Dynama'ams

I've always liked soccer because it's a pure sport. Speed, strength, dexterity, and fortitude -- Citius, Altius Fortius and all that -- on the ground and even in the air. No timeouts from the action and no superfluous pagentry -- in fact no compromise that will detract (or distract) from the fact that this is a competition between athletes.

For that reason, there is no need and, in fact, no place for the likes of cheerleaders and mascots. And while I think there are ways we can "Americanize" the game a bit and add our own unique culture to the mix, it would be better for us to do it by applying our diverse cultural mix into the game and creating a diverse, new style of play.

That may still come. In the meantime, we are adding only superficial elements to the game. Here in Houston, that takes the form of Dynamo Diesel (the Fox recently introduced as our mascot), and now Dynamo Girls.

These steps cheapen the game, I think. At the same time, it looks like the Dynamo front office realizes that stunts such as these have to be handled with kid gloves, and they are limiting the mascots and dance team to activities when the game is not underway. Bully for them.

And there might be advantages. I know my daughter's eyes were transfixed when Diesel was scampering about during halftime. And the dance team could generate some interest (albeit in a different demographic than the mascot) as well.

So, I stand firmly waffling ... but my instinct is to reject these moves as trivial, base, and completely unnecessary.