Playing with Fahr

For the first time in this early season, Dynamo have a full week off between matches. Plus, they've had home cooking for the past week. Thus they should be rested, reinvigorated, and, most of all, hungry for a win when they meet the Chicago Fahr (the Texas way to pronounce the name) tomorrow.

It's too early to talk about "must wins" and worry about a poor season, but the fact is that Dynamo Houston have not impressed so far this season. They need to show their mettle -- and soon -- to show that they are a team that can drive their collective selves to a higher level, and show that they don't require an outside agent (like adversity) in order to thrive.

On a less psychological level, Dynamo need to show some sort of creativity and even diversity on the attack. Our strength is our flank play, sure; but is that all we really can throw at people? Ching is perfectly suited for that style of play (as are Davis and Mullan on the distribution side), but can teams just shut him down to hold us toothless? We don't have any other solid threats to redirect crosses, except for our defenders on set plays.

What we need on the attack is DeRo and Clark to show their wizardry in the middle, while Ching's partner up front needs to threaten with penetrating runs. Last year, Dalglish was the only forward to offer that threat; this year his slump in form is no different than the rest of the team's. With a solid threat up the middle, plus Ching's talents on finishing the work of our wingers, we are a dual threat and a solid contender in the MLS West. With one-dimensional play? Well, we'll score 1 goal every 3 games until Toronto and RSL come to town.

(Is DeRo the Dynamo Lance Berkman this year? And last year, for that matter? So goes Lance/DeRo, so goes the Astros/Dynamo? Discuss.)

On the other end of the ball, the defense is as physical as ever, but seems slower than last year. Whether it's Pachuca, or Donovan of LA, or Galindo of US Goats, or Dane Richards and Jozy-A of RBNY, if you've got speed, you're knocking on Onstad's door. (Or Wells' if you're Pachuca.) If we can't handle speedy attackers, then we need to rely on better positioning instead. It's a fixable problem.

I am optimistically thinking the offense responds to the rest, and the defense (particularly Onstad) maintains the integrity of their homefield. I say 2-0 Dynamo.

A Brief Sojourn into Cynicism
I must confess, when I heard that Dynamo Houston had taken on the Virginia Tech cause for this match versus the Fahr, I didn't cheer for the the team's humanity. I groaned.

No, I am not heartless ... or at least not due to a lack of sympathy for the victims and (most especially) their families. Whenever such pain is inflicted on a scale that makes the media flush with excitement, then those of us who are powerless spectators want to do SOMEthing because we are compassionate yet, as I said, powerless.

Enter the merchants who offer their charity as long as you buy their product. "Buy a six pack of beer and we'll give a percentage to MADD." In other words, give me money and I'll be sure that some of that money goes to something you value. Of course, if we wanted to help, more help would go to the needy if we gave directly to the charity and avoided the middle man. But we instead praise the middle man for his benevolent soul and ignore the slick marketing line we've been fed.

Sometimes it seems our need to come to terms with our own feelings of pain and/or impotence forces us into action even when our intrusion is not needed or wanted. Yet, we selfishly force ourselves onto the true victims, as if our need to cure our minor pain overwhelms our desire to help those who are truly in pain. Sometimes we even take on the mantle of victims ourselves.

So, that's my beef. But having said that, I've heard several VT alumni say they appreciate the gesture, which means the gesture certainly has some worth. (Of course the alumni are emotionally hit even harder by the magnitude of these events, yet are just as powerless as the rest of us, so the urge to do SOMEthing probably is more acute with them.)

Note that my disdain for such marketing spins has nothing to do with Team Dynamo: the coaches and players. They're merely playing a game and doing what they can to help and bring attention to a cause. Nor do I condemn the purchasers who feel good in what they do, as long as they don't feel superior because of what they did. My cynicism (and I rightfully admit that it is jaded cynicism) is reserved for the marketing merchants who prey on the emotions of others. Does that describe Corporate Dynamo? Possibly not. But I still don't feel like I'm helping the world because I'm watching a soccer game, just like I don't feel like I've supported public education because I've bought a lottery ticket.

Fantasy Soccer
I've never been into fantasy sports, but I did venture into fantasy soccer last year and enjoyed it immensely. I ended up something like 950th overall, but I did take my league. This year I'm floating around 15th in my 75-team Dynamo league. That puts me nearly 3000th overall. Less than stellar, to be sure.

Last year the game was played differently. Players' cost rose and fell according to demand. A good manager could find an overlooked talent and bring him on cheaply, then sell him for more at a later date and use the profits to bring in even better talent. That made cheap players as valuable as expensive players. This year, the prices are the same each week and the team cap doesn't waver. It seems luck plays a bigger role with this method. (Yeah, luck is why I'm 3000th. No, really!)

I got an extra dose of fantasy pain this week. I knew that KC had two games this week, so I picked up Eddie Johnson and put him as my captain. Just before the transfer deadline, I inexplicably switched to Carlos Ruiz as my captain. That was a bad move, as Eddie J has 2 goals this week to Ruiz's 0. I guess I should be happy that I at least have Eddie J on my team at all, but switching captains cost me several hundred points. I guess I'm pulling for a brace from Ruiz tomorrow vs the Revs. I wouldn't mind if the Revs won though, just to keep FCD's points down. Lessee, Shaka is still in goal, so a 3-2 Revs win isn't unthinkable.

Last week I had:
Dynamo ties RBNY 1-1 (nope, 10-man Red Bull won)
KC over Fire (Nope)
Chivas over RSL (Yep, a no brainer)
FCD ties Colorado (Nope, FCD was outplayed, but won)

That puts me at 3-2-5 (W-D-L) or 3-7. Don't take me to Vegas, friend. I'm just glad that I'm too late this week to enter any more predictions for the weekend.

Catch you on the other end of the game. Go Maroon.