February 7, 20211:59PM EST

The Texas Derby has been waged between FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo FC since 2006, but now there’s a new team in the Lone Star State looking to make a bang and compete for bragging rights.

And before Austin FC have even played a match in their inaugural season, the expansion side is being labeled as potentially “the most exiting MLS team in Texas,” by journalist Jon Arnold.

“I think their marketing has been spot on,” Arnold said on Extratime. “I think the fans there are excited and I hope that interest that exists pushes the other MLS teams in the state to try and be as exciting, as dynamic off the field marketing-wise, getting fans in the seats.”

While Houston and Dallas are obviously more established clubs, Austin have the advantage of being the new shiny toy in a city, until this point, bereft of a professional club. There’s a buzz around the roster build — especially with two Designated Player spots still to fill — and the stadium build leading up to their first match.

“I think the team will be successful, I think they’re going to be able to be an impressive expansion team, they can make an even bigger splash here in a few months, but they can wait for that because they have the luxury of already being the coolest thing in town, the sexiest team in the state,” Arnold said. “Hopefully it pushes everyone forward. Hopefully people are talking about Austin doing well on the field and the other Texas teams saying, we have to match that, we have to find that same spark they have.”