Latest / ¡Vamos Verde! / A New Hope: Austin FC’s season opener w/ goalie Brad Stuver and singer Mélat

Transcript

A New Hope: Austin FC’s season opener w/ goalie Brad Stuver and singer Mélat · ¡Vamos Verde!

0:04
Hi, I'm Jimmy Maas.
0:05
And I'm Juan Garcia
0:06
and you are listening to Vamos,
0:08
a podcast about Austin
0:10
FC and the community that surrounds
0:12
it.
0:12
And you're lucky enough to join us
0:14
during our first episode.
0:16
And what's coming up?
0:17
Well, we have goalkeeper
0:19
Brad Stover on the show.
0:21
R&B singer Mae Lot, who you
0:23
may know from being the Austin
0:25
Music Award winner for best R&B
0:27
singer of the year.
0:28
And since we're new, we checked in
0:30
with some guys that have been doing
0:31
this for a while.
0:33
Landon Cottam and Jeremiah Bentley,
0:35
who host Moon Tower Soccer,
0:36
the podcast that's been covering
0:39
Austin FC for the last three
0:40
seasons.
0:41
And we'll also be heading home with
0:43
the armadillo.
0:44
Wow, that's a lot.
0:46
A lot to cover.
0:47
That's a one and one episode
0:49
I feel I I'm excited.
0:52
All right, let's address the
0:53
armadillo in the room.
0:54
Not the one in the stadium, but
0:56
there.
0:56
Was one in the stadium.
0:57
Yeah, but that's not the armadillo
0:58
we're talking.
0:58
That's the armadillo that I'm
1:00
referring to. Is the performance
1:02
in the first half by Austin
1:04
FC of their home opener.
1:06
It was not what you were hoping
1:08
for after a long offseason
1:10
of hope and dreams.
1:11
Yeah, and I will say
1:14
the team that showed up in the
1:15
second half a little bit
1:17
different, a lot more on
1:19
the ball, literally,
1:21
and just looked
1:23
better and maybe portend
1:25
something more positive going
1:26
forward.
1:27
And in the end they lost two to
1:29
one, not a huge goal differential.
1:31
When you look at it from the
1:32
perspective of a full Major League
1:34
Soccer season, it's probably
1:36
not going to impact things
1:38
too much one way or another.
1:40
There were two things, though, that
1:42
took place the last three seasons
1:44
at Q2 Stadium and
1:46
also happened on Saturday night.
1:47
First, fan energy
1:50
was crazy.
1:51
It's the atmosphere.
1:53
If you've not experienced it, it is.
1:56
Well, it's it's kind of overwhelming
1:58
at first. Probably.
1:59
I like missed it.
2:01
I walked into the stadium.
2:02
I stood next to the south end.
2:05
I heard La Murga get going.
2:06
And they did not stop the entire
2:08
match, despite what the scoreline
2:11
looked like, they were still
2:12
bringing it. Yeah.
2:13
And there is that that pulse that
2:14
comes from the, the
2:16
drum that just or drums
2:19
that just kind of keeps
2:21
it going the entire time.
2:22
And you kind of almost walk away.
2:24
Kind of like when you get off train,
2:25
you sort of still feel like you're
2:26
moving.
2:27
Yeah. When you're walking out of the
2:29
stadium, you're still feeling that
2:30
kind of like that beat.
2:33
Da da da da da da da
2:35
da da da.
2:36
So the second good
2:38
thing that remained constant
2:40
from the prior three seasons and
2:42
Saturday night into Saturday night,
2:44
Brad Stuver.
2:45
I mean, the guy had eight saves and
2:47
gave people plenty of reason to be
2:49
shouting his name at the stadium,
2:51
even with the, the
2:53
the two goals that ended up going
2:54
in.
2:54
You can't be everywhere all the
2:55
time, even though it seems like
2:57
sometimes he is.
2:58
Yeah. Good goalkeeper
3:00
fan favorite.
3:01
They call him by just one name.
3:04
You only need one syllable to know
3:05
who you're talking about.
3:06
And, he's been nominated for
3:08
two ESPYs, both for humanitarian
3:11
of the year.
3:12
That's that's big.
3:14
His laundry project has helped
3:16
hundreds of people get access to
3:17
clean clothes.
3:19
He is number one in your program.
3:21
And number one in all our
3:23
hearts.
3:25
Brad Stuver
3:29
First question out of the box.
3:32
Who do you hate most on the team?
3:37
That's a very wild
3:39
way to start this episode.
3:43
I want to say Danny P.
3:45
But that you're referring to Dani
3:46
Pereira.
3:47
I hate that I love him so much.
3:49
He is such a character.
3:51
He's like,
3:53
he's always on.
3:54
He's got so much energy,
3:56
and I think I just hate that about
3:58
him because I can't keep up with his
4:00
his wild antics and the energy
4:02
that he brings every day.
4:04
This is, year number four for
4:06
you here in Austin.
4:08
Is this feel like home now?
4:10
Is this what you're looking forward
4:11
to returning to?
4:13
You know, when you think about when
4:14
you're traveling and whatnot.
4:15
Yeah. We've found a home in Austin.
4:17
We love the city.
4:19
We love the culture of the city.
4:20
We love the people that we
4:22
surrounded ourselves with and
4:24
fallen in love with the club and
4:26
kind of the direction that it's
4:28
heading. And I love being part of
4:29
something that is, continuing
4:31
to grow, continuing to be
4:33
even more a part of the Austin
4:35
community. And I would say it's
4:37
probably the first time that we feel
4:39
settled and we feel at home.
4:40
And, it's a good feeling for
4:42
sure.
4:43
When you go back to, do you go
4:45
back to Cleveland? I guess is an
4:47
important question to ask before my
4:48
next question.
4:49
We didn't make it back this year,
4:52
but, after the 2022
4:54
season, we made it back for
4:56
about a week and a half just to
4:57
visit family.
4:58
When you go back to Cleveland,
5:00
do you ever, like, I don't know, sit
5:02
down at an Applebee's or the
5:03
restaurant of your choice and have
5:05
other people yell your name?
5:07
No. Never happens there.
5:08
Is it hard to explain to your
5:09
friends what
5:12
the reception for you is like here
5:13
in Austin?
5:15
I've had a couple that have come
5:16
down to visit, and they've gone to
5:18
games and they've like seen
5:20
the in stadium antics
5:22
and they've seen kind of the energy
5:23
in the stadium. But I think the
5:25
biggest shock for them is just kind
5:26
of walking around Austin,
5:28
going to going shopping,
5:31
going to dinner, going to coffee
5:32
shops and just seeing all like the
5:34
local businesses with Austin FC
5:35
flags. You have, people
5:37
walking around with the jerseys and
5:39
then like every now and then you
5:41
have someone on the street just
5:42
start yelling, Stu, when they
5:44
see me walking.
5:45
And, it happened one time
5:47
and my friend just kind of, like,
5:48
stared at me and I was like, yeah,
5:50
it happens sometimes.
5:53
And they just they didn't quite
5:55
understand it.
5:56
There's a, I don't know, an ever
5:58
shrinking group of guys that were
6:00
there from day one.
6:01
Do you guys, talk about that,
6:03
or do you just hold some sort of
6:05
extra sway in the locker room?
6:06
Does anyone care that you know
6:08
that you guys are like OG
6:10
Austin FC?
