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For only the second time this season, La Murga was allowed to bring instruments into an opponents’ MLS stadium. And for the second time this season, we here at The False 9 were there to document it. Our travel budget may not be as robust as it would be if we were a more traditional media outlet, but our dedication to on-the-ground reporting is unwavering. Now let’s get to the numbers!
What Songs Were Played, and How Many Times?
Random notes: It’s usually a good sign when “Alright Alright Alright” is played a bunch of times, because that usually means that Austin FC scored a lot of goals, and last night was no exception. As is customary, “McKalla” was omitted from a set list as it wouldn’t make a ton of sense to play it away from home. Instead, La Murga seems to lean more heavily on “*clapclapclap* ATX” and “Listos Verde” when on the road, presumably because they work well with minimal instrumentation.
What Songs Were Playing When Austin Scored?
Random notes: “La Bamba” notches its first goal of the year to pull its season total out of the red, which is nice to see. And very quietly, “Let’s Go ATX” is putting up an MVP-caliber season, which we’ll discuss below.
What Songs Were Playing When Austin Conceded?
Random notes: After its torrid introduction to the repertoire, things have cooled off considerably for “Ole Ole Ola,” which now has a goal against it on its ledger. “Reloco Remamado” saw its first goal of the season, but it was for the bad guys so it will be sliding down near the bottom of the rankings. However, we all know that the fault lies not in our songs, but in ourselves: namely, our esteemed colleague Travis’ inexpert captaining of a rubber boat which predicted these goals. You let La Murga down, Travis, and you should feel bad about that.
Season Totals
Final Thoughts
“Let’s Go ATX” has overtaken “Bella Ciao” at the top of the leaderboard (non-moment of silence division), which comes as a bit of a surprise given its relative scarcity in the set list. It’s currently the twelfth-most played song for the year, but it’s currently tied for second in most goals scored (with none conceded). In basketball parlance, its PER is through the roof. To continue the clumsy metaphor, we’re now curious to see if the coach will entrust it with more minutes.
There are still eight songs which have neither seen a goal scored nor conceded, of which “Club de Cuervos” remains the most popular.
In the ten matches this season that have featured a La Murga performance, Austin FC is outscoring the competition 24-10. In non-Murga matches, Austin is being outscored 11-12.
H.E. Pennypacker
H.E. Pennypacker spends far too much time thinking about Austin FC, much to the consternation of his friends, family, and employers. He could really go for a sandwich right about now.