Dynamo Fan Attendance

The past few times I've been to Robertson Stadium, it seemed the Dynamo fans aren't coming out in the numbers seen at the beginning of the year. It's no surprise that attendance has diminished somewhat since the initial novelty has worn off. Humans are fickle creatures to be sure. But check out this downward trend...

(I couldn't find numbers for the May 20 game versus the Fire, so I just put down 15K here. While I was at the game, I noticed we couldn't get the Wave going around the stadium once. I think the enthusiasm level suggests a lower actual fan count.)

We are currently at an average of 15,700 (including the 15K guess for May 20). This average isn't too bad, but the trend has been solidly below 15,000 since the blip for the FCD game (which will always be a draw) in early May. I don't think the NY Soft Drinks will be a big draw this weekend, so I will predict that the attendance will also be below 15,000 -- but hopefully I'm wrong.

We only have four more regular season games being played at Robertson (not including the US Open Cup match versus Carolina Dynamo -- and any further Cup matches should we progress -- nor the LAG match, which will be held at Reliant Stadium). This means we have little opportunity to push the average above 15,000. Can we do it? Can we show the team that we are a soccer city and they are in our hearts? Let's hope so...but it takes more than hope. Go out and buy some tickets. Bring some friends. Instill a passion for the world's game as we make it Houston's game.

And while we hold up our end of the bargain, Dynamo, you need to do the same. Beat the Soft Drinks tomorrow.

What just froze over?

Okay, so losing to the Rapids in the thin air of Colorado shouldn't be deemed an embarrassment, but it's still irksome.

Dynamo lost to the Rapids last night, 1-0, for the first time. Ever. That keeps us a good 5 points behind FCD, and brings Colorado to within 3. Yes, one win can bring the Rapids equal to Dynamo. That is not an accurate appraisal of the two team's equivalence. The Rapids are not in our league ... quality-speaking of course.

The game wasn't televised, so I couldn't watch it and I can't speak to the flow of the game. The stats seem to indicate that Dynamo more than held its own. We had 13 shots (to their 8) with 5 on goal (to their 2). Apparently Joe Cannon made some spectacular saves.

But there's another stat that could hold some weight: we had only 3 corners to their 8. Does that mean that Colorado may not have had as many bona fide shots on goal, but they had several dangerous passes and crosses that had to be knocked out by us? If so, then perhaps we were a bit more porous on defense than the S/SOG data would indicate.

Let's just forget the numbers and solve all problems by starting a winning streak, beginning with NY Red Bull this Saturday. My family and I will be there. We won tickets at Griff's the other night during Glenn Davis' recording of the "Dynamo Power Hour." The seats are horrible, but the price is right. Go Dynamo; beat the Soft Drinks.

The Power Hour

My wife and I managed to spend an evening at Griff's sports bar watching Glenn Davis broadcast the Dynamo Power Hour. Lots of fans were present, as were Coach Kinnear, Ricardo Clark, and Kevin Goldthwaite.

I ate a greasy burger, drank Harp's ale, and won four tickets (my wife won two and I won two). We also collected a good stash of Dynamo coozies. All in all, a great evening.

Cheers!

Holden up to the Revs

Well, tonight the Dynamo could consider themselves lucky to come out with a draw. Playing with 10 men for the final 15 minutes or so makes the 1-1 result palatable...but it still isn't.

The Revs threatened sporadically, but without much real bite, while Dynamo had several penetrating runs that ended in poor shots or belated attempts that were easily blocked.

Ching played well in the first, but the wet field (and physical jockeying) seemed to keep him off his feet for much of the second half. Moreno had several of those great drives at goal that were fruitless. Davis also had a great look in the second half that suffered from its poor timing. In the first half, DeRo had a 1v1 running at goal, and those are in the net8 times out of 10, but he was denied.

Bad luck played its role too: In the first half, the Revs managed to clear the ball off the line; Ching also had some shots (by the peg and by the noggin) that sailed just wide or high.

