Well, that certainly was 90 minutes of soccer that we watched on Saturday. After the offensive explosion a couple of weeks ago, when Austin scored two(!!!) goals in a single match, they returned to their struggleball ways over the weekend in a game more befitting a rainy night in Stoke than a spring evening in Central Texas. There’s not much else to talk about by way of a preamble, so let’s get to the numbers.
What Songs Were Played, and How Many Times?
Random Observations: Still no “Wolff of Sixth Street” in the run of play, and (likely because there were no goals) no “Alright Alright Alright either.”
“McKalla” made only its second appearance of the season midway through the second half on Saturday. We’d be curious to know if the decision to play it was in any way motivated by the lack of action on the field. If nothing’s happening, may as well wave your phone in the air, y’know?
After what felt like an overabundance of “Feliz Feliz” two weeks ago, we received a much more palatable double serving in the last match. This could also be a function of the relative lack of action on the field. Mostly, me sentí muy aburrido.
What Songs Were Playing When Austin Scored
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Random Observations: The 35th minute foul on Vazquez should have been a penalty, and if it was, “La Vida Verde Es Un Carnaval” should have gotten at least partial credit.
What Songs Were Playing When Portland Scored
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Random Observations: We don’t particularly care for this Portland team. That is all.
Season Totals
Final Thoughts
Through four home games, there have been five total goals scored (3 for, 2 against). In the first 4+ seasons at Q2, there have never been four consecutive home games with five or fewer goals. The starkness of this reality is reflected in the Murga numbers: there are sooooo many songs where nothing has happened. Hell, even one goal that did happen was scored when La Murga wasn’t even playing! We have to believe that this trend won’t continue: Austin has good offensive players who are creating good shots, and the defense is wildly effective but possibly not “allow 8 away goals all season” effective. Things will happen, and we will document those things in our continued experiment in data journalism. But until then, all we can do is hope that the weather warms up, dream of happier days with lots of goals, and practice the lyrics to “La Vida Verde Es Un Carnaval” because the line “tienes que saber que aquí es así” still trips us up after all this time.
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.