On October 16, 2017, soccer pundit Grant Wahl Tweeted: “Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt is set to move team to Austin, Texas, in 2019 if downtown stadium can’t happen in Columbus. Story soon.”

That Tweet set off a firestorm on Twitter of angry Columbus soccer fans and excited Austin soccer fans. And I was there for every second of it sharing my enthusiasm about the prospect of having MLS in Austin.

It was perfect timing for me. I was in a bad place as I worked through the steps leading to divorce after 21 years of marriage. The soccer controversy gave me something to hold onto and hope for, and dream about.

In addition to the action on Twitter, there were a series of events, discussions, and Austin City Council meetings about soccer in Austin. I started meeting some of the other people who were pushing for MLS in Austin.

I spent a lot of time at City Hall, speaking and supporting others who were behind the effort. One of the meetings went to nearly sunrise, and it was worth it (though my dogs didn’t like that I was gone so long).

It was a roller coaster of a time that bonded a bunch of us with attacks and doxxing from people in Columbus, some Austin City Council members doing all that they could to tank the effort, and a difficult time finding a suitable location for a stadium.

In August 2018, there was finally a City Council vote, and it went 7-4 in favor of a soccer stadium at McKalla Place… the current Q2 Stadium. Afterward, people from the Austin soccer community, City Council members, and Austin FC employees get together to celebrate with beers at Austin soccer bar, Haymaker.

Then on August 22, 2018, there was an event at the North Door to announce the Austin FC name and logo, and we got the first hats and shirts with the team on them.

But Austin still needed an actual team to play in the approved stadium. That was all worked out later in 2018 when it was decided the Columbus Crew would stay in Columbus and Austin would get a new team.

The official announcement of Austin FC joining MLS in 2021 took place January 12, 2019 at The Hoffbrau and it was amazing to celebrate with everyone about having a real team start playing in two years.

Throughout 2019, there were monthly Meet and Greets with Austin FC executives, including Sporting Director Claudio Reyna, Head Coach Josh Wolff, and Club President Andy Loughnane.

With each event, we were getting more amped up. Nobody realized on March 4, 2020, at an Austin FC Q&A at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ that it would be the last time a lot of us would see each other for a long time. Just a couple of weeks later, the world shut down.

Construction had started on Q2 Stadium, but I wasn’t sure if it would be paused and put the 2021 start in jeopardy. I would drive over there and check out the progress often, since I couldn’t really go anywhere else.

It was a relief when MLS pulled off a season in 2020, and as we moved on to 2021, it was announced that Austin FC would be on the road to start the season while the finishing touches were put on the stadium.

My first game was an away match against the Colorado Rapids, and it felt so good to see the first-ever Austin FC goal by Diego Fagundez and the first win for the club.

Soon after, I was able to get a tour of Q2 Stadium as a season ticket holder, and I knew I’d found my new church.

Austin FC came in second to last in the Western Conference in their first year, and I was just ecstatic that it was real. We had a team.

The 2022 season was a whole lot better on the field, with a second-place finish in the Western Conference.

And it was just too poetic that on October 16, 2022 – five years to the day of the Grant Wahl Tweet, Austin FC won their first playoff game.

Each time I walk into Q2 Stadium, I am home. It feels good to be there, and makes me happy.

Soccer is an escape, a thing to share and experience with the people I love, a place where I am part of something. It’s been part of the fabric of who I am since I was little and started playing.

And so many times, I’d go with my dad and brother to cheer on the Washington Diplomats, Team America, and the Baltimore Blast.

Soccer is more than a sport to me.

The post Soccer is More Than a Sport to Me appeared first on Shawn Collins' Blog.

I think about September 11, 2001, daily. I was on the east side of 5th Avenue near the Empire State Building when I heard screams. I looked up. It was 10:28:22 AM, and the North Tower collapsed right before me.

After a long journey by foot, ferry, bus, and hitchhiking, I made it home late in the afternoon.

A few days later, I was back in Manhattan at my desk, trying to be normal. But I couldn’t. I was a mess every second in the city, on the commute, and at home.

Severe emotional distress and sleepless nights became normal as I tried to carry on with things. It was a continual struggle.

When the 9/11 museum opened, I went to have a look. I thought it would be healing. I was wrong. It was my worst day in a long time.

I started looking for therapists who specialized in PTSD when I got home, and I finally had some relief for the first time in over a decade as we worked through things.

It helped, but it wasn’t enough.

Fast forward to January 2019 and I was in Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit. People were talking about going to dispensaries for weed, which was recently legalized in Nevada. I figured I would go along and check it out.

I had never tried marijuana before this and bought some edibles. I didn’t know what to expect, and I liked how it felt. For the first time in so long, I was at peace and slept well.

After returning home, I fell back into the regular routine that I’d gotten used to—flashbacks, depression, sleeplessness, nightmares, etc.

