Houston Dynamo FC

[DJ V Lawrence]

It's cool Houston won.

But it speak volumes about the "sport" of soccer when it has to be decided penalty kicks.

Why even play? Might as well just have a penalty kick derby and get it over with.

What a pointless sport.

Rice Owl baseball would beg to differ.

Wow, since when has Rice Owls baseball counted as a professional team?

And asking why a game would be decided by penalty kicks is like asking why an MLS, NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL game would end up going into overtime/extra innings, and why even bothering playing in regulation. Perhaps if they could have predicted the future, they wouldn't have to. What, did you want a championship to end in a tie?

Never has someone so succinctly expressed my feelings about this game. Good post.

Now THAT'S pointless. Show some love to the champs, yo! I LOVE the Texans too, but it only took a season for Dynamo to get the job done. Texans haven't have a .500 season yet, and the Astros still haven't gotten the title. It took the Rockets over 15 years to pull off the NBA title. It's not easy winning a professional championship, but it's ours. Let's hope this is just one of many for ALL our teams in the coming season's yo!

[Jeebus]

Yeah, kinda like American football. Did you see the Texans/Jags today? Each team scored once, but the Texans won with 2 kicks to 1.

What a pointless sport, huh?

The Dynowho? Won what?

Seriously, its the tenth season of MLS and only 20,000 fans attended the championship game. That's barely 1/3rd the attendance of the first NFL Superbowl in 1967. It's also only a thousand persons better than the highest attendance of the first MLB World Series game (game 2) in 1903.

My point? Its 2006, a digital age where information travels as fast as light. You'd think MLS would have done more in advertising and chosen a larger venue than Pizza Hut Park in Frisco Texas for its MLS Cup Championship Game. I guess the Independence Bowl (max capacity double that of Pizza Hut Park) in Shreveport, LA was already booked?

Besides, how am I supposed to get excited about a sport where it can go an entire game with no scoring, its an accepted practice to feign injuries, and the most exciting plays are boring in comparison to other team sports, such as football's hail-mary's, baseball's grand-slams, or basketball's slam-dunks?

Someone email me when Soccer is popular - or at least when its no longer "more boring" than Hockey.

Oh yeah, congrat's Dynamo. We'll put your trophy on the mantle right next to the Aero's 03' championship trophy.

Edited November 13, 2006 by Jeebus

[DJ V Lawrence]

Someone email me when Soccer is popular - or at least when its no longer "more boring" than Hockey.

Soccer's the biggest sport in the world. You've been e-mailed.

The Dynowho? Won what?

Seriously, its the tenth season of MLS and only 20,000 fans attended the championship game. That's barely 1/3rd the attendance of the first NFL Superbowl in 1967. It's also only a thousand persons better than the highest attendance of the first MLB World Series game (game 2) in 1903.

My point? Its 2006, a digital age where information travels as fast as light. You'd think MLS would have done more in advertising and chosen a larger venue than Pizza Hut Park in Frisco Texas for its MLS Cup Championship Game. I guess the Independence Bowl (max capacity double that of Pizza Hut Park) in Shreveport, LA was already booked?

Besides, how am I supposed to get excited about a sport where it can go an entire game with no scoring, its an accepted practice to feign injuries, and the most exciting plays are boring in comparison to other team sports, such as football's hail-mary's, baseball's grand-slams, or basketball's slam-dunks?

Someone email me when Soccer is popular - or at least when its no longer "more boring" than Hockey.

Oh yeah, congrat's Dynamo. We'll put your trophy on the mantle right next to the Aero's 03' championship trophy.

Are you saying that the MLS and/or the Dynamo coming to Houston was a marketing failure? It looks to me like the sport's still growing in Houston, and enough that over half the stadium in Dallas were Houstonians. Tell me the last time you've seen Houston do that in ANY professional sport, regardless of stadium size.

