American Soccer has been a traditionally fluxing industry, you had the explosion of popularity (and subsequent recession) in the late ‘60s, you had the Women’s successful World Cup campaign in 1999 that made Mia Hamm a celebrity, as well as this year’s near-championship that made a lot of young boys fall in love with Hope Solo, and of course, there’s the men’s national team whose presence has been felt as a regular in World Cup competition, their 2002 quarterfinal appearance reinvigorating the MLS as a whole. As of this writing, soccer in America is about as steadfastly relevant as it’s ever been - to the point of Fox televising English Premiership matches and the Portland Timbers evolving into one of the most successful franchises in all of U.S. sports. People are watching the MLS, kids are investing personal heroes in Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, and it seems as if the American population has begun to consider the sport as something of a consistent topic, and not a seasonal diversion. All things considered, now would be a perfect time for an MLS team to start up in Austin. Here are some specific reasons why. more ›

The Austin Aztex, just two weeks after wrapping up their winningest season, announced today the team has been sold and is moving to Orlando. more ›

Cuatros is home to the official Austin Aztex viewing parties for U.S. matches at the World Cup. The U.S. battles perennial contenders (underachievers?) England on June 12th (1:30 p.m.), Slovenia on June 18th (9 a.m.), and Algeria (9 a.m.). If all goes to plan, the U.S. will play a few more matches at the Cup. more ›

• Pandemic! Run!
• The Holocaust Museum shooting yesterday has us wondering, what is wrong with people!?
• Seriously. "The responsible white separatist community condemns this"?

The city of Round Rock has been selected to host the USSSA's national championship soccer tournament in December. more ›

CAMPO's voting on tolling existing roads tonight. . . they say they won't toll the parts of the roads built with tax money. Guess we'll see how that works after tonight's meeting. Looks like rough waters ahead for councilmember Jennifer Kim in the upcoming May election. Woman's body found on UT campus this morning. Tyrell Gatewood, suspended indefinitely from the Longhorns in September for possession, is once again in trouble for. . . possession.... more ›

Remember how Beyonce fell on her ass at a concert and said she didn't want anyone posting videos of it? The folks at Shout Mouth have compiled their Top Ten Most Embarrassing Stage Falls (with video accompaniment, of course). Do you remember the last State of the Union when Bush honored Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of Baby Einstein (a series of infant educational programs)? Yeah...those programs don't actually work. Scary: Shitload of Germans pile on... more ›

It's the short-haired waitress at Spider House, or the barista at Flipnotics. It's the winsome Bookpeople guy with glasses, or that guy in all the plays at Salvage Vanguard. It's your local secret crush. It's old news that Austin has evolved from a sleepy college town into a burgeoning city of big-city transplants, international ex-pats, Houston/Dallas refugees and former Californians. With this influx has come the influence of new ideas about urban density, mass... more ›

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic... more ›

Oh, the humanity! Welcome to the one weekend a year where you can see a biker mama on every block sporting a midriff baring halter top and leather chaps; however, this woman will bear a striking resemblance to the woman who birthed you . Pair that with inhaling noxious greenhouse-effect-inducing fumes and having your eardrums wailed on like a red-headed step-child and suddenly paying $8.25 to sit in a cold, dark box doesn't seem... more ›

Absolutely nothing, but they're all part of a Halloween-style flash mob being planned for this Saturday, May 5th, in Georgetown. Equal parts bizarre spectacle and fodder for a film to be submitted to AFF next year, the Cinco de Mayo flash mob will take place at a youth championship soccer game. Thus far, they've already convinced a pair of unicyclists, "some" local media, and a mariachi band to come. They're hoping to get at least... more ›

St. Edward's University has been evacuated this morning, after a threatening message was discovered in one of the restrooms on campus. more ›

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists. Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In... more ›

On Sunday afternoon, Austin Rock N Romp and Book People are sponsoring an all-ages event on the patio at Mohawk featuring Neal Pollack and Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg. The show will also feature Black Before Red, amps still warm from their Local Music is Sexy 3 performance the night before. Rock N Romp has been putting on all ages rock shows since last summer, and in the coming months will be moving their events to... more ›

