Since we are still a pretty new club in the league, outside Copa Tejas, we haven’t had the opportunity to develop many rivalry trophies yet. However, we have some proposals for supporter created trophies, we’ll let the general supporters on both the Austin FC and the potential rival sides decide if these trophies are good ideas or not. We’ll start with single team trophies in Part 1 then move onto multi-team trophies with Austin FC in Part 2, and then talk about other multiteam trophies in Part 3 in the coming weeks.
Portland: The Arbor Plate
Since let’s face it, the relatively corporate Austin stands no chance in the “War of the Weirds” against Portland, we need a trophy that both sides have a shot at winning. As the only two teams with tree references in their crests, it makes sense to have an arboreal themed trophy. Since an Arbor Cup is probably not going to be the most sturdy, a nice arbor plate engraved with the logos of both teams would be a fitting trophy to a series where the home teams have won all 4 matches so far. If we used the word wooden, the trophy would have go to the loser, so let’s stick to the Arbor Plate.
San Jose: Silicon Ball
It’s tempting to make a joke that half of San Jose has already moved to Austin, but that would be simply lazy of us. Unfortunately, the players that are left in San Jose are world class shithousers that have yet to lose to Austin FC in 4 matches so far.
To celebrate this mostly on the pitch rivalry (we get along with SJ supporters just fine), we suggest creating a soccer ball out of silicon. Between Silicon Valley of California and the Silicon Hills of Austin, it makes sense to have what would likely be the first silicon trophy in the world.
Charlotte: The Andes Mint
This trophy between the two newest teams in the MLS should honestly be a tiny one, so an Andes Mint is perfect. Charlotte’s stadium is literally on Mint Street and for a club that chants about “banks, beer, and soccer”, they have embraced the mint lifestyle. Honestly, then it’s surprising that Austin FC is the club rocking a “glory mint” or “cool verde” kit over Charlotte FC. We are lucky to get the inaugural battle for the Andes Mint on June 30th, and I’ll make sure to bring my mint jar to Charlotte.
Nashville: The Six Pix
Nashville calls itself the Music City and Austin calls itself the Live Music Capital of the World. As you can see from above, Nashville already tried to call this match the Music City Showdown. While I am fine with that being the title, the Six Pix feels like the appropriate trophy. With both cities having cultures that emphasize music, the friendly collaborations between Willie Nelson and the late Johnny Cash led to some epic late night jams. Hopefully, the action on the pitch Austin and Nashville can lead to some memorable clashes.
Soccer Moses in Nashville is even the lead guitar player in Jars of Clay. I guess we’ll need someone from the Black Pumas or another famous Austin band to become our next club music booster whenever the verde and black take this trophy back to its rightful home.
Do you have any ideas to add to this list? If so, we would love to hear them in the comments below.
vs Kansas City…the Smoker. Battle of BBQs.
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Gary Clark Jr. may be a stretch, but someone from The Sword? 👀