I won't debate how exciting the match was, because every person on HAIF has a different opinion on what exciting is (to me and the viewing party I was at, the game was an adrenaline-rush from beginning to end. Great shots and tackles throughout). But what IS debatable is where professional soccer in America is now compared to 10 years ago. Soccer in America wasn't as popular as baseball and football when the "World" Series or Super Bowl came about. But you can't deny that MLS has done a pretty good job of expanding it's market and popularity since it began. It's the most successful soccer league in American history, and unfortunately for U, it's still gonna grow. There's gonna be a new team in Toronto next year, plus the Oakland Athletics are making a baseball/MLS stadium with hopes to land an expansion team there.

My ultimate sports dream is to see America's Team win the World Cup someday. If MLS keeps improving, and America's players get more talent, experience, and attitude, that may not be so far-fetched...

[Jeebus]

Soccer's the biggest sport in the world.

I should have specified here in the United States. How do I know its not more popular? Because for its Championship game it could only get a stadium with 20,000 seats. You're telling me that in ten years of existance, MLS hasn't developed a larger fan base? Hell, I had never even heard of the MLS before the Dynamo. Every kid in suburban America plays little league soccer, yet MLS still looks as if it is ran by a minor league hockey commissioner.

Are you saying that the MLS and/or the Dynamo coming to Houston was a marketing failure? It looks to me like the sport's still growing in Houston, and enough that over half the stadium in Dallas were Houstonians. Tell me the last time you've seen Houston do that in ANY professional sport, regardless of stadium size.

Well, considering that Dallas is only four hours away, and there were only 10,000 seats to fill for Houstonians to make up half the stadium, I'm still not impressed. Why? Because if the MLS Cup were any farther away, there would have been that many fewer orange shirts in the crowd. You can't compare other major league sports in that sense either. Basketball & Baseball Championships are played in hometowns where local fans purchase most of the tickets. The Superbowl is played at a neutral location where price alone makes it near impossible for a true fan to go to the game.

You ask about marketing soccer in Houston in particular, but I'm going to expand on the game in general. If MLS wants to become a household name, why would they hold the championship game on a Sunday in November at 2:30pm in the afternnoon, at a minor league stadium? That is a horrible time. For one, it's right in the middle of a full NFL game day. Two, its the hottest part of the day, so people are outdoors, or inside napping. Three, for most of America, Sunday is just one of two days off a week. They've had this Sunday planned since last Sunday. Four, there's no glamour in watching a soccer game in the middle of a Sunday afternoon - either at home, at a friends, or at the sports bar. At 2pm on a Sunday on the drunks are drinking.

You want MLS to be successful? You need prime-time games times. During football season I'd go with a Wednesday or Saturday 7pm start time. Hold the event at an NFL footaball stadium. Hell, just look how the Superbowl is ran. Untill then, I'll still be cutting the grass, BBQing, watching football, shopping, or napping on my Sunday afternoons.

I won't debate how exciting the match was, because every person on HAIF has a different opinion on what exciting is (to me and the viewing party I was at, the game was an adrenaline-rush from beginning to end. Great shots and tackles throughout). But what IS debatable is where professional soccer in America is now compared to 10 years ago. Soccer in America wasn't as popular as baseball and football when the "World" Series or Super Bowl came about. But you can't deny that MLS has done a pretty good job of expanding it's market and popularity since it began. It's the most successful soccer league in American history, and unfortunately for U, it's still gonna grow. There's gonna be a new team in Toronto next year, plus the Oakland Athletics are making a baseball/MLS stadium with hopes to land an expansion team there.

My ultimate sports dream is to see America's Team win the World Cup someday. If MLS keeps improving, and America's players get more talent, experience, and attitude, that may not be so far-fetched...

Its not unfortunate for me at all that MLS is growing. What is unfortunate is how slow its growing. It maybe have come a long way in ten years, but I don't think its come nearly far enough to be considered the next "All-American Sport" yet. Maybe in another ten years?

[Montrose1100]

Screw your Soccer & football, I'll stay with Tennis. Anyone go to the Stanford Cup at River Oaks Country Club?

