Happy Thanksgiving

It was good to start off the weekend with a final Dynamo home game. It ended as I thought it would with a Dynamo win, but I was disappointed that the Dynamo didn't handle Firpo better. (Recap. Recap 2.) They should have had a second goal in the first half, and should have done a better job of creating opportunities that could lead to a second goal in the second half. In the end, they made the match a lot harder on themselves and a lot more anxious for their fans by playing down to the competition.

I know that's soccer at times; but it happens a little too frequently for my tastes with this team. Of course a lot of the problem was the gamesmanship used by FIRPO to compensate for their incompetence, and the inconsistent officiating didn't help either. I think a substitute was called for earlier in the second half, but many of our off-the-bench talent was already on the field, and with Holden, Davis, and Cameron out, we didn't have a good option to help out in midfield, where we were struggling. Kei Kamara was a good sub when he came on.

Kei was an example of the best of the Dynamo that night. I loved how Kei twice waved his arms at the crowd to energize the stands. That was his way of saying "We're in a tight one down here, we need your help, guys." After the game, he and his teammates took to the center circle and applauded all four sides of the stadium. That was much needed, and much appreciated by the supporters. Soon after, my sons and I were walking behind the north goal on our way out of the stadium, when we saw Kamara walking down from the El Batallon section. I don't know what he was doing there, but I figure he had been showing his appreciation for the season-long fervent support.

(In addition to Kamara, Frankie Hejduk also knows how to get the supporters energized.)

While intermingling with the supporters groups is above and beyond the call of duty, the applauding of the fans is the sort of fan-feedback that a team should provide on a regular basis. It acknowledges the fans and is recognition that should be demonstrated by any player who expects fans to be cheering for him. I did notice that all three players subbed out (Jaqua, DeRo, and Ching) applauded the fans as they came off the field. The cheers for Jaqua, and his response, were a little more ardent due to the fact that we all knew that was his last appearance in Orange. He'll be wearing Seattle Emerald next year.

The game had a weird vibe to it. Maybe it's been too long since I attended a CONCACAF match. They didn't do the Star Spangled Banner after the line ups. The players didn't stand facing the crowd while the line ups were announced (they had moved to the shaking of hands, flipping of coins, and posing for pictures). And I didn't spot the Dynamo Girls even in the stands. I don't remember a confetti canon when Ching scored either. It was a no-frills game, I guess.

My sons and I were sitting in Section 203 for the game. We took the seats from a co-worker of mine who had season tickets but was heading out of town for the holiday. It turns out, the seats are right next to those of a former co-worker of mine. I worked with him from 1995-2000 and hadn't seen him since. It was good to catch up with him, but he did tell me a story about the Dynamo players that disturbed me. One day he came to a Dynamo Reserves match, and he saw Holden, DeRo, and another player (I can't recall who he said) watching the game from the goal line seats. He decided to go sit not too far from them. He didn't bother them -- he didn't even speak to them -- he just wanted to take in the game and watch some Dynamo first teamers root as fans too. Well, they called security on him and forced him to move. (He said he thought it was Holden, of all people, who called security.) I thought that was a pretty crappy thing for players to do at a game. It wasn't like they were out on the town; they were at a Dynamo game. If they wanted privacy, they should go to one of the boxes. It wasn't like he was bothering them anyway. I hope that my old friend just misunderstood the situation and it was security -- and security alone -- who saw him and decided to relocate him.

At any rate, the Dynamo players did show their fan appreciation on Wednesday, and they were definitely the classier of the two teams on the field. Overall, they gave us a season of quality and came close to bringing home some silverware in the Pan-Pacific Cup and SuperLiga. They had also positioned themselves well for completing the nearly impossible three-peat. However, this year, for the first time, they brought home no awards -- not even El Capitan for the first time ever. Still, they're better positioned than most teams for a solid 2009 campaign, and they're the only MLS team heading to the quarterfinals of the Champions League Cup.