But the story of the night was rookie Stuart Holden, the local boy, who came on the field around the 60th minute and scored the equalizer just three minutes later on his first touch. (The goal came from a beautiful cutback pass from Moreno after one of his many runs.) Holden had another nice attempt sail just wide a few minutes later.

Dropped to 10 men after Barrett saw his second yellow after the 70th minute, Dynamo slipped into a more defensive posture, but still had several dangerous counter attacks. Their 2 game winning streak stumbled with the draw, and the team dropped from 3 points out of first place to 5 points out of first after FCD beat RSL.

Still, we're unbeaten in 10 games, and we're 6 points ahead of Chivas USA in the standings.

Best of all: the rainy weather kept the temperature down (DeRo looked a bit peppier tonight) and my son caught a T-shirt at the game. Now THAT's a trophy.

There's only a short rest ahead boys; we visit the Rapids on Wednesday. Good luck in the rarified air.

Supported by a Brace

Dynamo has seen it's standings in the conference buoyed a bit in the past two weeks by two strong wins vs Chivas USA at home and vs the KC Wizards in Kansas City.

We started slow versus Chivas USA, particularly after an Ante Razov goal in the 8th minute or so. Near the 20th minute, Ricardo Clark decided not to bow to the visitors when he drove his way into the Penalty Box and slotted a ball to Ching for Ching's 9th goal of the season. In the second half, Mullan's determination earned him a goal, and Moreno's enthusiasm did the same for himself (on his 27th birthday, no less). It ended up being a solid win. The only discomforting item about the game: only 8K people were at Robertson Stadium. The rain, no doubt, kept many away.

I was away on vacation and was unable to witness the victory at Arrowhead on the following Saturday. The report says that we gained a lead in the first half, but gave up the lead 2 minutes later. In the 56th minute, Brad Davis gave us a lead that we never relinquished, and Ching later scored his 10th goal in 11 games played. KC has been reeling of late, but it's a well organized team and it's good to earn a tie on the road like that.

Both LA and KC have fired their coaches after losing to Dynamo. What does that say about us?

This coming weekend, the Revolution come to town. Clint Dempsey should be fun to watch in person as he comes "home." They should be more of a challenge than when we last met...

Time to cut the lifeline we're providing for our Conference foes

The Dynamo and Chivas meet today at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo finished out June without a loss, but with only two wins, they left a lot of points on the table.

Today we're only three points from first place…but also only three points from fourth place. We treaded water maintain our sights on first place, but we also didn't distance ourselves from the others in the Western Conference. A loss today puts C-USA in second and drops us to third. We need a win today.

At least Ching seems to be back in form

In my opinion, Dynamo are controlling the pace and possession well, they just need more composure in front of the goal. Ching should bring more of that, but other players need to step up. Ricardo Clark and DeRo are proven scorers, but the other strikers and midfielders have a history of squandering great opportunities.

It's reassuring that Dynamo are not satisfied with their recent run of form.

"We're good enough that we can be frustrated," said Craig Waibel.

"We're definitely not where we want to be," said De Ro.

"We're getting tired of having the same conversation after every game that teams that don't deserve to be getting a point off us are," said Eddie Robinson.

"Let's just say I think we're playing below ourselves right now, and the results are showing that," said Coach Kinnear.

World Cup

Today Germany plays Portugal for third place. Tomorrow Italy plays France. I'm pulling for Germany and France versus the teams that have made a killing off diving. (Though France's Thierry Henry helped push his team through with a dive. He's not alone though.) I guess it comes down to my appreciation of the individual over the organization. I like what Jurgen Klinsmann has done with Germany and I'd like him to prove his Deutsch detractors wrong, and I'd like to see France's Zinedine "Zizou" Zidane go out on top. Seeing the Italian and Portuguese divers lose would also be nice...but can anyone score on the Italians this World Cup?