6:11
Nah, really doesn't come up very
6:13
much.
6:15
Those are things that you'll look
6:16
back on in five, ten years,
6:18
and you'll say that you were part of
6:20
something special from the start.
6:21
But, I think everybody right now
6:23
is just so focused on what's ahead
6:25
of us that, we don't want
6:27
to look back, we don't want to look
6:29
behind us. And it is crazy
6:31
to think that, the group of guys
6:32
that we had
6:34
three years
6:36
ago, has dwindled so
6:38
much. But, that's kind
6:40
of just the nature of the business.
6:41
And those of us that have been here,
6:44
really have an identity with this
6:45
club and maybe have a little
6:47
bit more, emotional
6:49
roots in what we're trying to build
6:51
here. And, we're
6:53
just excited to go out and compete
6:55
again for the city of Austin.
6:57
I guess being around so long, you're
6:59
now among certainly
7:02
you have some leadership just by age
7:04
over some other guys in the locker
7:05
room, and maybe you.
7:06
And calling me old.
7:07
Like actor or just these
7:09
artists or these guys that are just,
7:10
you know, you guys have been around
7:12
the block. You've seen a lot of
7:13
different things in different forms.
7:15
Can you just talk about how like
7:17
that, how much that goes over in a
7:19
locker room?
7:19
Yeah. Experience definitely plays
7:21
a huge role in,
7:24
people's perspectives of you
7:25
obviously being in this is my 12th
7:27
year in MLS, it
7:29
gives a lot of guys in the locker
7:31
room a little bit more trust in me,
7:33
because they can look at me and they
7:34
can kind of see where my head's
7:36
at. My emotional level is
7:39
when I'm angry, they know
7:40
that something is truly wrong.
7:43
I don't get angry very often
7:45
because I know that there are things
7:47
that will happen throughout the
7:48
season where we need to
7:50
correct, but we also don't need to
7:52
overreact to certain things.
7:54
So, just being on
7:56
the older side of the locker room
7:58
and having the guys kind of look to
7:59
you to, on
8:01
the to see if you've
8:03
been through that situation before.
8:06
And what's angry Brad Stuber
8:08
like?
8:09
Like what defines angry Brad
8:11
Stuber?
8:15
Yeah, I don't know. I cuss a lot.
8:19
So I've, I've kicked some
8:21
stuff.
8:24
Yeah. Like I said, it doesn't happen
8:25
very often, but, when
8:27
it does, guys know that,
8:30
it's not a good day, that's for
8:31
sure.
8:33
How do you compartmentalize that and
8:34
not try to, you know, take it home
8:36
or or take it with you into the next
8:38
practice or take it with you, you
8:40
know, into the rest of your life?
8:42
Yeah. It's it's a skill
8:44
that's not always acquired by
8:46
everybody.
8:47
Being able to kind
8:49
of live in the moment and then kind
8:51
of let that moment go, whether it's,
8:54
a really good win over
8:56
rival, whether it's a really bad
8:58
loss, away from home.
9:00
Kind of like what I alluded to
9:02
earlier. The biggest thing about our
9:03
sport is how do
9:05
you react from those
9:07
moments and how do you continue
9:09
moving forward to achieve
9:11
your goals?
9:12
For me, it's taken a lot, a lot of
9:14
years for me to get to this point
9:15
where I've tried to stay
9:17
as even keeled as possible, even
9:19
in games, just when things are
9:21
going our way. I want to be even
9:23
keeled. When things aren't going our
9:25
way. I want to show that consistent
9:27
emotion throughout the match
9:29
to give my teammates a little bit
9:30
more encouragement.
9:31
I want to do that throughout a
9:33
season because there are going to be
9:35
ups and downs and,
9:37
reaction is everything in this
9:39
business and if you have
9:40
a bad reaction, you're going to go
9:42
down a slump.
9:43
If you overhype your,
9:46
your highs, you're going to get lost
9:48
and you'll soon, like,
9:49
end up in a slump.
9:51
So for me, just,
9:53
trying to stay as even keeled as
9:54
possible, enjoying the moments when
9:56
they happen.
9:57
I think, Ashley, I'll tell you that
9:59
I'm not great at celebrating
10:01
when things are going good.
10:04
She thinks that I just kind of glaze
10:05
over them and look to the next
10:07
thing, so, it can
10:09
be a good and a bad thing.
10:10
But, like I said, in this business,
10:12
it's all about what's what's next
10:14
and what can we do to be better?
10:16
Ashley. Being your partner in
10:17
life?
10:18
Yes. My wife.
10:19
Yep.
10:21
Was there a lesson learned at some
10:23
point where you're like, no, this is
10:24
too far.
10:25
I know this means a lot to me, but
10:26
it doesn't mean everything to me.
10:28
Yeah.
10:29
It's tough because soccer is such
10:31
a big part of my life.
10:33
It's not just a job.
10:35
It's something that I've been doing
10:37
since I was four years old.
10:38
It is something that I love
10:40
with every fiber of my being.
10:42
And,
10:44
when you lose
10:46
a game and it starts affecting you
10:48
mentally, and then you go home and
10:50
you can't enjoy the life that you've
10:52
built with your family, that you,
10:54
the city that you live in and all
10:56
these different things.
10:58
It kind of catches up to you.
10:59
So, a lot of the guys
11:01
do their best to make sure that
11:03
what happens on the field stays on
11:04
the field. And then when they go
11:05
home with their families, they
11:07
realize that,
11:09
the most important thing in life is
11:11
your family are the friends that you
11:13
choose, the,
11:15
the things that you want to do.
11:16
And at the end of the day, soccer is
11:18
a job, but it is a very
11:20
big privilege for us to do what we
11:22
do. And it's something that we love.
11:24
But we do,
11:26
we do need to make sure that we can
11:28
compartmentalize that what
11:30
happens on the field shouldn't ruin
11:32
our day, even though it
11:34
does that a lot.
11:37
So you talk about the friends
11:39
that you you know, the life that you
11:41
built here.
11:42
You guys are professional soccer
11:44
players.
11:46
You're building relationships all
11:48
the time with your teammates.
11:50
And then at some point,
11:52
some of those teammates move on
11:55
and they go, you know, they're
11:56
traded. Or it's you know, maybe in
11:58
some cases they just go to a
11:59
different country.
12:00
You know, is there maintenance of
12:02
those relationships, you know,
12:03
during the off season or you know,
12:05
how how are these things, you know,
12:07
nurtured as you guys go in different
12:09
directions professionally?
12:11
Yeah, we talk about, different
12:13
locker rooms mean different
12:14
things, to different guys.
12:16
We always say you get one locker
12:18
room where you make kind of, like,
12:19
lifelong friends.
12:21
And it ends up being a locker room
12:23
where you're with a bunch of other
12:25
guys that are in the same kind
12:27
of area of life
12:29
as you. They have the same, like
12:31
closer to the same age.
12:32
They're doing the things that you
12:34
do.
12:35
We always say that you kind of gain
12:37
like lifelong friends.
12:39
It's not as common
12:41
as people might think,
12:43
but, inside each locker
12:45
room, you you instantly have
12:47
25, 26 other guys
12:49
in the locker room that become your
12:50
friends.