[DJ V Lawrence]

I should have specified here in the United States. How do I know its not more popular? Because for its Championship game it could only get a stadium with 20,000 seats. You're telling me that in ten years of existance, MLS hasn't developed a larger fan base? Hell, I had never even heard of the MLS before the Dynamo. Every kid in suburban America plays little league soccer, yet MLS still looks as if it is ran by a minor league hockey commissioner.

The fan base is still growing, and people are starting to understand that MLS's growth may improve our talent and fan-enthusiasm, and as a result improve the talent on our national team. I'd LOVE to see a 50,000 seat soccer-specific stadium in Houston like many other soccer teams in the world, but at this time, that's just unrealistic. MLS CAN claim that it's finally making stadiums specifically for them, and they're capable of selling out.

Look at the NFL for example. When you look at most stadiums of the older franchises, the seating capacity was lower then than it is now. Reason being is that as the league grew, more money would be generated, and the teams could buy new stadiums with more seating and/or more suites and luxuries to go along with 'em. Same goes with MLS, except this is the first stadium for all these teams (soccer-specific). As the league/fan base grows, the stadiums will eventually have much greater capacity. That's why I think Dynamo needs to hold off on getting a stadium now for a couple more years. This next season, there's no telling what the attendance will be like. Maybe they have what it takes to sell out the 32,000 seat Robertson Stadium. Maybe it will have the same average as this year. We just don't know. But if that local fanbase does blow up, maybe it won't look so minor-league to non-traditional soccer fans.

Well, considering that Dallas is only four hours away, and there were only 10,000 seats to fill for Houstonians to make up half the stadium, I'm still not impressed. Why? Because if the MLS Cup were any farther away, there would have been that many fewer orange shirts in the crowd. You can't compare other major league sports in that sense either. Basketball & Baseball Championships are played in hometowns where local fans purchase most of the tickets. The Superbowl is played at a neutral location where price alone makes it near impossible for a true fan to go to the game.

I'll rephrase the question. When was the last time you've seen 10,000 Houstonians fill-up ANY away stadium for any of our professional teams for any game?

Location for MLSCup was a MAJOR advantage for Dynamo, no doubt. I just can't recall the last time I've seen 10,000 fans trek to Dallas or San Antonio for an NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL game that counted. Regular or playoff season. That's still a major accomplishment for any team in any league, especially one that's been in that city for only one year. I think we should wait till next year to see just how big soccer in Houston (and America) is about to become.

You ask about marketing soccer in Houston in particular, but I'm going to expand on the game in general. If MLS wants to become a household name, why would they hold the championship game on a Sunday in November at 2:30pm in the afternnoon, at a minor league stadium? That is a horrible time. For one, it's right in the middle of a full NFL game day. Two, its the hottest part of the day, so people are outdoors, or inside napping. Three, for most of America, Sunday is just one of two days off a week. They've had this Sunday planned since last Sunday. Four, there's no glamour in watching a soccer game in the middle of a Sunday afternoon - either at home, at a friends, or at the sports bar. At 2pm on a Sunday on the drunks are drinking.

You want MLS to be successful? You need prime-time games times. During football season I'd go with a Wednesday or Saturday 7pm start time. Hold the event at an NFL footaball stadium. Hell, just look how the Superbowl is ran. Untill then, I'll still be cutting the grass, BBQing, watching football, shopping, or napping on my Sunday afternoons.

The true soccer fans were watching, and that's all that matter. And that fanbase has grown since last year (especially in Houston, since we didn't have a team last year.) I think sometime in the future, we will see a prime-time MLS Cup, and we'll see a better halftime show (man, that band SUCKED!!! We need Shakira like in the World Cup final or something). But a lot of bars here in Houston were packed with Dynamo fans. People were watching and twitching with every move. Non-sports fans can keep shopping or napping.

Its not unfortunate for me at all that MLS is growing. What is unfortunate is how slow its growing. It maybe have come a long way in ten years, but I don't think its come nearly far enough to be considered the next "All-American Sport" yet. Maybe in another ten years?

