Look, I don’t know how it happened. But last year, second-year MLS franchise Austin FC got really, really into predictions. Not their own predictions, but the predictions folks from around the MLS media landscape made about them.
After finishing second-to-last in the Western Conference in their expansion year back in 2021, expectations were low for Austin heading into 2022. I predicted that they would finish 12th in the West last year, and so did several other media members. Austin, as you may well know, did not finish 12th. They had a fantastic year and finished the regular season in second place in the West.
As it became clear that all of us predictors were very, very wrong, key Austin FC figures started clapping back at the doubters.