Jeebus

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. 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. 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?

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.

The thread Nazi strikes again.

The news said he was an iron worker. He was cutting a steel beam when it caused a collapse crushing him.

There has been a sign up at that location for at least 3 years now.

I agree completely with both points.

So what do we do? Coddle the Mom & Pop shops? By doing so aren't we fostering a communistic environment by preventing capitalism to take place? At what cost do we protect the small business owner?

Lets see.. In every other thread board members rightfully gripe about all the CVS type parcels with wide street facing parking lots, and endless stripcenters behind deserts of concrete. We hear all the complaints about a lack of urban infrastructure. Here we have a developer wanting to build a 7 story building in the heart of a high foot traffic commercial zone, that will cater to our very urban desires. 6 floors of residential, bottom floor of retail, and no wasted street level parking via an underground parking garage. I agree that you can't win them all, but in the bigger picture I wouldn't consider this a loss - especially in a city with no zoning.

Wow Channel 13, way to narrow it down. I'll just try to avoid those areas now. Lets see, all of SW Houston, all of the Inner-loop west & south of Downtown, and everything north of Downtown. Yeah, that should cover it.

How old are your children?

That's why God invented the Valet.

Wow, I'm going to have to disagree with you there. I get dragged down to the Memorial City Mall about once every two weeks, and at all different times of the day. I've yet to take notice to an obscene amount of trouble making loiterers. Maybe they're all ice-skating when I go? If anything I always find the Galleria to be crowded with more loiterers from all the teenagers going there because its a "cool" place to go.

Maybe until you get to Long Point, but after that Spring Shadows is not too bad. Its not Teal or Frost Wood, but its a nice middle class area.

LOL! Take that Spring Shadows!

Here are a few more.. Sorry about the size on the second & third one. I'm too lazy to download it, reduce, re-upload it, and post it.

wow.

They're still raising the capital to start construction. Fortunately its a non-profit, so the city's Building Services Division isn't involved - or else it would end up looking like a CVS pharmacy.

Jesus.. I hope you're not drawing up the plans. Then I really will believe the city chose the lowest bidder.

I don't think you have to be an "trained design professional" to know what a classic American fire station looks like on the outside. Nmain's ideal stations wouldn't fit downtown anyway. I could see one of the further out stations with such a modern design though - especially in a high traffic area, such a 33's. Like 33's was? Or perhaps 83's, or 86's? 27's is the last Houston Fire Station built with a shred of archetictural identity. Even still, the last traditionally built fire station in this city was built before 1940.You know who I feel sorry for the most? All those that will stop at this new firestation expecting to get an oil-change in 30 minutes or less.

Who are the clients? The firefighters, or the administrators? Which is exactly why this board is so quick to boo the "jiffy-lube" firehouse design.

Per recent police issued statements to the media, most of the robberies in Sugar Land have been premeditated home invasions on older asian residents. This includes the latest home invasions in Chelsea Harbour. The criminals are following people back to their nice neighborhoods to commit the crime.

We looked at Walnut Bend but sadly, couldn't afford it. We only had 150k to spend, and the best we could find in there was 195k. I think its a nice neighborhood and if holds steady, could be the next BGP.

What neighborhood do you live in?

Anyone know which firm did the firestation?

You must be watching the Beaumont news then. All I've noticed is the crime on the SW side. Sure there are still mexican gang problems on the SE side, and you'll always have problems on the northside, but lets keep this discussion in reality.