‘Save The Crew’ documentary captures drama of final Austin City Council vote for MLS

Nearly three years have passed since soccer fans packed into Austin City Hall to witness the vote that would decide whether their city would become major league. The way that Austin FC burst onto the scene last weekend, with a sold-out stadium decked out in Verde, might suggest that was a foregone conclusion. 

Footage released this week by filmmaker Sean Kelly, in a new “Save The Crew” documentary screened to Columbus supporters, suggests otherwise. The film will be released later this summer by YouTube channel Copa90 Stories.

Kelly captured the crucial moments that led to the 7-4 city council vote now memorialized in a song by La Murga de Austin. Anthony Precourt, the former Crew owner who began the MLS to Austin discussion by pushing for a move of the Ohio franchise, was near tears as he and Austin lobbyist Richard Suttle reviewed the details of an evolving stadium deal.

“I can’t agree to it today,” Suttle told Precourt, before looking into the eye of Kelly’s camera and whispering to Precourt and lobbyist Mark Littlefield, “Keep smiling.”

Later, Precourt pressed Suttle on where things stood.

“When do we get the chance to go through what we’ve accepted and not accepted?,” he asked.

Suttle replied, “I don’t know. The mayor is just going rogue. But we won’t have the opportunity to say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’”

At one point, footage showed Suttle pull on the jacket of Precourt consultant Dan Barrett, and Suttle holding his head in his hands.

“A couple of things aren’t going alright right now,” Precourt said.

The vote came at the end of several hours of deliberation, and months of meetings preceding that. When the verdict finally came down, confirming the stadium was a go, Precourt couldn’t hold back his emotions. Clearly welling back tears, he gave a hearty fist pump before accepting a handshake and a hug from lobbyist Kelan Robinson and Barrett.

The sense of relief was palpable, and while it’s unclear what would have happened if the vote had gone differently, the chances that Precourt would be the owner of Austin FC, or that the soccer club would exist at all, diminish significantly.

But why is this never-before-seen footage just coming out now? 

Because Precourt, and the Austin-Columbus saga, will be back in the spotlight on Sunday, when the Crew visits Q2 Stadium for the first on-field meeting between the star-crossed clubs. Columbus will be out to play spoiler, and has a chance to put a dagger in Precourt and Austin fans’ hearts by scoring the first MLS goal in the brand-new venue.

As it turned out, what happened that day at City Hall had little bearing on the fate of the Columbus franchise. Behind the scenes, a deal was coming together to sell the franchise rights to Dee and Jimmy Haslam and Dr. Pete Edwards. The Crew is set to open its new downtown stadium — an initial request of Precourt’s — next weekend.

Things got even better for Columbus last fall, when the Crew emerged from the ashes to win the 2020 MLS Cup championship in a dominant 3-0 win over the Seattle Sounders.

And yet, some Crew fans just can’t rid themselves of their loathing. A plane flew over Q2 Stadium during the home opener between Austin FC and the San Jose Earthquakes with the message, “Precourt is a snake,” a phrase that was a constant refrain on Twitter throughout late 2017 and 2018.

Those who were paying close attention in Austin refer to those days as “The Great Twitter Wars,” and for them no love is lost for the Ohio capital, either.

It has the makings for a great documentary, pieced together from a Columbus perspective by Kelly, but with care taken to understand and empathize with Austin soccer supporters who were also fighting for something that they believed in. Ultimately, both sides won, and will get to enjoy a matchup on Sunday that would have seemed impossible as recently as late 2018.

But is Austin FC vs. the Columbus Crew a rivalry? Will it ever be? There’s only one way to find out. On Sunday, Austin vs. Columbus will come out of the city council chambers, courtrooms and keyboard battlefields and onto the pitch.