With all due respect to an enormous pampered rodent up near Pittsburgh, miss me with that six more weeks of winter rhetoric. The start of the soccer season – the true sign of spring – is just three short weeks away. Austin FC is back, and so too, is The Verde Report.
This marks the sixth year that management has entrusted this writer with the pleasure and privilege of covering our city’s Major League Soccer club, serving the Chronicle’s readers a weekly installment of unfiltered soccer takes – with the occasional bit of sports journalism sprinkled in.
We’ll return to that formula in the coming weeks as we dissect Austin FC’s offseason roster moves, project some expectations for the season, analyze tactics, and humanize the players and coaches that will represent our city on the pitch this year. But that all, frankly, can wait a beat. With this first column of a new season, as the Chron’s sports department-of-one, it feels more apropos to take a step back and have a broader conversation about why we’re here.
We’re here, obviously, because we adore soccer – and if you’re like me, competitive sports in general. It’s a hobby, a passion, and for some of us who have been very lucky, a profession. Imagining my own life absent competitive sports is, legitimately, not possible.
In an increasingly confusing world, sports are, for many of us, a safe space. Objectives are clear. Opposing forces are distinctly delineated. Wins and losses (and draws) are firm and final. The relief of that clarity can’t be overstated.
Because let’s be honest, even by this decade’s dismal standards, things are pretty damn dark at the moment.
The killing and cruelty at the hands of ICE. The sick allegations depicted in the Epstein files. Suffering in Palestine. Dismantling of American democracy. Uncertainty surrounding AI… the list unfortunately goes on and on. It’s too much. We all understand that. As a result, it’s never been more tempting – for those of us in the privileged position of being able to do so – to try to tune it all out.
Sports can be a natural tool for that, a set of blinders to block out whatever inconvenient truths dominate the day. They can also be a diversion, bread and circuses to distract from the things that matter far, far more.
Shame on us if we fall into that trap. Luckily, one thing that’s become abundantly clear over the past five years is how fortunate Austin FC is to have a fan base that gets it. A fan base that time after time has used its collective voice to acknowledge things – difficult things – that matter more than soccer. The Verde faithful don’t hide behind their shared passion for the Beautiful Game. Instead, they rally around it, and are stronger for it. That’s powerful stuff.
Because while sports have the ability to numb, they also have the incredible ability to uplift. They might be our single strongest source of community and identity – even patriotism – when such things are more essential now than ever.
We should all look forward to a fresh season of Austin FC soccer. We should look forward to a reshaped squad with reinvigorated ambition. We should look forward to the rivalry games and the special performances. But more than anything, we should look forward to the expression of that community, that identity, and that passion. It won’t make the difficult realities of the day disappear, but it will provide some much-needed fuel for the fight.
For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle’s Austin FC hub. Sign up for The Verde Report newsletter to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox, and follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.
This article appears in February 6 • 2026.