12:52
And it's up to, it's up to us
12:54
to find out whether those are going
12:55
to be lifelong relationships
12:57
or they're just going to be
12:58
friendships that,
13:01
you just keep in touch and
13:03
check in on one another every now
13:04
and then or if they're going.
13:06
To turn into, like, more serious,
13:08
like long term friendships.
13:10
I would say I've had,
13:12
a mixture of both.
13:13
There's, some players that,
13:15
I keep an eye on but don't really
13:17
speak to. There's players that I
13:19
check in on every now and then, or
13:21
if I see they did something amazing
13:23
with their new club, I'll send them
13:24
a message. And then there's others
13:26
that I talk to almost every day.
13:29
So it's varying between
13:31
different guys in different locker
13:33
rooms, but, it's always
13:34
cool getting to know different
13:36
players from kind of all over the
13:37
world.
13:40
What's a feeling like going up
13:41
against one of those friends, like
13:43
when they walk into Q2 and all
13:45
of a sudden you're like, mean
13:46
mugging them because now you're
13:47
rivals?
13:48
Yeah, I was going to say it actually
13:49
happens to me because one of, one
13:51
of my closer friends is actually the
13:53
center back for FC Dallas,
13:55
and, we play each
13:57
other a lot.
13:58
And,
14:01
it's just one of those things where
14:03
on the field, you don't really think
14:05
too much about your friendship.
14:06
You might have a little bit more
14:07
banter with them.
14:09
I always joke before games that
14:11
he's never allowed to score on me
14:13
because I'll never hear the end of
14:14
it.
14:16
But in between the lines,
14:18
like those friendships, they
14:20
kind of, like, take on a
14:21
different personality.
14:24
Your your competitor.
14:26
All of us want to compete.
14:27
We want to win. And,
14:29
it doesn't really matter if you're
14:30
going up against someone you hate or
14:31
someone that you're best friends
14:32
with. At the end of the day, all you
14:34
care about is winning with your
14:35
teammates.
14:38
You just brought up something.
14:39
Can you explain
14:42
the relationship between the goalie
14:44
and the center back?
14:46
And it just the
14:48
on the field, off the field, all of
14:50
it, you know?
14:51
Yeah, I would kind of,
14:54
I would compare it to kind of
14:55
the quarterback and the offensive
14:57
line a little bit.
14:59
I would say that the center backs
15:01
and the goalkeeper have a lot
15:03
of responsibility on them.
15:04
They're kind of the last line of
15:05
defense, and, they're the
15:07
ones that are kind of the first line
15:08
of offense.
15:09
And, we spend
15:11
a lot of time together.
15:12
We, train
15:14
in a lot of drills together.
15:16
We kind of have to know each other's
15:17
nuances, and the chemistry has to be
15:19
right. So,
15:21
I have a lot of respect for my
15:23
center backs.
15:24
Always try and take care of them as
15:26
best as I can, because I.
15:27
I hope that they can take care of
15:29
me and help me in the games.
15:31
So, but yeah,
15:33
I think it's just one of those
15:34
relationships that's a little bit
15:35
more solid than,
15:38
my relationships, like farther up
15:39
the field.
15:41
Q2.
15:42
Can you just describe what kind
15:44
of work environment that is for you?
15:47
It's amazing.
15:48
I'll say that.
15:49
I still haven't quite gotten used
15:51
to it.
15:52
This will be the fourth season
15:53
playing in front of this, raucous
15:55
crowd. And, I'm
15:58
constantly amazed at
16:00
the amount of dedication that they
16:01
have, at,
16:04
the spectacle that they make on game
16:05
day and, they just
16:07
show so much passion and,
16:10
so much love for this squad.
16:11
And, I know that
16:13
every guy that comes here and
16:15
they sign with the team, they're
16:17
like, man, I've been on the other
16:18
side of this.
16:19
I'm so glad that I'm on
16:21
your side now.
16:21
I was like, yeah, it's gonna it's
16:23
gonna feel different. It's gonna
16:24
feel a lot better when it's there at
16:26
your back and not staring you
16:28
in the face.
16:29
Do you prefer or do you find it
16:31
easier to stay focused when you're
16:33
across the pitch from them and you
16:34
can see all the flags, or when
16:36
they're right behind you, you know,
16:37
yelling your face off.
16:40
So personally, I like being on the
16:42
North end just because I love
16:44
watching goal celebrations
16:47
on the South end.
16:48
So I think one of the one
16:50
of the really cool things
16:52
is like watching,
16:54
watching Jose, watching ring,
16:56
watching me, like watching
16:58
all these guys score a goal and then
17:00
get to go celebrate in front of that
17:01
section.
17:03
It's probably one of my favorite
17:04
things about the entire experience.
17:08
We've been doing this thing.
17:09
These are questions
17:11
from my kids soccer
17:13
team. So I have two kids.
17:14
They're on three teams.
17:16
I'm going to play one who I know
17:18
is a goal keeper.
17:20
Hey, my name is Jupiter and
17:22
I play for Capital City and lost
17:24
to soccer.
17:25
And my question is, what is
17:27
your pre-game superstitions or
17:28
ritual?
17:31
Biggest rituals I have are
17:33
when I get to the stadium, I go out
17:35
and I walk the field.
17:38
I go look at the goal.
17:39
I look at the six yard box, then I
17:41
go do it on the other end.
17:43
When I go into the locker room,
17:46
I get dressed.
17:48
The Sox have, like,
17:50
L and R on them to let
17:52
you know what foot they need to go
17:53
on, just in case you didn't know,
17:56
I have to flip them.
17:57
I wear the R on my left, and I wear
17:59
the l, am I right?
18:01
Don't know when it started.
18:02
Don't know why.
18:03
It's just something that needs to be
18:04
done.
18:07
And then before
18:09
each half,
18:10
touches each post and the
18:12
crossbar, and then I center
18:14
myself in the middle of the goal
18:16
with my back to the field,
18:18
and I just kind of talk to myself.
18:20
I have a kind of like, a mantra
18:22
that I like to tell myself.
18:24
And,
18:26
it's kind of like a personal moment
18:28
for me right before the kickoff
18:30
where, I just use it to
18:32
kind of, like, center myself and
18:33
make sure that I'm ready for the
18:35
next 90 minutes.
18:38
Are you aware that people are
18:40
tracking your pre-game
18:42
routines?
18:44
No.
18:46
So I actually noticed
18:48
last year, a post on social
18:50
media, someone that regularly
18:52
goes toss in AFC games was noticing
18:54
how you touch the posts
18:56
and the crossbar, then center
18:58
yourself. And, you know,
18:59
they went pretty deep in it.
19:02
Is this, I guess it's interesting
19:04
to see that it's, it's news to you
19:05
that, you didn't know people
19:07
caught onto that.
19:09
But I do know about the inside scoop
19:10
of the, the Sox.
19:11
Yeah, there's a group of people in
19:13
the North End that when I center
19:15
myself in,
19:17
the goal, they kind of, like, put
19:18
their hands out and they start
19:20
moving. And then, like, I always
19:22
clap three times at the very end
19:24
of my thing. And they like, they
19:25
time it up and they collaborate with
19:27
me. So I've noticed that.
19:28
But I didn't know that people
19:29
actually, like, knew what I was
19:31
doing. That was like a pre-game.
19:32
So that's pretty cool.
19:35
I have one question that just as the
19:37
last thing, what
19:39
is your favorite date spot in Austin
19:40
to take your wife?
