The Definitive Austin FC Giveaway Index: YETI T-Shirt (4/27/2024)

We here at The False Nine, in our attempt to cover all aspects of Austin FC fandom, have come up with a grading rubric to judge and rate giveaways at Q2 stadium. It’s a very simple system for very simple items, everything is graded 1-100 with 5 points possible for the Look, Usability, and Originality categories. An additional 85 points are available for the Throwability category.

Final Rankings:

1-24 – Not worth the effort of grabbing from the attendant

25-49 – No one will be heartbroken by not getting the item, nor will they be sad when they accidentally leave it at the stadium

50-74 – A perfectly cromulent giveaway item

75-99 – An item to cherish and display

100 – Reserved for a Rodney Redes bobblehead

Now, let’s get to the Giveaway:

YETI T-Shirt (4/27/2024 vs. LA Galaxy)

Look: These shirts came in Black and Verde varieties based on what section you were sitting in. There were a few issues, including running out of shirts in the upper levels of the Supporter’s Section and Austinites lack of desire to dress alike or participate in collective action.

The full effect would have been really cool to see, but ultimately it was mid participation at best. The actual shirts are the correct colors and the design avoids the overlarge logo in the center that would diminish the overall t-shirt design.

Score: 5 out of 5

Usability: A downfall of shirts like this is they tend to be blocky and made of a scratchier fabric that relegates them to junk painting shirt or garage rag. These however, are surprisingly soft and fit better than one would expect…..but only if you’re an XL, or someone smaller than an XL who likes large shirts, or someone larger than an XL that likes small shirts.

Score: 3 out of 5

Originality: While this is our first t-shirt giveaway at Q2, t-shirts are ubiquitous as giveaways, even moreso in a college town like Austin.

Score: 1 out of 5

Throwability: T-shirts, like most garments, aren’t very throwable, it’s why for cannons they have to be compressed into something ballistically viable. That being said, t-shirts are thrown and tossed constantly, including by the people trading t-shirt colors pre/during/post match. They can also be tied together to form a ball, which makes it naturally throwable for those of us who grew up playing sports with throwing involved. It makes for a great improvised ball for catch when bored.

This is the 4th YETI Giveaway since these rankings began (2 hats and a Tumbler, see scores below) and Austin FC is 3-1 in these games. I didn’t wear the shirt but was very glad to see it be christened by water/beer when Diego Rubio started off the scoring against LA Galaxy early.