Then in 2021, my therapist recommended medical cannabis as a treatment option following the expansion of the Texas Compassionate Use Program to include PTSD as a qualifying condition.

After starting medical cannabis, it was like a weight was lifted in my waking and sleeping hours. I finally had real relief after two decades.

I am so thankful for Texas Original’s medical cannabis – it has changed my life and given me back a good normal.

The post Medical Cannabis Has Helped So Much With My 9/11 PTSD appeared first on Shawn Collins' Blog.

My dad died on June 12, 2002, and he was 61. Twenty years ago already. He was only nine years older than I am now and that’s weird to think about.

In my professional life, I’ve probably spoken in front of crowds one hundred times or so. By far the most difficult time I ever had speaking was when I delivered his eulogy.

Here is the eulogy I gave for him…

Well, Gary decided to retire early. I’m sure you know that he was supposed to retire next year. He’d been giving a countdown to that day for quite a while.

Yep – he left early. Nobody ever said that he was conventional.

Just a few days ago, I came to terms with the fact that I would never again have a mid-day chat with him about up-and-coming guys on the Yankees.

This past week, we would have been talking about how Nick Johnson is coming along, and how great it was that this kid Marcus Thames jacked out a home run on his first-ever Major League pitch.

Before the day he left us, the scariest day in my life was Sept 11, 2001. On that day, I saw the 2nd WTC tower collapse before my eyes from Fifth Avenue.

I didn’t know if I was going to ever make it home, and when I was finally able to talk to my Dad, I felt a little safer. I always did.

But this past Wednesday, I lost a tower much closer to home – I leaned on him more times than I can remember.

I think if I had to sum him up in a handful of words, I’d say he always gave more than he took. He would sacrifice anything to make things easier for his boys, and it was always with a smile on his face.

He taught me right from wrong, how to be a man, a father, a friend, and a good person. He taught me that the secret to life is to share what you have and love your family and friends every day.

Grenade (that’s what his family called him) enjoyed the simple, but wonderful things in life like grandchildren (everybody I talk to tells about how everything for him revolved around Caity, Shea & Lexie), Yankee baseball (especially pouring over the stats), Trivial Pursuit at the Sanchez house on holidays, U of MD sports (the last time that we were together was watching the Terps beat Kansas in the Final Four), listening to music in his living room, chatting it up with just about anybody, doing a crossword puzzle, dogs, the American flag, watching movies on his wide-screen TV that is three feet from his recliner, and cold beer in a frosted mug.

He was a real original – and you know he liked you if he ever busted your chops.

Something else he really liked was happy kids. All through growing up, he would alternate coaching my brother and me in soccer at the Laurel Boys & Girls Club, where he met lifelong friends like Ray.

But he wasn’t just there for us – he was the surrogate dad for tons of kids in the ’70s and ’80s.

Even after we were older and no longer playing ball, he was there as a coach, a coordinator, a commissioner – you name it. And he threw the best end-of-year parties for his teams. Not those kinds of parties at a pizza joint – he’d put together these great parties at our house that lasted all day.

The grill was going, sodas, ice cream, candy, all sorts of games, contests, and prizes. It made him so happy to see kids happy.

For that reason, our family asks that anybody who is interested in making a donation in his name please make it to the Laurel Boys and Girls Club soccer program.

These donations will go towards covering the fees for underprivileged kids to get out there, play soccer, and feel good about themselves.

But it wasn’t just the kids – it was so important to him that everybody was happy. Just this past Mother’s Day, his last day at home before going to the hospital, he was feeling lousy and a lot of people could tell.

That didn’t matter to him as much as making sure that he made it over to his mother-in-law Claire’s house to give her candy for Mother’s Day.

Everybody here knows it, but I’ll say it anyway – Gary was such a proud and selfless man – he refused to be self-indulgent. His dream was to go to Ireland, but he always said next year on that one.

When my wife Vicky and me were first married, we didn’t have a lot of money, so he invited us to join him for a vacation in the Poconos. Of course, he insisted on covering everything.

Anyhow, he booked rooms for him and us at this ramshackle motel. He could have stayed at a nice place by himself, but he didn’t. That was so typical of him – he’d always choose love over luxury.

Each year, while he was saying he’d go to Ireland next year, he would take his money and bring his boys and their families to Wildwood, NJ. That was always a great time with rich memories.

Over the years, the group has gotten bigger at Wildwood with his sister, Joan, and her family – Bob, Kelly, Donna, Patrick, Dave, Steve, Chase, Lane, and Ian.

The last day of his Wildwood vacation was always about what he had to get for his friends – lots of Jersey corn for Brian and the rest of the gang at the Greene Turtle, fudge for his co-workers – it was all about bringing his happy times to others.

Before he went into the hospital, his check had already cleared for the deposit for all of us to go there for Labor Day Weekend this year. And we’ll be there.