19:42
So it's changed
19:44
throughout the years that we've,
19:47
been here.
19:48
We kind of latch on to places and
19:50
go a lot, and then we kind of move
19:52
to a new one.
19:53
Right now it's, the Peacock,
19:55
the Mediterranean Grill,
19:57
on second Street downtown.
20:00
That's kind of like our our go to
20:02
date night.
20:03
I was kind of hoping for the
20:04
Applebee's in Cleveland, but that's
20:05
fine.
20:06
It's been a while since 45
20:08
Applebee's. But there are two for
20:09
20. Was was the perfect
20:11
date night at high school.
20:12
The two for 20 was the legendary.
20:18
Brad Stuber, goalkeeper for
20:20
Austin FC.
20:21
Always nice to have a nice, healthy
20:22
portion of stew.
20:25
You know what stew is?
20:26
It's an appetizer.
20:27
It's an appetizer for the main
20:28
course because coming up, we have.
20:31
Austin, R&B singer extraordinaire.
20:34
After the break.
20:35
You're listening to the Vamos a
20:36
podcast.
20:37
I'm Juan Garcia.
20:38
And I'm Jimmy Moss.
20:41
One. My. Let
20:43
go of the.
20:53
Every.
20:58
Our next guest has become a staple
21:00
of opening night at U2 Stadium.
21:03
She just sang the national anthem
21:04
for the third year in a row at the
21:06
home opener, and she's fresh off
21:08
winning the Austin Music Award for
21:10
best R&B singer of
21:12
the year.
21:13
Of course, I'm talking about the one
21:14
and only Mahlon Man.
21:16
Your rendition of the anthem on
21:17
Saturday was beautiful.
21:19
Fantastic.
21:20
It was.
21:20
Thank you so.
21:21
Much. Memorable.
21:22
I'll be thinking about that for
21:24
weeks.
21:25
Till next time.
21:27
No, till next year.
21:28
The next year when I'm singing it
21:30
again.
21:30
Game one for 20, 25,
21:33
31.
21:33
They do their thing though for.
21:35
How does that feel?
21:36
Getting invited over and over and
21:38
over again to do the thing?
21:39
That was the right amount of overs
21:41
two. But,
21:43
it's honestly, it's
21:44
such an honor.
21:45
Such an honor.
21:46
I mean, it's no, it's
21:48
no secret that I absolutely love
21:50
the Austin FC, I love soccer.
21:53
I love my hometown.
21:54
And to be able to
21:57
use my skill
21:59
set in a place where I
22:01
really don't have a skill set,
22:03
just the strong love for it just
22:05
means the whole world to be able to
22:06
marry all of that.
22:07
And yeah, super honored.
22:09
Super honored.
22:11
When when the team approached you
22:13
the first time.
22:15
Do you remember your response to
22:16
that call or did that text?
22:18
I don't know, that would come over
22:19
to this in the fax.
22:20
I don't know what they're.
22:21
Yeah, they definitely faxed it.
22:22
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
22:25
I cried I won't lie, I
22:27
shed tears because
22:29
it it literally
22:31
was something that I never
22:33
in my it was a childhood dream
22:35
that I in my wildest dreams, I never
22:37
actually thought it could happen.
22:40
Because, you know, I've
22:42
always loved it. And that as a kid,
22:44
I was like, okay, one day
22:46
there's going to be like a professional
22:48
team in Austin, and I'd be able to
22:49
sing the national anthem.
22:51
And then, you know, the fact that we
22:53
get this incredible soccer team
22:55
and then I get to sing the home
22:57
opener just was
23:00
it was it was
23:02
unimaginable for me.
23:04
But then it happened.
23:05
And so, yeah, dreams really can
23:07
come true. I get of them say.
23:08
It's almost like you saw into the
23:10
future because this would have been
23:11
before.
23:12
Even the plans for Austin FC to come
23:14
to Austin would have happened.
23:15
Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah.
23:16
I mean, I was real little I mean, I
23:17
was a little kid in elementary
23:19
school somewhere thinking, you know,
23:21
this would be cool if it happened in
23:22
my hometown, but one day.
23:24
Maybe one day came
23:26
and.
23:27
One day actually came, and
23:28
then then again the next year and
23:30
then the next year.
23:31
So I'm really honored to
23:33
to, you know, play even
23:35
the tiniest role.
23:36
Are you going to be upset next year
23:37
if they ask somebody else?
23:40
Is there pressure now?
23:41
I mean, look.
23:42
Maybe.
23:44
I'll be upset.
23:45
I'll understand.
23:46
But, you know, I just.
23:48
Maybe they didn't like me this time.
23:50
Just, you know, I'm.
23:51
I'm thankful for every opportunity
23:53
that I get with these guys.
23:54
So, you know, the next time another
23:56
opportunity comes up, I'm just
23:58
always excited. So I'm just here for
24:00
right now.
24:00
I guess I was
24:02
doing a little bit of research into
24:03
you, and I noticed the thread
24:05
of Greek mythology
24:08
inspiration.
24:09
I want to know the origin of that.
24:10
Like what triggered
24:12
your brain to be like, I
24:14
need to know more about that.
24:15
And how did that kind of eventually
24:17
find its way into your music?
24:19
Yeah.
24:20
You know, the funny thing is, I had
24:21
to ask myself that question.
24:23
At a certain point, I was like,
24:24
wait, why am I gravitating so
24:26
hard to this Greek mythology?
24:29
And.
24:30
Honestly. So a little bit about my
24:32
family. It's a little crazy.
24:35
You know, my grandparents day and
24:36
age was a different time.
24:39
But one of my uncles
24:41
is part Greek.
24:43
And so there was a
24:44
heavy like I always
24:46
knew it, so and he spoke the
24:48
language and,
24:50
you know, he would go there and I
24:51
got I remember having this shirt
24:53
when I was a little kid, and I was
24:54
just obsessed with it.
24:55
It was just this beautiful Greek
24:56
shirt.
24:58
And so, you know, and then now
25:00
as we've gotten older, like, you
25:02
know, there's more I have, like,
25:03
cousins and stuff.
25:05
They're kind of, I don't know, it's
25:06
like a I'm not going to explain my
25:07
entire family tree, but I have
25:09
cousins who are Greek.
25:10
And so the
25:12
Greek presence in my life has always
25:14
been very strong.
25:17
And then I grew up in a Greek
25:18
Orthodox church.
25:20
And so that has always been
25:22
there. But I think as far as, like
25:24
the mythology of it,
25:26
I think there's just something
25:29
there's always like a story attached
25:31
to every single person.
25:33
And, and reading those stories, you
25:35
can find some sort of inspiration or
25:37
some sort of relatability.
25:38
And, I've
25:40
found that a lot when I
25:42
started kind of like trying to
25:43
research, like, you know, names for
25:45
albums and things, and,
25:47
it always seemed to somehow
25:50
directly line up with what I
25:51
was thinking and what I was feeling.
25:53
And so,
25:55
it just, I don't know, I've, I've
25:57
kind of just rolled with it because
25:58
it just, it feels right.
26:00
And that's kind of how I roll
26:02
and like, if it feels right, if it
26:03
feels good, if it doesn't feel,
26:05
you know, like if it questionable,
26:08
and it feels genuine and authentic
26:10
to who I am, then I'm going to roll
26:12
with it and it just keeps
26:14
popping up.