I don't think soccer will be considered an All-American Sport just with MLS. Only way that could ever happen is if the U.S. win the World Cup. The most coveted title in all sports. I do think MLS has grown tremendously, and many cities are making bids for teams, like Philly, Seattle, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, the Bay Area (who's already making plans for a baseball/MLS stadium), San Antonio (though the current mayor is screwing that up), Mexico City, and quite a few others. Think about the amount of professional leagues in America that are less than 20 years old that are as successful as MLS has been. There's none. WNBA's probably the one that comes close. XFL, WUSA, Arena soccer, tons of others have failed. MLS is now the 5th most marketable league in American sports, and that may change to 3rd or 4th in the next ten years.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Actually Professional Soccer has been in Texas and the US since 1967! It is hardly in any sort of infancy. After the 1966 World Cup Final, two rival professional soccer leagues were formed in the United States. After one year, they combined to form the North American Soccer League which lasted from 1967/68 until 1984. The Dallas Tornado's were part of the NASL from 1967-1981 winning the league championship in 1971 over the Atlanta Chiefs. There was a two year lull in there until the Major Indoor Soccer League was started in 1982 and is still active today, Major League Soccer was formed and on June 6, 1995 and is still active today. So in 38 years they should have a better following, but you are more than likely seeing it's peak. I am not knocking the sport, it's just a fact that it has been around a long time in this country and just hasn't taken off as far as a fan base. Now when the sweet hearts of soccer were winning the world cup here in the US, you saw the peak numbers on soccer, but even when they started their own professional league, it folded fairly quickly. It takes more than flashing a Nike sports bra and a Playboy spread to build a steady fan base. Most High Schools have a soccer program but they are under funded and have very little following, college isn't much better. It's kinda like Lacrosse, hell of a sport but no one wants to sit and watch it. Soccer is pretty much forgotten about after adolescence in this country. In Texas it's Football, Basketball, Baseball in high school, everything else is just fluff to fill out an athletic dept. and considered secondary. Again not downing anything, just stating like it is. When the two teams play for the 5A State Championship in football this year they'll have 30,000 plus there I'd be willing to bet.

[houstonmacbro]

i am not a big soccer fan, but i am glad that we have a winning team ... soccer is really big for most people around the world (just look at africa, latin and south america, europe, and the caribbean if you need proof).

as mentioned, i am not a big fan but glad that the team we have is a winning one!

[Trae]

Shouldn't this be merged with the Dynamo thread.

[texas911]

Sweet! Way to go, Dynamo!

[houstonfella]

H O U S T O N D Y N A MO

2006 MLS CHAMPIONS!!

It was a great day this weekend for Houston. Coogs, Owls, Dynamo, Texans, Rockets WON.

[skwatra]

wow, you guys just love to complain about everything huh? if you don't like soccer, fine. bottom line houston just won a professional championship.

i agree that it sucks to end a game on a shootout, but at some point it has to come to that. have you ever ran up and down a 100+ yard field for 120 minutes straight? have you ever seen a stanley cup game that goes into 4 OTs? it starts getting really slow and sloppy.

i was at the game, and it was up there in excitement. and i've been to a lot of playoff games (MLB, NBA, NHL). i was in the all orange section, and even though it wasn't sold out, our section was so loud nothing else mattered. we were all on our feet cheering for Houston for over two hours. dj, the smoke bombs were awesome. i don't know if they showed it all on TV, but when the guy went to clear it off the field he tried to pick it up and burned his hand. he then figured out that kicking it off was the better way to go.

and there were quite a few people there cheering for New England in a few sections on the otherside. one thing surprised me was that i didn't see a single FC Dallas fan.

driving out was amazing. busses, RV, painted cars all honking their horns and screaming. i wish i went down 45, but we even ran into plenty of fans on 35 on our way down to austin.

people that like to wait over 1 minute between pitches for a low scoring game that they play 162 times in one season are calling the most popular sport in the world boring. funny.

Edited November 13, 2006 by skwatra

[DJ V Lawrence]

According to Fox, the Dynamo championship party has just been announced and is being planned for City Hall at 5pm Tuesday

[MidtownCoog]

i don't know if they showed it all on TV, but when the guy went to clear it off the field he tried to pick it up and burned his hand.