A few moves off-season should ensure a good 2009 -- and hopefully a better start than 2008. We also need to get that stadium situation settled (and find a way to do so WITHOUT allowing football lines on the damn grass). If $10 million really is the difference between a downtown stadium or none, you'd think that Anschutz would pony it up since they'd easily make that back with a stadium located in the Central Business District.

Maybe such gifts are better discussed around Christmas time. Right now we're enjoying Thanksgiving and we should be thankful for what we have.

Thanks for a great season, Dynamo and Dynamofans. Here's hoping for an even better one next year.

The MLS Cup is over, but the Dynamo are still playing

It's a new era for Dynamo soccer. We're now fans of a team that is not the MLS Champion. But because the 'Mo is arguably the best team in the MLS, it's still a great time to be an Orangefan. Lark Howorth has stated in his blog that we will be tested as to "whether we support the Dynamo even harder and better next year, despite the MLS Cup sitting in a rival's display case." Supporters have to "remember that a soccer team depends on its fans as much as the fans depends on the team." So true.

A truly devoted supporter will be a vocal supporter of the team, attending every game whether or not the team is the champion and whether or not the team has a good team that can contend for titles. I suppose I am a little on the fickle side when it comes to team support. I am not one that needs my team to be the champion, but I do expect the team to be a quality team that is expected to compete for championships. As long as I don't feel the front office is skimping on the product, I'll buy. They don't need to be champions, but they need to be quality. Maybe that doesn't make me fickle; perhaps I'm just discriminating.

At any rate, we have a quality team here in Houston, and I, for one, am so glad the Dynamo have their postponed CONCACAF match tomorrow. (Preview. Preview 2.) It's going to be a long off-season, so I'm eager to get one last game in before the hiatus.

It's win and move on for the Dynamo. I like their chances, given (1) the desire to end the season on a high note, (2) having enough prep time and rest for the match, (3) we're playing at home, and (4) our reserves tied and almost won the match in San Salvador.

Unfortunately, by game time we'll already know that one of our players will be moving to Seattle. Most people assume that someone will be Nate Jaqua. If so, we'll miss him but wish him the best of luck. (And anyone taken will be available for the evening match versus Firpo.)

Here's hoping the soon-to-be-departed leaves with a final Orange victory under his belt.

Accolades for the Dynamo
Even though they had the second best record in the league and the best record in international competitions, the Dynamo saw little recognition for their quality. That's become de rigueur for the Dynamo, who have often focused on team accomplishments in lieu of individual accolades. Noble.

In 2006 I think DeRo should have gotten MVP. We had a goal of the year candidate last year (I think) that should have been recognized. This year, I think the travesty was that Geoff Cameron wasn't selected Rookie of the Year. He wasn't a regular starter, but he played on every part of the field but goalkeeper for the top ranked Dynamo, and contributed mightily to our run in international play. Instead, the award went to a defender on a team with the worst defense.

But at least the front office won some awards. (And here is another article on the matter...but nothing on the official Dynamo or MLS websites?) This is one of the best run organizations in the league: on field, on the sidelines, and in the office.

MLS Cup
Though I didn't have a personal rooting interest, I did watch the MLS Cup. (Recap.) It didn't have the feel of a championship game -- maybe it was due to the empty seats or the quality of the pre-game and halftime commentary. I dunno. It was a decent match though.

At any rate, I was pulling for the Crew as they were the more deserving team. If a league's champion is a team with a losing record in the regular season, then that league has a faulty method for choosing a champ. Luckily that didn't come to pass.

In the first half the Crew did unto the Red Bulls what the Red Bulls had done unto others: absorb pressure then score on the odd chance from the counterattack. According to Steve Davis, this was not a matter of the Crew playing poorly, but it was an intentional strategy by the Crew in order to take RBNY out of their regular game. It was a risky, but effective move that also allowed the second half to be a better balanced game. We were treated to a total of 4 goals (3 in the second half) and in the final 10 minutes we saw a beautiful goal off a linkup between Schelotto and "Hey, Duck!"

Overall it was a decent -- though not an awe-inspiring -- final match.

Changes Coming to the MLS
The Commish did his annual pre-Cup state of the league speech. There were several key items that were noted in the speech.