26:14
Do you have a favorite story from
26:17
the, the Greek canon?
26:19
Well, I mean, as of right now,
26:20
considering I put out an album
26:22
called Canon Metis.
26:23
Metis is really my, like,
26:26
favorite right now.
26:28
And she was like
26:29
the goddess of, like, wisdom.
26:31
And so,
26:34
she actually was the one, actually,
26:36
I say that, like, it actually
26:37
happened, but it might happen.
26:38
I don't know who knows.
26:40
But she was the one who gave Zeus
26:42
the idea of how to free his
26:44
siblings from the belly of their
26:46
father, who had eaten them and all
26:47
that stuff.
26:48
And she was also Zeus's first wife.
26:51
But to me, she just represents
26:54
this undying
26:56
love, because
26:58
she also was the mother of Athena.
27:00
So they say,
27:03
and, but
27:05
also having this wisdom
27:07
that was also unending.
27:10
And to me,
27:13
for this album, it felt like I had,
27:15
you know, I'd gone through many
27:16
iterations of who I
27:18
am and what I'm doing and why I'm
27:19
doing it and all these different
27:20
things, and I felt like I had gained
27:22
a certain level of wisdom and
27:23
understanding of who I am and what
27:25
I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
27:26
And so,
27:29
to me, it's kind of like
27:31
the, the, the most important
27:33
one right now because, yeah, I think
27:35
we all should take that time to know
27:37
ourselves and understand ourselves
27:39
and as we evolve, because
27:41
it changes constantly.
27:43
And you mentioned love.
27:46
And that is like if
27:48
there is one word that I would
27:50
probably ascribe to a lot of the
27:51
themes of your music, it's love.
27:53
Oh, yeah. But I'm curious to know
27:55
from you like what song
27:57
that you've written, do you feel
27:58
captures the feeling
28:00
of being in love the best?
28:06
Whoo! Okay.
28:12
All right, there's a couple that I
28:13
can think of.
28:14
I can't, I can't.
28:15
They're down to one.
28:16
There's I think I just get I
28:18
got too many little song babies.
28:21
I can't.
28:21
I like picking.
28:22
Your favorite child. This is.
28:23
Impossible.
28:25
Considering they're, like, 98%
28:28
love songs.
28:30
I would have to say.
28:34
I feel like there's a song called
28:35
week that I have that I feel like
28:38
when I wrote it, I was thinking of
28:40
like they had all these videos of,
28:41
like the husband at
28:43
the altar and then like the wife,
28:45
like coming down and he's like,
28:46
bursting into tears as soon as she.
28:47
But like, there was just a million
28:49
of them at that time.
28:50
Those do it for me, too.
28:51
I know, like, oh my God, that's so
28:52
sweet. He loves her so much.
28:55
But I was seeing a bunch
28:57
of those, and so that song to me is
28:59
like, what happens in that?
29:00
Like one minute
29:02
30s 45 seconds of time?
29:04
And it's just that, that
29:06
type of feeling able
29:08
to. Please forgive
29:10
me.
29:12
You'll.
29:14
Makes me wish.
29:16
I could go.
29:21
Dongles are my boots.
29:24
And so I've.
29:25
I've love that song.
29:28
But then.
29:30
The other one is the now,
29:33
which I have sung like every
29:35
performance I've ever done.
29:36
And I do a speech before
29:38
it every single time.
29:40
Because that song, literally
29:41
to me is about being in
29:43
the in the moment, being present,
29:47
and not taking that moment for
29:49
granted with whoever
29:51
you're with, because those are the
29:52
people and the moments that matter.
29:54
And it's those memories that last,
29:56
like whatever may transpire,
29:58
you know, you may lose the person.
30:00
You know, you may,
30:02
things may change, but.
30:04
If we can remain present in the
30:06
moment. I feel like that's like
30:08
the highest form of, like expressing
30:11
your love, just being present, being
30:12
there.
30:13
Now, I
30:15
know I'd be like hell
30:17
on if I gonna.
30:19
Are you over?
30:25
Before this crowd.
30:28
So nothing.
30:30
So to me the now
30:32
is really it.
30:33
And that's how I feel about feeling
30:35
like you had asked me earlier, I am
30:37
present, I am there in the now.
30:39
I love it so much.
30:40
So yeah.
30:41
And is that you're like Desert
30:42
Island song. Like, if you could take
30:44
one song that you've written into
30:45
eternity, it's that one.
30:49
No, because I.
30:52
You can't take it anymore that it's
30:53
about the now.
30:54
Like you can't go into the eternity
30:55
right now.
30:56
I don't know what I'm talking about,
30:57
Jimmy. You're right.
30:58
Yeah. That just make any sense?
31:00
Come on, come on.
31:01
You're right, you're right. We're
31:02
here for this is.
31:03
This is why I need him.
31:04
Yes.
31:06
Let's get back to the now.
31:08
Right. Which I present in the.
31:09
Yeah. To. Now we're playing with
31:11
time here. Oh, yeah.
31:12
Okay. The 90s that
31:14
you're singing the national anthem.
31:16
And you're trying to soak it all in.
31:19
What's a big misconception
31:21
about that experience?
31:22
Like what do people get wrong?
31:24
I will tell you, it's not even about
31:25
getting it wrong.
31:26
It's just the fact that there's
31:28
like a slap back to
31:30
it. So like as I'm singing,
31:33
the sound is also coming back
31:35
at me and I'm not wearing.
31:37
You don't have years.
31:38
There's no in-ears.
31:39
Yeah, there's nothing like where I
31:41
can only hear myself in my ears.
31:43
Which is what in-ears are some
31:44
people don't know.
31:46
And that's okay. That's okay.
31:48
But that is probably
31:51
the most difficult part to get
31:53
over. Like, I literally have to
31:55
ignore everything I hear and just
31:56
kind of trust what I know how to
31:58
do.
32:00
Lots of self-trust going on here,
32:02
clearly.
32:03
But, yeah,
32:06
I think people don't realize that
32:08
you're not just dealing with
32:09
your own voice coming out, but
32:11
you're hearing it come back delayed.
32:13
And so you're kind of like in this
32:15
weird, like.
32:17
Like you're singing with yourself in
32:19
around.
32:19
Yeah, yeah.
32:20
But like, it's, like on a.
32:21
Weird ride in a.
32:22
Very in a run.
32:24
That doesn't make sense at all.
32:25
Last question.
32:27
Well, at least for me.
32:28
One's got 16.
32:29
See the list.
32:30
Got it.
32:32
You have you've
32:34
been involved with Austin FC
32:36
a fair amount since it's, you know,
32:38
since they opened the doors here,
32:39
three years ago. Three seasons ago.
32:42
Probably a little bit longer, but,
32:44
what is it about the team?
32:45
And it's,
32:47
how would you characterize its
32:48
interaction with the artist
32:50
community?
32:51
And, you know,
32:53
how would you characterize that
32:55
interaction and going
32:57
forward? What do you see as,
33:00
a way that, artists
33:02
sport soccer?
33:04
Austin, how do these all sort of
33:06
interplay at the at the stadium?
33:08
Man.