So, maybe you’re kind of a sports fan. Or maybe the word “fanatic” just doesn't quite capture how much you love sports. Maybe you don’t like missing really awesome games that you could be watching instead of, say, cleaning the lint trap in your dryer. But how do you know when you’re missing such a game? You can’t be scanning sports listings all day, scouring the internet for information about your favorite teams or... more ›

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is... more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors more ›

Mia Hamm doesn’t want to visit Waco, and we can’t really say we blame her. The North Carolina Tar Heel and world soccer legend recently declined induction in to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Sometime-Austinite Hamm and husband Nomar Garciaparra are expecting their first child in early spring, and the couple’s doctor advised any travel after January. Yea, sure that’s the reason. more ›

Fútbol in the United States has had its share of peaks and valleys. From the heyday of the North American Soccer League (NASL) to the quarter final run of the national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup , there have been quite a few success stories in a country that is supposedly averse to the sport. Austin, too, has had its share of hits and misses. The Austin Lone Stars, Austin Lightning, and the... more ›

We hardly think Wal-Mart will help revitalize anything. Say goodbye to the little shops in North Austin. Save Terra Toys! Dunkin' Donuts better step on the bandwagon. They're going to lose their biggest market to some greasy burgers. Anticipate headlines that read: Murders, Pedophiles and Stalkers on the Rise in Japan. They're getting MySpace. Soccer moms not the US Military will soon invade Iraq. Its safer than the suburbs. The FCC has decided that... more ›

It's common knowledge. You don't talk about a guy's mom or his sister. Unless, of course, you're playing the dozens with Truecraig on a street corner after a night of heavy drinking. more ›

While it arrives in Austin too late to capitalize on World Cup fever, the new documentary Once In A Lifetime tells a surprising and all but forgotten story. In the late 1970's, some brilliant businessmen sold the city of New York on soccer as a stadium event and planted the seed for a huge new pro sports league...only to watch their dream fall to pieces. The most entertaining thing here is to realize that... more ›

• A fatty who doesn't exercise but has a miracle drug will likely still just be a fatty who doesn't exercise.
• Some bars are really appealing to the soccer player in all of us; they're using color-coded cards to call you out on your alcohol consumption. Color us yellow.
• We don't necessarily love seagulls, but someone really has something against them. Whatever happened to the good ol' Alka-Selzter prank?
• We used to rely on lazy busy police force, but get a soccer-mom with a taste for justice and no one gets to have fun toilet-papering houses.
• Alice Cooper is creating a sanctuary; a place where cross-dressing, blood-spitting teens can find solace from the incessant nagging of drug dealers.
• Maybe people in the U.S. are finally learning that foreign cars tend to be better overall. Toyota recently surpassed Ford in domestic sales.

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* Three weeks in to the tournament and there are many storylines. The favorites are succeeding, while the Asian and African countries were sent packing, not to mention North America, which saw three of its four representatives finish bottom of their groups. From these three continents, only Mexico and Ghana made the cut,... more ›

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* more ›

One week gone and all the teams have taken the pitch. The Americans are awful and Ecuador is one of the few surprises thus far. I just returned from the streets of Munich, where the party is on. Oliver Neuville´s last minute goal to beat Poland has, in all likelihood, sent the Germans to the next round and has their fans going berserk. The Giselsstrasse is flooded with people burning flares and singing the praise of their heroes. It´s awesome! more ›

The greatest sporting event in the world begins tomorrow, so it’s time to think about where to watch all of this year’s World Cup games. Contacting a friend with a high definition television is a good idea, as all 64 games will be shown live in HD. If you don’t have HD, not to worry, as all the games will also be shown live on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. The opening match, between Germany and... more ›

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* more ›

There was a pretty interesting group out last night to bear witness to Arctic Monkeys and We Are Scientists at Stubb’s. Moms and their kids, shuttled in from the suburbs, were taking in the sounds alongside preppy potheads (we saw the dugout guys, you’re not slick. And un-tuck your shirt, you’re at a show). Apparently and unfortunately, blue hair-dye is still popular with some young ladies. Faux English soccer hooligans, well-tanned and not the least bit aggressive, dappled the crowd with red crosses while double-fisting plastic pints. Every person in attendance was anticipating a great show and they got one. more ›

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who will be traveling to Germany for this year’s Cup.* more ›