They did show it on TV.

How trashy. What kinda a-hole throws smoke bombs in a public venue?

[Original Timmy Chan's]

When's the last time you've EVER seen more than 10,000 fans from Houston travel to another major city one of our teams?

UH took over 10,000 fans to Fort Worth for the Fort Worth Bowl in December 2005.

I understand that we took 4,000-5,000 to the SMU game in Dallas on Saturday.

And we took over 10,000 to Memphis for the 1996 Liberty Bowl (UH outnumbered Syracuse fans at least 3-1 at that game...and about 6-1 on Beale Street afterwards!)

I also look for UH to take well over 10,000 to Memphis this December for the Liberty Bowl (yeah, I'm jumping ahead a little bit...first we gotta win the CUSA Championship Game here at Robertson on December 1st).

Edited November 13, 2006 by Original Timmy Chan's

[MidtownCoog]

And we took over 10,000 to Memphis for the 1996 Liberty Bowl (UH outnumbered Syracuse fans at least 3-1 at that game...and about 6-1 on Beale Street afterwards!)

My brother and I were two of them.

That was a fun trip.

Edited November 13, 2006 by MidtownCoog

[DJ V Lawrence]

UH took over 10,000 fans to Fort Worth for the Fort Worth Bowl in December 2005.

I understand that we took 4,000-5,000 to the SMU game in Dallas on Saturday.

And we took over 10,000 to Memphis for the 1996 Liberty Bowl (UH outnumbered Syracuse fans at least 3-1 at that game...and about 6-1 on Beale Street afterwards!)

I also look for UH to take well over 10,000 to Memphis this December for the Liberty Bowl (yeah, I'm jumping ahead a little bit...first we gotta win the CUSA Championship Game here at Robertson on December 1st).

I'm refering to professional sports. But go Coogs!

They did show it on TV.

How trashy. What kinda a-hole throws smoke bombs in a public venue?

I gotta agree with you there; throwing the smoke bomb on the field wasn't cool or safe. But while in the stands, that bomb looked pretty cool on tv It almost looked like Europe! I can't remember the last time I've seen a smoke bomb in an American stadium other than this season in MLS. Good stuff!

[skwatra]

They did show it on TV.

How trashy. What kinda a-hole throws smoke bombs in a public venue?

i agree, that was pretty stupid. it was cool in the stands but no reason to throw it onto the field. especially so close to our goalie, i'm sure that smell didn't help him concentrate.

[RedScare]

They did show it on TV.

How trashy. What kinda a-hole throws smoke bombs in a public venue?

Oh, please! What a bunch of dawdling church ladies you people are. Of COURSE the smoke bomb was funny! Especially the Orange color. You guys sound like a bunch of Homeowners Association board members griping about the length of a neighbor's grass.

But, REAL American Sports fans would never do that. Oh, No! Other than beer (Detroit Pistons fans), batteries (Phillies, Eagles, Jets, Mets), liquor bottles (LSU), sabres (A&M), and Disco records (Cleveland), I've hardly seen ANYTHING thrown by fans at AMERICAN sports events.

And, boring? Have any of you been to a professional football game recently? Could anything be more exciting than watching a referee looking at a replay box while the theme from 'Jeopardy' plays on the sound system? How about the dead silence for two minutes after every change of possession, while the TV networks run their commercials. A 60 minute game now takes 3 and a half hours to play, because of the commercials. Not to mention that there is only 20 minutes of actual "play", since the rest of the time is spent in the huddle. And, don't even get me started on NASCAR, golf and bowling.

Look, I am not trying to trash the sports we grew up with, and prior to this year, I did not watch much soccer. But, let the fans enjoy their championship. They don't dis the other sports. Quit jumping on theirs. Besides, you sound like a bunch of Yankees fans who can't admit there are 29 other teams that play baseball.