33:10
I mean, first off, I just think
33:11
they've done such an incredible job
33:13
of incorporating local music,
33:17
in a way that, honestly, I would
33:18
have never imagined,
33:20
soccer team would,
33:23
from, you know, just like kit
33:25
launches and, like,
33:27
you know, they just did the big
33:29
show at,
33:31
ACL live, for this
33:33
kit launch, and just
33:36
I feel like. And they bring in so
33:37
many different genres of,
33:39
of music that.
33:42
I don't know. I feel like they've
33:43
just done such an exceptional job
33:45
and maybe I just, I don't know, but
33:47
I think they've done an incredible
33:48
job of really incorporating the
33:50
community.
33:51
I don't feel like,
33:53
you know, just like this big MLS
33:55
team came in and was like, we're
33:57
MLS, we're doing the thing
33:59
and we're doing our thing and
34:00
whatever can be with us or don't
34:02
whatever.
34:03
But like, they really seem to
34:05
like.
34:07
Reach in and and find
34:09
some incredible people to be a part
34:11
of what they're doing.
34:12
And like I said at the beginning of
34:14
this that I'm super honored to be a
34:15
part of it.
34:17
And I genuinely enjoy it.
34:18
Everybody. So incredible.
34:19
I haven't met a person I could
34:21
say anything negative about
34:24
this whole time.
34:25
Which is incredible, knock on wood.
34:28
But, yeah, I know
34:30
everyone's wonderful.
34:31
I mean, the team is wonderful.
34:32
They seem to have a love for
34:34
Austin as well.
34:37
I mean, like, stover's on.
34:38
I mean, you can't you can't
34:40
knock how much he, like, loves
34:42
the community and, like, does so
34:43
many things.
34:46
But it's just, I mean,
34:49
I don't know, I feel like the
34:50
possibilities with them
34:52
incorporating with the community and
34:53
incorporating with artists is
34:54
endless, because they've just shown
34:56
that they continually come up with
34:58
really cool ideas.
34:59
Incorporate the music because Austin
35:02
is the live music capital of the
35:03
world. If you didn't have local
35:05
music, music and musicians and
35:07
all that stuff.
35:08
I mean, would you even be
35:10
doing it right? Like they they
35:12
wouldn't be doing it right?
35:13
It wouldn't it wouldn't make any
35:14
sense. So,
35:17
yeah, I and
35:18
it's not just musicians, like, they
35:20
have all different types of artists
35:22
and creators and things like that.
35:24
So,
35:26
yeah, I, I just think they're
35:28
doing a phenomenal job.
35:29
Thank you for this amazingly
35:31
articulate response to the nonsense
35:33
question that I asked you.
35:34
Guys.
35:35
Like, oh, can I have?
35:36
Well, it was it was a series of
35:37
words that sort of articulated an
35:39
idea, but there really wasn't that.
35:41
I don't think it was. If he wrote
35:42
this out, it was not a good
35:43
question.
35:45
You could not diagram that sentence.
35:47
Somehow I made sense.
35:48
Yes you did. You did great.
35:51
Well, that was fun.
35:52
Also, great rendition of the
35:54
national anthem the other night.
35:55
I do love hearing
35:57
me sing.
35:58
It could be a phone book, and I
36:00
would listen to her saying, what if.
36:01
She did that? Like recorded the
36:03
whole thing, like starting like a
36:04
she found a phone book somewhere
36:06
because she's, she's
36:08
younger and may not even be
36:10
familiar. So she has to familiarize
36:11
yourself with, like, what
36:13
a phone book is.
36:14
But the idea of the concept.
36:16
And the function of all the
36:17
addresses. But anyway, so
36:19
Austin FC is showing
36:21
literally showing on their sleeve
36:24
that they are integrating themselves
36:26
with the Austin music scene
36:28
more than ever, or at least
36:30
trying to more than ever this
36:32
season.
36:37
When the In Black take the pitch in
36:39
Seattle this weekend, the club will
36:41
be rocking some new digs
36:43
on the back of their new veteran
36:44
cream kit is an address.
36:46
Five 25.5 Barton
36:48
Springs Road.
36:49
If you look it up on Google Street
36:50
View, you'll see an unassuming
36:52
office building.
36:53
But back in the 1970s, when
36:55
Austin felt more like a small town
36:57
than a city, the address was that
36:59
of the Armadillo World headquarters.
37:01
If you don't know what that is,
37:03
here's how cute art LaVey
37:05
described it in a documentary
37:06
produced in 2020.
37:07
The building was a derelict National
37:10
Guard armory.
37:11
No air conditioning, no seating,
37:13
just a giant, cavernous space
37:16
that, frankly, was not well
37:18
suited for music.
37:19
Yet this local eyesore would
37:21
go on to change the identity of
37:23
Austin culturally, politically,
37:26
artistically, and its
37:27
reverberations would be felt far
37:30
and wide.
37:31
The deal was all about peace,
37:33
love and creative collaboration.
37:35
But since it closed, Austin has
37:37
changed a lot.
37:38
It grew like crazy, and the tech
37:40
industry flooded the city with money
37:42
and people.
37:44
But despite the changes, the city
37:46
still has live music as a
37:47
big part of its identity.
37:49
The Armadillo World headquarters has
37:51
become a symbol of what Austin used
37:53
to be a place where no matter where
37:55
you went, you could still see the UT
37:57
tower in the Capitol, a place
37:58
where you didn't take yourself too
38:00
seriously, and where hippies and
38:02
cowboys could share a beer and play
38:04
music together.
38:05
Or, as Ray Benson puts it.
38:06
The whole idea was this
38:08
cross-cultural thing of rock and
38:09
roll and country music
38:11
and then
38:13
existing at the same place without
38:15
people killing each other.
38:17
Benson and his band, asleep at
38:19
the wheel, played the last concert
38:21
at the villa when it closed back in
38:22
1980, more than 40
38:24
years after it closed.
38:26
Austin FC is hoping some of that
38:28
energy from one of the coolest spots
38:29
in Austin's history helps Q2
38:31
Stadium maintain its place as
38:33
one of the cooler places in Austin's
38:35
present.
38:36
They even brought Ray Benson and
38:38
Asleep at the Wheel Inn for the
38:39
jersey release show.
38:40
Now, no one is saying the Q2
38:42
Stadium is the new Armadillo World
38:44
headquarters, but Austin FC is
38:46
making sure music is a vital part
38:48
of the experience there because
38:50
through much of their short
38:51
existence in Major League Soccer,
38:52
Austin FC has been identified by
38:54
their music.
38:55
Much like the city they call home.
39:00
Up next, Jeremie Bentley and Landon
39:02
Cottam from Moon Tower Soccer
39:04
Podcast.
39:05
All coming after the break.
39:12
I am Jimmy Moss.
39:14
And I'm Juan.
39:14
Garcia, and you're listening to
39:16
Vamos Verde.
39:17
Podcast about Austin FC.
39:19
The folks around it, the community
39:21
that grew from it.
39:23
And here are two guys that did grow
39:24
from that community.
39:26
Moon Tower Soccer Podcast co-hosts
39:28
Jeremiah Bentley and Landon Cotham.
39:31
They've been doing what me and Jimmy
39:32
are trying to do, but they've been
39:34
doing it for years now.
39:35
Yeah. And, they'll judge us to
39:37
see if we're any good at it.
39:43
So first off, your thoughts.
39:45
It's been four months since the end
39:47
of a disappointing year.