But somebody had different plans for him. He’s on to a better place now – a place where he can wear his red pants and purple shirts, tip some cold ones, joke around, watch Charlie Chan movies, read the sports page, make strangers happy, sing songs, and look down at all of the people that he has affected, and know that he made a positive difference in their lives.

Please don’t mourn his death too much today – you know he wouldn’t like that – he always said that when he passed away, he wanted everybody to celebrate his life.

So sing some songs, tell some stories, laugh, hug, and cry – today is Gary’s going away party, and he wants everybody to have a good time.

Please join us after this service for his send-off at the Greene Turtle – we’re throwing him a last hurrah with lots of food and an open bar for all. And the Yankees are playing the Mets this afternoon – the big Roger Clemens/Mike Piazza game.

Come on over to the Turtle – that’s where Gary would have been today, and he’d have loved to see you there.

Let me just end this with a little toast for Gary:

May your glass – mug #246 at the Greene Turtle – be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven a half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

I love you, Dad.

Goodbye.

Rest in power, dad – I’m off to have a Bud in your memory.

The post My Dad Passed Away 20 Years Ago Today appeared first on Affiliate Marketing Blog.

I had a garage apartment built at my house last year, and beginning this past February I put it up on Airbnb.

This coming weekend will be my 7th weekend in a row to have guests staying over and the people who have booked range from locals looking for an Austin staycation to folks from the east and west coasts checking out Austin for a variety of reasons.

The apartment, Moontower Loft, was named for the moontowers (or moonlight towers) that you may remember from the movie Dazed & Confused.

Anyhow, the loft apartment is close to downtown Austin and can sleep up to 3 with a queen bed and couch that opens to a twin bed. There is ample street parking for free and many restaurants and entertainment are walkable.

Moontower Loft is located in the Mueller neighborhood near downtown Austin, a modern planned community on the site of the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, which closed on May 21, 1999. The eco-conscious mixed-use development includes single-family homes and apartment complexes as well as chain retailers and restaurants, plus offices and film studios.

There’s ample green space, including 30-acre Lake Park, with jogging trails and an open-air amphitheater. Plus, it’s a quick Uber to the local attractions.

If you’re heading to Austin for Austin FC, University of Texas, SXSW, Austin City Limits, Formula 1/United States Grand Prix, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, and any other event, concert, conference, etc., have a look at the Moontower Loft.

The post Check Out My Airbnb in Austin appeared first on Affiliate Marketing Blog.

When I was a teenager, I went to a lot of small club shows to see bands. Usually, they were punk bands that played loud and I’d be right in front of the speakers.

The next day at school my ears would be ringing so loud that I could barely hear anything. But it would wear off and I’d go to another show soon after.

I would also listen to my knockoff Walkman at volume 11 whenever I’d walk to work or take the dog out.

My ears were getting abused and I didn’t care, because I wanted my music loud.

At some point, the ringing stopped going away. I had a sort of white noise in my head all of the time.

It wasn’t until I was watching the movie Singles for the first time that I realized there was a name for what I was experiencing… Tinnitus.

The character Steve, played by Campbell Scott, was talking to his friend at a newsstand in a loud voice. The guy running the newsstand shouted, “Watch the volume.”

Steve motioned to his ear, “Tinnitus… club disease.”

The newsstand guy looked annoyed and replied, “You kids are all going to be deaf.”

I realized what I had done and why my ears were always ringing, but I didn’t do anything about it. Instead, I had to often ask people to repeat themselves and I started watching TV with captions.

I’d see commercials for hearing aids, but that wasn’t for me. Hearing aids were for old people. No way I was even going to go in for an appointment.

But the struggle to hear well has gotten more frustrating.

Then I found out that a friend was using some Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids. Maybe they weren’t just for senior citizens after all.

Hearing aids from Bose felt a lot more OK than Miracle-Ear or some other hearing aid that was targeting Boomers.

So I took a hearing screener on the Bose site. It was confirmed that my hearing is crap.

The thought of going to a doctor to get checked out was unattractive to me, so it was awesome that I could buy FDA-cleared hearing aids directly from Bose — no prescription, clinic visits, or copays required.

And the pricing from Bose was a good amount lower than most other hearing aids.

So I ordered my hearing aids and they arrived soon after. They were small and discreet – I don’t think anyone would realize I was wearing them unless they saw my ears from behind. And I got to the point where I really didn’t care.

I’d rather hear better than care about my back of the ear aesthetics.

I don’t know how other hearing aids work, but the Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids are controlled by an app that connects via Bluetooth. I can tweak the settings to make the sound work for me in different environments.

I wish I would have done this sooner because it’s amazing to hear so much more than I had been hearing. The next time you see me I won’t be saying, “What’s that?” nearly as much as I used to.

Hear! Hear!

Get more information about Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids if you are also struggling to hear things clearly.

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