VICTORY. For the first time in the calendar year 2024, we walked away with all three points. But there’s no time for idle chitchat, as this post is late enough as it is. So let’s get to the numbers!
What Songs Were Played, and How Many Times?
Random observations: Welcome back, “Fuck Dallas, Fuck Frisco.” It’s been far too long, old friend.
No “McKalla” again, which is one more data point to suggest that it’s getting squeezed out in favor of newer songs. It’s still too early to definitively state that it’s been relegated to the “Colors” zone, but it’s seemingly on life support as a setlist stalwart.
A good rule of thumb is that (Austin goals + 1) usually equals the number of times “Alright Alright Alright” is played, but this week was one of the sad exceptions to the rule: the band was well into it when Jáder Obrian’s goal was disallowed. We hate it when that happens.
In the last report we noted that forty-four renditions were played against Philadelphia, and that eight songs were played at least three times, both of which were seemingly unprecedented. Well, this week blew those paltry numbers out of the water: forty-eight renditions, and ten songs played more than thrice. That’s wild!
What Songs Were Playing When Austin Scored
Random observations: “Pepas” goals just hit different, y’know? Although sadly this goal wasn’t scored during the whooaaa-oooo-ooooahh part when the south end is going berserk, which (if memory serves) has only happened once or twice in team history.
This is the first goal of the season for “Dale Austin,” which we liked to see. Ever since the 2022 season when it was the poster child for song futility, we’ve been rooting for it.
What Songs Were Playing When Frisco Scored
Random observations: Sigh. I guess we need to talk about “Feliz Feliz.” This is now three goals against it, out of ten times played. Those numbers by themselves are wretched, but when compounded by the irony of the lyrics to the song itself, it becomes a genuine tragedy. And it appears that La Murga is starting to feel the strain, as they very abruptly killed the song as soon as Frisco scored. We can’t recall a similar time when that’s happened. We were never ones to cater to the idea of curses (and indeed the impetus of the Murga Report was to dispel the fanciful notion that “McKalla” was a harbinger of bad tidings), but “Feliz Feliz” needs a vibe boost immediately or else things may get tense among the supporters.
Season Totals
Final Thoughts
It’s a great week to be “Pepas,” which now climbs to the top of the table based on Net Success Percentage (and is now the only song with multiple goal contributions on the season).
We’ve already talked about “Feliz Feliz,” and it’s probably worth remembering that it’s still early in the season, but still… it’s not that early anymore.
“Matador” keeps chugging along without a single goal (for or against) on its ledger, but now it’s been joined by both “Ole Ole Ola” and “Y Dale Austin (It’s a Heartache)” in the club of songs played 10+ times with no goal scoring events (although “Heartache” would have been off this list if Obrian’s goal had counted).
Oh, and we were going to type up a separate report for the US Open Cup match for all of you true Murga Report sickos out there, but it didn’t feel right to count those stats when the full Austin FC team wasn’t playing. So we’ll take a quick moment to say that Austin FC II scored during “Dale Austin” and “Tequila,” conceded during “Tequila” and “Let’s Go ATX,” lost the penalty shootout during “Matador,” and that Don Garber can go fuck himself for making a mockery of the USOC. We hope that next year we can actually field the senior squad and make those numbers count.
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.