39:48
Did you guys see any changes over
39:50
the winter that might give
39:52
fans of Austin FC a modicum
39:54
of hope for a different outcome this
39:56
year?
39:57
I think the one thing that we
39:58
definitely heard at the end of the
39:59
year, Rodolfo Borrell, new sporting
40:01
director, came in and held this
40:02
press conference and really talked
40:03
about how the club had overachieved
40:05
in 2022 and maybe
40:07
Underachieve in 2023,
40:09
and they were going to have to be a lot
40:09
of changes made.
40:11
And so we saw that early in the
40:12
offseason. We saw a bunch of players
40:13
going out, and I think we probably
40:15
both agree that everybody
40:16
that went out deserved to go out,
40:18
and there was nobody that they were
40:19
sad to lose.
40:21
And now Austin is just in a
40:22
rebuilding process.
40:23
But there have been several
40:25
acquisitions over the course
40:27
of the offseason.
40:28
I think Landon, you've described it
40:30
best is like, these guys are all
40:31
better than the guys that were there
40:33
before, but not the talent
40:35
that Austin will eventually need to
40:36
to be at the top of the the table in
40:38
the Western Conference.
40:39
Yeah, absolutely.
40:40
And another thing that Burrell said
40:41
in that press conference you
40:43
mentioned is that he's going
40:45
to be patient.
40:46
And so while we have seen
40:48
some incoming players, some what
40:50
I would call upgrades over,
40:52
over the folks who left,
40:54
it's probably still not quite
40:55
to the level that Austin needs
40:57
to be a major contender this year.
41:00
But they are steps in the right
41:01
direction. And,
41:03
I think for, for
41:05
the long term, this this has
41:07
been a good offseason for 2024.
41:10
Maybe not so much.
41:11
Probably going to have to keep being
41:13
patient.
41:15
You guys have followed the team from
41:16
the jump.
41:18
I remember at least
41:20
Landon was standing with a drum at,
41:22
at least one club announcement, if
41:24
not more.
41:26
Is it weird to I mean, I mean, it's
41:29
part of the process, but like, is
41:30
there a part of you that's like,
41:32
you know, when Nick Lima walks out
41:34
the door or somebody like that?
41:35
Or are you is there's some
41:36
sentimentality that, or some
41:38
sentimiento that, takes
41:40
over?
41:41
Oh, I think absolutely.
41:42
And, definitely
41:44
just among the general fan base.
41:45
This is the first time we've had a
41:46
professional team in town.
41:47
I think we all got very, very
41:49
attached to the first
41:51
roster and the first players.
41:53
And Ronnie read us.
41:54
I think him being the first signing
41:55
was a lot of the reasons why people
41:56
were excited about him. So it has
41:58
been weird to see this amount of
41:59
turnover. I think Austin's down to
42:00
what, 6 or 7 players off the
42:02
original roster?
42:02
I think it's a six.
42:03
Yeah, just their fourth season.
42:07
But there's a lot of there's a lot
42:08
of hope that a lot of the guys
42:10
that were going out or people that
42:12
did weren't performing.
42:12
And so there's some hope for the
42:13
future that the people who we
42:15
brought in now and the people come
42:16
in in the summer and in further
42:18
windows will will lead to greater
42:19
performance on the field.
42:21
All right. Who are some of the new
42:22
folks that we should be paying
42:23
attention to that might make an
42:25
impact early in the year?
42:27
I think the main guys that
42:29
came in, and really there's only
42:30
a handful that have come in so far.
42:32
But the big names being
42:34
me, beta was a Brazilian fullback
42:37
coming into.
42:38
He'll likely play on the left side,
42:39
but kind of filling that.
42:40
The hole that Nick Lima left behind
42:42
will likely compete for a starting
42:44
spot at left back.
42:46
Hot Air. O'Brien, who was playing
42:47
for Dallas last year, I think he had
42:48
11 goal contributions last
42:50
year and he'll be probably
42:52
starting quite a few games, on the
42:54
wing for Austin.
42:55
And I think the biggest one who just
42:57
came in last week or a few
42:59
weeks or before the season started
43:01
is Diego Rubio, striker
43:04
most recently played for the
43:05
Colorado Rapids, had quite a few
43:07
injuries in 2023
43:09
and so wasn't super productive
43:12
then. But in 2022 scored
43:14
16 goals and seven assists or
43:16
something like that. And so he's
43:18
now in his I think
43:20
he's like 31, something like that.
43:21
But if he can come back fully
43:23
healthy.
43:25
I think he has a chance to be the
43:26
biggest contributor out of the the
43:28
folks we've added this off season.
43:30
So.
43:31
2023.
43:32
Terrible start to the year with a
43:34
bad game.
43:35
2022.
43:37
Excellent start to the year
43:39
with a great game.
43:40
Kind of an inverse of each other as
43:41
far as like performance and
43:44
the results for the year.
43:46
Can we can we read too much
43:48
into the first game sometimes, or is
43:50
it with this team?
43:51
Maybe it's maybe it's what the cards
43:53
read.
43:54
I think there is something to
43:56
be said for setting
43:58
a tone, gaining some momentum.
44:01
That's all real.
44:02
Those are things that do play into
44:03
professional sports.
44:04
But in a league like MLS, frankly,
44:06
the only thing that matters
44:08
is how good you are in the last like
44:10
third of the season because it's so
44:12
tight, the margins are so small
44:14
that anybody
44:16
is still in it.
44:17
Like up until that last little
44:19
stretch. And so it would
44:21
be great if we could start off
44:22
really strong. But if this group
44:24
can hold together until the summer,
44:26
when Burrell can work a little more
44:27
of his magic and maybe bring in 1
44:29
or 2 more real difference
44:31
makers, that's all that's really
44:33
going to matter for this team in
44:34
2024.
44:35
And where would those difference
44:36
makers go based on
44:38
the current makeup of the roster
44:40
before the season, in your opinion?
44:43
They still need to be in the attack,
44:44
right? Like, I, I
44:46
think there's a chance for some
44:48
of these guys to prove themselves
44:50
and say, you don't need someone at
44:52
my position, get them somewhere
44:53
else. But I think, another
44:55
striker or,
44:57
a goal dangerous or playmaking
44:59
winger would be my,
45:01
my main two targets.
45:04
And who do you think might make that
45:05
step and tell the team, hey, you
45:07
don't need to upgrade on me, so stop
45:08
looking.
45:10
Emiliano Rigoni's a Designated
45:11
player. You've noticed we've not
45:12
mentioned his name once today, and
45:14
that's about what his performance
45:16
over the last year and a half his
45:18
has merited is just
45:20
he's not he's not that bad, but he's
45:22
just never that good.
45:23
And so if he can reach
45:26
the the amount of contribution that
45:28
you want from your designated
45:30
players, I think that could
45:32
be a reason to not assign someone at
45:33
that position.
45:34
Help us through this.
45:36
Pretend we don't know anything.
45:38
What is a designated player
45:40
and why does their
45:43
relative performance matter
45:45
than, say, another player?
45:47
I'll. I'll start this.
45:48
So Major League Soccer it's a salary
45:50
cap league. So there's really
45:52
as opposed to to Europe where you
45:53
can just go spend whatever.
45:54
There's a really thin sort of band
45:56
of how much you're you're allowed to
45:58
pay players. And every team has
46:00
the potential to have three
46:01
designated players, which are
46:02
basically all the rules are off.
