than Yes, it was bad. Let's let's like let's just determine we've decided this was bad

[00:55:29] They decided it was bad. So now we do we like sit we sever the feelings from that as hard as that is We look at the way that they handled it even though it's bad and then take the take the the win

[00:55:39] And they could try to replace the bad with that I think we come out of this feeling pretty good because We got them to do something that the to your point like not a lot of ownership groups would have done and come out of

[00:55:51] It feeling pretty good and an individual can people people can make up their mind on the crests still and whatnot But I'm gonna bitch about but that's just me I just have to do it But then but then at the same time like we feel pretty good

[00:56:01] I feel pretty good about the fact that like one they listen to us on the immediate term like literally in the meeting They're like how do we how do we deal with this and then to like We've got a system in place now that that we go forward

[00:56:13] You know you want to know what people can do if you're if you want to make your voice heard You know Nordeka is gonna be putting up on our website a form to people people to volunteer for the fan council

[00:56:22] We're gonna be putting up a survey that people can fill out of like hey Coming out of this. What do you want to see happen right? I'll help in any way to let me know

[00:56:29] Is anything I can do absolutely fill it out and we'll we will go and do that is what I'll tell people but Nice, yeah, the yeah, we're gonna get everybody we can on board to help and do as much as we can because

[00:56:39] Yeah, I think everybody wants to just go there July 3rd and have a really good time Yeah, yeah, it makes so much. I just want to just give one more a healthy contrast When we talk about Columbus Columbus sports, but particularly the Columbus crew

[00:56:54] You know when Austin FC fans go into their stadium They're going into their stadium with an owner who has a history of lying not listening and trying to steal something

[00:57:07] Right as happy as I am for fans there to have a team and we've talked about this many times I'm very happy for those fans, but they go in having that as an ownership group, right? And when we go into

[00:57:20] Our stadium the plural at this point when we go into our That is but but but we have a we we go in with a with a different perspective on our ownership group then then I think almost any other

[00:57:33] Soccer team in the world has right now. Yeah, I mean we had to Didn't have to we chose to today But like you know, you know Montreal supporters group reached out and and was like hey

[00:57:43] You know going forward can you if there's anything you guys can do in terms of support? Like you know we'd appreciate it and we retweeted something that they said and like we're like hey We you know put that out there

[00:57:53] Yeah, I mean it's a huge difference right to be you know eat They missed up okay. Sometimes that happens, you know, they owned it. Yeah, how do you handle it? Yeah, that's that's now was the thing that was scared me a lot as I was like

[00:58:06] Oh no here we go again You know and it's not that so we can we can have this pride in not only our city and our club But the people who came in and know that we're not We're not Austin FC

[00:58:19] We're not we're not or or Manchester United or even my beloved Manchester City You know, we're not we're not we don't have ownership groups like that right that are doing things behind our back and you know

[00:58:29] We've got and that we now have a support an ownership group that says hey when we go forward Yeah, well involved right and and if they you know if that falls apart if they do that That's you know that will hold them accountable. We'll be like hey

[00:58:43] And we want to win I mean we are on the precipice of Creating a dynasty like what the what bill bellichick did in the NFL. I'd like to see We could easily do that right now with focus the roster and the dedication and going to the new stadium

[00:58:57] We're that deep yeah, sure And we have all of the things in place in the community and we have the gear we need And what that means though, right? What that means is all right honest Tom Brady. How do you feel about that?

[00:59:09] He I love him. He's a giant man. I love him Yeah, except for I want him to win in the big games and not lose to Eli man twice Which I love that he did

[00:59:20] Well, but anyways, is there anything else though? We should talk about me to add anything This is the this is the longest podcast ever. I apologize so long I feel like we covered a lot of important things though people are like what the hell is going on

[00:59:31] And I've been telling them I don't know I think we answered a million so I feel like I know now I mean, I think that yeah, it's super long

[00:59:38] But I think it was good because I think we covered a lot of stuff and and yeah, we get I mean We've been getting people you know messaging us like You know what the hell happened and we're like, okay. Well

[00:59:48] We're gonna try to explain it. It's very listen to only in seabass and under construction. Yeah, yeah We're gonna keep it up. My favorite is people are DMing me and stuff on Instagram telling me to like change it

[00:59:58] And I'm like bro if I could I would I don't think you understand how this works I don't just like I don't get to do that. Yeah, we have we've had people submitting crest us and we're like I

[01:00:09] There's there's so many other so many submissions on Facebook and I Part of my one of my small joys has been to gently criticize each one of those as well

[01:00:21] Guys stop doing it. It's it's a done deal. Let's just get some wins. Let's get some wins. Let's get back on track I mean score some goals I will say like this is just going back to the thing about to reopen our reaction

[01:00:32] But this is one of the craziest things I've heard is is so our scene is So they showed us crest that it varies based slightly based on like background and stuff like that like different color combinations

[01:00:44] And one of the things that had been online the people put online was like, you know a yellow C and And just like color change changing the color yellow and how much better that makes it and somebody was like, you know

[01:00:56] Can we do that and they're like, oh, we already saw that note and boop and like there it was and I was like, okay So you guys are really paying That's good. That's good

[01:01:05] And like and then when they and then when they released the official stuff on the graphics There's one in there. That's a yellow C with a 96 on it. I'm like, yeah

[01:01:12] I'm like, all right cool. Like this is good. So like it I mean, you know fans make a difference Fans make a difference. You got to have them do oh campaign at eight million dollar transfer fee if you're gonna

[01:01:22] Actually you kind of could because TV syndication deals and stuff, but whatever that doesn't help our point now So let's let's go get some wins. We got NYC FC SC this weekend and then we've got Toronto and then we are sprinting through June right into that July 3rd

[01:01:41] Yeah, I just want to be in there just can't wait. So it's gonna be a good time Thank you for coming on and telling us the story It's there's a lot of people who I think are going to have it

[01:01:51] At least they might not be completely satisfied, but at least they understand I feel like I think my takeaway is we I've been very clear I'm bummed about that one look But the way they responded makes me makes it forgivable in

[01:02:03] The sense of how it's going to affect me moving forward. It's very selfish But it's good to know that the ownership listened and they are Not what we used to have so that would be my that's what I'm choosing to take away from it

[01:02:17] Is bummed as I am about the G Any final words already, you know, I I think that other teams and ownership groups should take note. Yep So you make a community time. I'm gonna be a good league

[01:02:31] It's how you make a good league is that owners listen and then the supporter groups when when owners You know own up to any mistake that they may have because that it's not like support groups are flawless and don't have

[01:02:42] Problems and don't don't make errors. Everybody does I think Everyone should take note of what's going on in Columbus because it's it's the best damn thing in the land. Oh, yeah Let's go get these wins. Thanks so much for coming on man

[01:02:54] Not a problem reach out anytime. We'll have you back. Well, let's go. Let's let's do another one once we have that first game It's an interesting we can talk about how BWP is leading the league and scoring and stuff

[01:03:03] So good Nordeka. Thank you for being the best supporter group in all of the world