C-bus, Ching, and Large Birds of Prey

Today Dynamo takes on the Crew in C-bus.The storylines:

• Both teams are struggling, but for different reasons. Both teams are hard working, but neither scores a lot.
• Can the Crew reverse their slump? Can Dynamo win three in a row?
• Alejandro Moreno faces his former club. Joseph Ngwenya faces his former club.
• A win puts Dynamo in second place for the moment, with a game in hand versus conference leader, FC Dallas.

I have sort of a soft spot for the Crew. Back when theirs was the only MLS-specific stadium, I was a casual follower of the team. Lamar Hunt is a good man, and that was his team (along with Dallas Burn and KC Wizards at the time), and Brian McBride was (and is) a fighter with talent and character. I also liked that the Crew weren't the media darlings of the teams on the two coasts and Chicago. Plus, I dug their all-gold kit, just like I like Dynamo's all-orange kit that they wore versus the Revs.

Dynamo tend to have trouble maintaining streaks, and don't seem to be able to put away the Crew, no matter how bad the Crew are. That, coupled with the ongoing absences, suggests we get a draw for the third time facing the Crew, but my inner-optimist says Dynamo 1-0.

Chingy Gold Cup Sighting
Ching scored the game winner vs Trinidad & Tobago Saturday, redirecting with his feet a cross by Ralston in the 29th minute. In the 54th minute, Ching made the long pass to Donovan, who dribbled to goal and crossed the ball to Eddie Johnson for an insurance goal. Still, many see the opportunities that Ching has wasted, rather than seeing that he scored the game winner. While the US is winning, the fans are whining.

I will grant that the US isn't playing the most electric form of soccer, but they're still playing well enough to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup (but then so is Mexico, and maybe some other countries). No, I'm not content with mediocrity. Yes, I have bigger aspirations for the team than being a big fish in a small pond. I dream of the day that the US is a dominant player globally in international soccer. We have a ways to go, and the problem is not due to having a feeble coach or -- gasp! -- an American coach; the problem is in the way the game is taught to the players. If we ever organize our youth soccer culture to better train the next generation of players, and if we ever establish a coherent American style of play (beyond physical defense and impeachable fitness), then we just may fulfill that dream. Until then, I'll root the team on and wait for the recurrent if inconsistent flashes of technical skill that tends to carry us through, and I'll ignore the naysayers and complainers who revel in negativity and in the feeling of superiority they attempt to generate with their abuse. Ever notice that the people with all the answers are the people who aren't accountable for anything?

Mutual of Omaha's Wilde Kingdom
Saw this on Fox Soccer Channel Saturday. Hedwig the Owl brings good luck to the Fins over Belgium.