Some highlights:

• The reserve division is gone. (Houston will be the final champion.) The Senior roster will be expanded from 18 to 20. The Reserves will be reduced from 10 to 4.
• “There will be small growth in the salary cap.”
• Teams in the CONCACAF Champions League will not play in SuperLiga. Houston will play in the CCL, along with Columbus, New York, and DC. SuperLiga competitors will include Chicago, Chivas USA, Kansas City, and New England. I don't think there are any changes to the US Open Cup participation.
• Teams will play 30 games in the regular season. Teams will play every other team once away and once at home. That makes up 28 games. There will also be two additional games versus a "rival," so, presumably, Houston will have an additional home game and an additional away game versus Dallas.
• MLS will take off 2 international dates next year and will go to a reduced schedule on four other weekends.

So we should see a deeper group of starters next year, but we'll have a smaller team overall. We'll be saying adios to a lot of our reserves. I hope they find a place on another MLS team or in the USL.

Another first in a season of firsts

We opened the season with a 3-0 loss, and we closed the season with a 3-0 loss. What happened to the vaunted Dynamo defense?

Dynamo get a first round exit. The best team in the league (no, not the team with the best record -- only the second best record -- but the best team nonetheless) got spanked at home. RBNY never does that. Houston never allows it to be done. It was, nevertheless, done.

That game just sucked. What a horrible time for the Dynamo to reaquaint themselves with their poor finishing bugaboo. Speed killed us this year. Dane Richards has speed. He got the goal and the PK that ended the game and our season. Crapola.

I'm off to Florida in an hour to work for the week, and I'll have a long time alone to stew about this bitter and unjust end to the season.

'Mo Salvages an Otherwise Miserable Sportsday

Thanks, Kei, for getting the dramatic equalizer in the 85th minute. (Recap. Recap 2.) We're tied up with RBNY so it's a simple matter of win and move on at Robertson next week.

Other than that, the weekend sucked. My son's team lost 3-2 to a team they had beaten 5-3 on the opponent's home field. It was their first loss of the season and was one of those frustrating matches where you dominate territory and possession, but give up a few quick counterattacks that make you pay. We were 2-2 at the half. We scored in the 3rd, they scored in the 7th, we went ahead in the 16th, and they equalized in the 30th. Both of their goals came from footraces between their forward and our defenders. Our first goal came off a header after the boys executed a corner kick sequence perfectly. (Short pass-layoff-cross-header-Goal!) Our second goal came from some combinations up the center that sprang our forward into the attacking third. The first half also saw a handball in our box, but our goalkeeper saved the successive PK. Five minutes into the second half, our opponent scored what would be the winning goal. It started from yet another fast break, but then slowed down when we kicked the ball out of bounds. A few bounces after the throw in and we lost the game. The remainder of the match was in the opponent's half ... but nothing went in the opponent's goal, unfortunately.

The worst part of the loss is that I (as the coach) think I sat a player out too long because (1) we needed our best players in to win, (2) this guy isn't one of our best players, and (3) worst of all, he half-trots around almost as if he doesn't want to play. Also, unbeknownst to me, I stopped my stopwatch sometime in the second half, so I was unaware how late we were in the game. So, either out of subconscious desire to hide our weakness or an accidental occurrence because I thought we had more time left in the game, I ended up breaking my own cardinal rule and played him less than the 40 minute minimum (half the game, spread over both halves). He had 20 minutes in the first half but only 10 minutes in the second. And I feel lousy. I've become one of those jerk-coaches who sacrifice player development in order to win.

And then to cap off the day, my Longhorns lost to Texas Tech. I don't know WHAT our problem was in the first half, but we almost made amends with our comeback in the second half. Had Gideon hung onto the interception with 8 seconds left, then I think my whole weekend would have seemed just fine. Now there is a pallor over everything. Everything.

And to cap things off, I'm traveling to Florida next Sunday for business during the week. I'll miss seeing the Dynamo game, and worst of all: I'll miss most of my daughter's 11th birthday. Next weekend isn't looking much better than this one.

Hopefully the Dynamo give me something to smile about next weekend too.