The Dynamo play saturday in the Western Conference finals at 7:30 CST against the Kansas City Wizards (worst. name. ever.)

The team actually drew 30k last weekend for their clash with FC Dallas.  Their a quality side.

No I don't like Michael Bolton and no I don't wear an inordinate amount of pink.  Ok so maybe I wear some pink.

There are three types of football: soccer, rugby, gridiron. If you want to watch a winning football team in Houston you need to get over to a Dynamo game.  I still watch gridiron but my favorite is now soccer football. I find gridiron more boring. Most sports fans I know who actually get over and watch a Dynamo know what I'm talking about.  

The majority of American's are like I was and had never been to a professional soccer game in their entire lives.   This is changing very rapidly and they, like me, will be attending more and more MLS games.   I grew up on baseball, basketball and gridiron and still watch these sports.  I didn't really discover football (soccer) until around 16 years ago.  I lived in Europe for 11 years and have watched some of the World's top team.

Soccer (more appropriately in my opinion called football or futbol) is the most popular sport in the World.   Soccer is played in almost every country and is by far the most popular team sport in the world.   The pinnacle event for World soccer is the World Cup which is held every four years.  

The 2006 Men's World Cup was aired by a total of 43,600 broadcasts across 214 countries and territories. The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany had a total cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion (24.2 billion in-home and 2.1 billion out-of-home viewers).   An estimated 25% of the world's population watched the final game of the 2006 World Cup.  The United States of America's men's team  has never won the World Cup.   Our best finish as a nation was when  the United States Team came in 3rd place in the 1930 World Cup.

Soccer  is a sport which requires strength, explosive power, speed & agility, endurance and overall total body strength.   The incredible skill required to control a round ball with your foot, body and head without the use of hands takes years to develop and refine.   Soccer requires strategy and tactics.
Soccer has been played in the United States since the 1600s when it was played in it's pre-modern form  was played on the Boston Commons in the 1600s.   Both groups are probably right as both forms of football was played at the time.  

 Soccer,  in the United States,  was initially played more by the upper class school boys and university students in Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale.  The Oneida club, formed in Boston in 1862 is thought to be the first football  club in the United States.  Both gridiron and soccer football in the United States tie their origin to  to the Oneida  club.  Since no formal rules had been established and variations kicking the ball and carrying the ball were played at the time.    Soccer has enjoyed a number eras of immense popularity in the United States.  The first "Golden Age" era of soccer was  in the 1920s which culminated in the United States coming in 3rd in the 1930 World Cup.  The great depression followed by World War II along with poor marketing brought this era to an end.  

There are four times as many players participating in youth soccer than in Little League Baseball.
The United States Soccer Federation has the most registered youth players (3.9 million) in the world, with 2.3 million male players and 1.5 million female players. Germany is second and Brazil third.  

Professional soccer didn't have a resurgence until the arrival of the North American Soccer League and the arrival of Pele who most regard as the greatest player of all time.   When the North American Soccer League was formed in 1968,  in the wake of the 1966 World Cup, there were few professional players in the United States and  most of these had been playing in European Leagues.  
In 1975 the  NASL team the New York Cosmos miraculously  was able to recruit the player most consider to be the greatest player of all time.    Edson Arantes do Nascimento best know by his nickname Pelé came to a team of mostly inexperienced semi-professional players.  With the arrival of Pelé  to North American soccer many other World class players followed including  such players are George Best,  Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, and Giorgio Chinaglia.  The league blossomed and peaked with 24  teams by 1984.  This rapid over expansion, however, was also spelled the death of the league in 1984.  

The  recession of the early 1980s hit the young league like a gulf hurricane.  In the wake the of the 1973 oil crisis then the 1979 Iran hostage crisis resulting in another energy crisis the economy stagnated.   In 1980 inflation soared to  13.5%   The prime interest rate, at the time a highly important economic measure, eventually reached 21.5% in June 1982.  Unemployment hit a high of  10.8% in December 1982.  Job cutbacks were particularly severe in the oil industry, housing, steel and automobiles.  

 Many new team owners were given franchises without a strong financial foundation.   The expensive international players meant a very high payroll.  The rapid expansion had also thinned the available talent pool.  Despite an unbelievable run the dream ended in 1984 when the North American Soccer League suspended  operations but the seed was planted.  
Major League Soccer (MLS) was created in December of 1993 by the U.S. Soccer Federation  in an agreement with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) in exchange for the 1994 FIFA World Cup being held in the United States.  The league started play in 1996 with ten teams.   Unlike the NASL, there was already a broad base of skilled American players although many lacked international experience.  Because there was limited opportunity in the United States, many young players had gone to play in foreign leagues and did gain international experience.  The league had learned from the experience of the North American Soccer League.  All MLS franchises have been built on a solid footing.