46:04
You can pay them whatever and
46:05
transfers fees. You pay them
46:06
whatever in salary, but they only
46:07
count a certain amount against the
46:09
salary cap. And so what
46:11
it becomes in this league is really,
46:12
really important to hit on your
46:14
designated players, because that's
46:15
where you have flexibility, that's
46:17
where you're going to have your most
46:18
talented players, and you see the
46:19
teams that year after year that are
46:20
successful, the ones that are able
46:21
to do that. And that's something
46:22
that Austin's been terrible at so
46:24
far. So out of what six
46:26
designated players in club history?
46:28
I think that's right. Like Sebastian
46:29
Djerassi is the one that's performed
46:31
up to expectations and all the other
46:32
ones have not, which has been part
46:34
of of Austin having
46:36
to not great years out of three.
46:40
That fair?
46:42
Yeah. No, he nailed it.
46:43
Yeah. All right, so to
46:45
further this example, Lionel
46:47
Messi is a DP,
46:49
a designated player for Miami.
46:51
They're not paying him league
46:52
minimum, although he could afford
46:54
it.
46:54
Right, right.
46:55
He counts. He counts towards the
46:56
roster exactly the same
46:58
towards the salary budget.
46:59
Exactly the same as a millionaire.
47:01
And he does.
47:02
Which is, wild
47:04
comparison when you consider it.
47:06
Hey!
47:07
Go, Argentina!
47:09
So
47:12
I'm curious, you know, Borrell
47:14
were in his first press conference.
47:16
Stressed patience, right.
47:17
He needs to build up the scouting
47:18
team. He needs to, like, really take
47:20
time to put his imprint on the team.
47:22
And it's not going to happen
47:23
overnight.
47:24
How soon can we expect it?
47:25
If we were to be impatient, how soon
47:27
could we expect the real turnaround
47:29
from Burrell's presence at the team
47:31
next winter is going
47:33
to be a big turning point.
47:35
There's a lot of big salaries
47:37
that will be either
47:39
the end of their guaranteed
47:40
contracts, and we'll have option
47:41
years that could be picked up, but
47:43
if they want it, there's a lot of
47:45
money coming off the books in
47:47
December.
47:48
I think that is going to be the
47:49
first window, like next winter's
47:51
window. That's going to be the first
47:53
one where Burrell can really
47:55
start to make big moves and really
47:57
get his fingerprints on this roster
47:59
build.
48:00
You guys, this is your
48:03
fifth year hosting this podcast.
48:05
You did the build up here, correct?
48:08
Yeah. I mean, we started
48:10
close to two years before the first
48:11
season, I think.
48:12
And in the meantime, you guys also
48:14
have like regular job.
48:16
So like just what made
48:17
you want to start it.
48:20
Attention.
48:22
Well, we just talked about that,
48:23
like, until it gives us, like.
48:24
Oh, yeah, we like, we
48:26
like going to hop squad.
48:27
Took my dad to a game, and
48:28
somebody's like, are you the guy
48:29
from the podcast? Like, my dad
48:31
came home to tell my mom, it's like
48:32
Jeremiah's famous, right?
48:33
So there's dad, there's
48:35
that. But I, you know, I think for
48:37
both of us, just like a love of this
48:39
team and this game and in some
48:41
way, it's a lot of time.
48:42
But most of the time we spend on
48:44
this outside of the sort of
48:46
writing the script and recording and
48:47
then land it, editing was time I was
48:48
gonna spend. Anyhow. I was going to
48:49
read every article about Austin FC,
48:51
you know, I was gonna follow every
48:53
Twitter page or Instagram or
48:54
whatever about it.
48:55
So it became like this ability
48:57
to to share this passion and maybe
48:59
have a little bit of a voice.
49:00
We both came to this sport as
49:01
adults. Both grew up in small towns
49:03
in Texas where we didn't have soccer
49:05
teams and feel like we're in a
49:07
spot to sort of know
49:09
the details and the tactics, but
49:10
also be able to, like, share it.
49:11
In a way, it's related to the people
49:12
who are coming to the game to we
49:13
want to be open and inviting
49:15
and not like clubby and clicky and
49:17
stuff about what we do.
49:18
So hopefully that comes through.
49:20
And, you have kids.
49:21
You don't. Right?
49:22
You know, right in.
49:24
How is that?
49:25
Have you seen the next generation
49:26
come into that?
49:28
You know, as Austin's grown,
49:31
where where does have you have you
49:33
seen that? And then make an
49:34
impression on your children?
49:36
Absolutely. My 14 year old, he
49:37
comes to every game with me,
49:39
goes to all these random
49:41
club events that we go to and things
49:42
like that. And he and his friends
49:44
are into this sport and he's
49:46
he can name me like six Saudi
49:48
Arabian teams.
49:48
I mean, he's like into this game and
49:50
his peers and it's game in a way
49:51
that we were not at all.
49:52
So it's been I think Austin FC sort
49:54
of been that connecting point for a
49:55
lot of a lot of them to come
49:56
together and share and have this
49:57
common experience. So this is going
49:59
to be our thing. Just like I grew up
50:00
outside of Dallas Fort Worth, my dad
50:01
just take me to Texas Rangers games
50:03
all the time and that was our thing
50:04
together. Now with my son, it's cool
50:05
to have Austin FC is our thing
50:06
together.
50:07
Talking about the next generation
50:09
getting into this team.
50:12
Austin FC played a friendly against
50:14
Grays a couple of years back
50:16
and it is
50:18
a huge team in Mexico.
50:20
A lot of fans and it's not that far
50:21
away from here. So a lot of fans
50:22
here in Austin and in Texas as well.
50:24
So I was very curious what the
50:26
stadium was going to look like for
50:27
that game.
50:28
And the thing that like
50:30
kind of caught me off guard a little
50:31
bit. Walking into the stadium that
50:33
day is a lot of parents wearing
50:35
T Gray's shirts, holding
50:37
the hand of a little kid wearing an
50:38
Austin FC shirt.
50:39
And so, yeah, T grazes
50:41
is for these
50:43
parents like T grazes my club.
50:45
But for these kids growing up in
50:46
Austin, that's going to be their
50:48
club for this next generation.
50:49
So that was something I hadn't quite
50:51
considered. But that is that
50:53
is clearly happening.
50:56
All right. Landon Cottam, Jeremiah
50:58
Bentley, veterans of the
51:00
soccer podcast scene here in Austin.
51:03
Moon tower soccer, catch
51:05
it at Moon Tower soccer.com
51:08
or wherever you get your podcasts.
51:11
Showing us rookies how how it's
51:12
done.
51:13
That's right.
51:14
Yeah.
51:23
You've been listening to the Vamos
51:25
Verde podcast from Kut
51:27
in Ktrk Studios.
51:29
Big thanks to Jeremiah Bentley,
51:31
Landon Cottom, Milot, and Brad
51:33
Stupor for being our guests on
51:34
episode one.
51:35
Also, Elizabeth McQueen, Sara
51:37
Kranz, Patricia Lim, Lauren
51:39
Willette, Jake Pearlman, and Rene
51:41
Chavez here on the CT side, as well
51:43
as camera crew Beck and Ryan Madden
51:45
and all the folks at Austin FC
51:47
for their help in making this
51:48
podcast.
51:49
Our music is written and performed
51:52
by Jaron Marshall.