[pineda]

How long will Oliver Luck wait before going to his old boss, Billy Burge and asking for his own $80 million dollar stadium for the champion Dynamos? I'm sure it won't end up costing taxpayers anything... Edited November 13, 2006 by pineda

[DJ V Lawrence]

Oh, please! What a bunch of dawdling church ladies you people are. Of COURSE the smoke bomb was funny! Especially the Orange color. You guys sound like a bunch of Homeowners Association board members griping about the length of a neighbor's grass.

But, REAL American Sports fans would never do that. Oh, No! Other than beer (Detroit Pistons fans), batteries (Phillies, Eagles, Jets, Mets), liquor bottles (LSU), sabres (A&M), and Disco records (Cleveland), I've hardly seen ANYTHING thrown by fans at AMERICAN sports events.

And, boring? Have any of you been to a professional football game recently? Could anything be more exciting than watching a referee looking at a replay box while the theme from 'Jeopardy' plays on the sound system? How about the dead silence for two minutes after every change of possession, while the TV networks run their commercials. A 60 minute game now takes 3 and a half hours to play, because of the commercials. Not to mention that there is only 20 minutes of actual "play", since the rest of the time is spent in the huddle. And, don't even get me started on NASCAR, golf and bowling.

Look, I am not trying to trash the sports we grew up with, and prior to this year, I did not watch much soccer. But, let the fans enjoy their championship. They don't dis the other sports. Quit jumping on theirs. Besides, you sound like a bunch of Yankees fans who can't admit there are 29 other teams that play baseball.

(you forgot to mention octopus (Detroit Red Wings))

[houstonfella]

Thanks, Red Scare. You always come up with the post of posts. Word!

"Dawdling church laidies..."

Edited November 13, 2006 by houstonfella

[MidtownCoog]

Smoke Bomb or Real Bomb.

Note to self: Security at Pizza Hut Park is lax.

Homeland Security - help us!

[RedScare]

Smoke Bomb or Real Bomb.

Note to self: Security at Pizza Hut Park is lax.

Homeland Security - help us!

Note to self: Don't sit next to Midtown Coog at UH games. Total buzz killer.

GO COOGS!

[TJones]

Red, you forgot, Beer Bottles and Iceballs in Cincinatti, those Bengals fans are fierce.

Edited November 13, 2006 by TJones

[MidtownCoog]

And tortillas at Pecker Tech! Which is expected from the bubbas in Lubbock.

But Houston smoke bombs are pretty silly.

Yea team!

[RedScare]

Red, you forgot, Beer Bottles and Iceballs in Cincinatti, those Bengals fans are fierce.

And don't forget Chik-fil-a. Those guys are brutal.

And tortillas at Pecker Tech! Which is expected from the bubbas in Lubbock.

But Houston smoke bombs are pretty silly.

Yea team!

I'll take smoke bombs and tortillas over those pansies at UT throwing roses.

[nmainguy]

while i a do not follow a lot of soccer it is good to have another incredible winning team here in houston!

job well done!

Agreed. The operative being "here in Houston" as opposed to the Arlington Rangers, the Irving Cowboys and now the Frisco FC Dallas. I wonder if Dallas will ever get their own baseball, football and soccer teams?

[KinkaidAlum]

I just got back to Boston from a double-dip trip. Caught the SMU vs Houston game at Ford Stadium where the Coog crowd was quite large and VERY loud. The SMU campus is incredibly nice but I am glad I wont have to see another Kate/Ashley Olsen look-alike wearing ug boots and carrying $6,500 Berkin (sp?) bags for quite awhile.

That was just my second MLS game and I loved it. The stadium was awesome. GREAT amenities, sitelines, and booze choices! The Houston fans were out in force. We sat a section over from the official Revolution section and even there, it was 80% Orange. My two buddies I went with hate soccer. They left loving the experience. What was not to love...

beautiful weather

great venue

beer and booze flowing

loud crowd

and an exciting win regardless of what Midtown claims

[skwatra]

i have to admit i really liked everthing about the park. it is a bit small, but perfect for that the MLS is today. i hope we follow that model, but keep it closer to downtown.

i can't believe they had blue moon at the same price as budweiser. good selection indeed.

it was a little cold for me, wish the sun were out. but everything worked out perfectly.