Soccer (more appropriately in my opinion called football or futbol) is the most popular sport in the World.   Soccer is played in almost every country and is by far the most popular team sport in the world.   The pinnacle event for World soccer is the World Cup which is held every four years.  

The 2006 Men's World Cup was aired by a total of 43,600 broadcasts across 214 countries and territories. The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany had a total cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion (24.2 billion in-home and 2.1 billion out-of-home viewers).   An estimated 25% of the world's population watched the final game of the 2006 World Cup.  The United States of America's men's team  has never won the World Cup.   Our best finish as a nation was when  the United States Team came in 3rd place in the 1930 World Cup.

Soccer  is a sport which requires strength, explosive power, speed & agility, endurance and overall total body strength.   The incredible skill required to control a round ball with your foot, body and head without the use of hands takes years to develop and refine.   Soccer requires strategy and tactics.
Soccer has been played in the United States since the 1600s when it was played in it's pre-modern form  was played on the Boston Commons in the 1600s.   Both groups are probably right as both forms of football was played at the time.  

 Soccer,  in the United States,  was initially played more by the upper class school boys and university students in Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale.  The Oneida club, formed in Boston in 1862 is thought to be the first football  club in the United States.  Both gridiron and soccer football in the United States tie their origin to  to the Oneida  club.  Since no formal rules had been established and variations kicking the ball and carrying the ball were played at the time.    Soccer has enjoyed a number eras of immense popularity in the United States.  The first "Golden Age" era of soccer was  in the 1920s which culminated in the United States coming in 3rd in the 1930 World Cup.  The great depression followed by World War II along with poor marketing brought this era to an end.  

There are four times as many players participating in youth soccer than in Little League Baseball.
The United States Soccer Federation has the most registered youth players (3.9 million) in the world, with 2.3 million male players and 1.5 million female players. Germany is second and Brazil third.  

Professional soccer didn't have a resurgence until the arrival of the North American Soccer League and the arrival of Pele who most regard as the greatest player of all time.   When the North American Soccer League was formed in 1968,  in the wake of the 1966 World Cup, there were few professional players in the United States and  most of these had been playing in European Leagues.  
In 1975 the  NASL team the New York Cosmos miraculously  was able to recruit the player most consider to be the greatest player of all time.    Edson Arantes do Nascimento best know by his nickname Pelé came to a team of mostly inexperienced semi-professional players.  With the arrival of Pelé  to North American soccer many other World class players followed including  such players are George Best,  Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, and Giorgio Chinaglia.  The league blossomed and peaked with 24  teams by 1984.  This rapid over expansion, however, was also spelled the death of the league in 1984.  

The  recession of the early 1980s hit the young league like a gulf hurricane.  In the wake the of the 1973 oil crisis then the 1979 Iran hostage crisis resulting in another energy crisis the economy stagnated.   In 1980 inflation soared to  13.5%   The prime interest rate, at the time a highly important economic measure, eventually reached 21.5% in June 1982.  Unemployment hit a high of  10.8% in December 1982.  Job cutbacks were particularly severe in the oil industry, housing, steel and automobiles.  

 Many new team owners were given franchises without a strong financial foundation.   The expensive international players meant a very high payroll.  The rapid expansion had also thinned the available talent pool.  Despite an unbelievable run the dream ended in 1984 when the North American Soccer League suspended  operations but the seed was planted.  

Major League Soccer (MLS) was created in December of 1993 by the U.S. Soccer Federation  in an agreement with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) in exchange for the 1994 FIFA World Cup being held in the United States.  The league started play in 1996 with ten teams.   Unlike the NASL, there was already a broad base of skilled American players although many lacked international experience.  Because there was limited opportunity in the United States, many young players had gone to play in foreign leagues and did gain international experience.  The league had learned from the experience of the North American Soccer League.  All MLS franchises have been built on a solid footing.

I'm an an American who served my country for 25 years in the United States Navy - the greatest navy in the World.   My ancestors  came to this continent from several European countries as early as the 1600s.   They have fought in every war since the revolutionary war.    

Patriotic Americans support the U.S. National Soccer Team(s) which play in the World's most popular sport.  They also support the system which develops and supplies players to the U.S. National Team (men's) .  The majority of these players come from Major League Soccer (MLS).
 

My biggest point is that you can enjoy more than one sport.  I have a great deal of admiration for the passion of Texan fans.  I think our patient will be rewarded in the near future.  My point biggest point is you can enjoy more than one sport.  I have had some of the best sports moments of my life at Dynamo games.  However, among those great sports moments was when I was at a the Texan vs Colts game last season.  If you were at that game and a Texan fan then you'll know what I'm talking about when I talk about the Houston Dynamo.