Dynamo???

Half of the remaining Dynamo games are on Channel 55 or 43 this year.

 

Houston has three more games on ESPN2, June 21, July 5th, and July 12th. There are also nationally televised games on FSC, HDNet, and Telefutura if you have any of those channels.

Yes, Columbus does have a team, they're not very good but have gotten a little better this year. Houston will be playing there this Sunday.

 

Yeah, that is AWESOME. I noticed that every now and then. I know I saw the game against Dallas there, while it was on Telefutura. I thank my lucky stars I can get those channels on my Windows Media Center PC so I can record the games while I am away...

I wonder who the Spanish broadcasters are on 43 for the games. Those dudes are good at narrating the games... ya'll should listen to them...

Speaking of Media Center... I gotta go start the Media Center thread in the hangout.

 

Saw this article on TrueHoop. MLS is getting some great press.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2096862,00.html

US soccer punks 1, McFans 0


Steven Wells on how independent, witty, irreverent fan culture is triumphing over Major League Soccer's preprogrammed Disneyfied McFan experience

Wednesday June 6, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Recently I was at an indoor soccer game working for FourFourTwo magazine, cheering on the Philadelphia Kixx in the company of a rowdy mob that calls itself the Sons of Ben. With their custom-made scarves, raucous chants and vigorously thumped bass drum, the 60 Sons made more noise than the rest of the arena put together. And they made particular sport of the Baltimore Blast keeper, Sagu. They got drowned out only once-when the 4,000 strong Girl Guide audience joined in with the SpongeBob SquarePants theme tune (something of a ritual at Kixx games).

But then - in a flash of spontaneous genius that would have brought a smile to the face of the Kop - the Sons of Ben responded with a mournful "Sagu SquarePants" And poor old Sagu visibly wilted.

Now here's the thing - the Sons of Ben aren't Philadelphia Kixx fans. They're fans of Philly's Major League Soccer team. But Philadelphia doesn't yet have an MLS team. Which is to say that, despite having scarves, songs, chants, replica shirts and flags, they're fans of a team that doesn't yet exist. It's almost as if - in the manner of the South Sea cargo cultists - they're trying to will a Philly team into existence. They even organise trips to New York Red Bulls games, just so they can boo them. How hardcore is that?

With the entire US soccer press (such as it is) fixated on how Mr Posh Spice is going to save American soccer (from what, exactly, nobody ever says) very little attention is being paid to the ongoing revolution in US soccer fandom. Sick of the dull, pasteurised, one-size-fits-all, preprogrammed Disneyfied McFan experience that's all but got a deathgrip on US pro-sports, soccer fans have increasingly been doing it for themselves.

The Sons of Ben are following in the noisy, irreverent, chaotic footsteps of the Chivas Legion Kalifas (Chivas USA), the Galaxians and Riot Squad (both LA Galaxy), Screaming Eagles and La Barra Brava (both DC United), Empire Supporters Club and Raging Bull Nation (both New York Red Bulls), and Section 8 Chicago (Chicago Fire). And, of course, the national team's Uncle Sam's Army who chanted, at a friendly against England: "We've got dentists!"

In most other US pro-sports (college sports are different) the majority of fans sit sipping pissy beer and munching tasteless hot dogs or nachos slathered in fake cheese while some blandroid on the PA makes all the noise. Which makes soccer's new breed of self-organised, scarfed-up, singing, chanting, banner-hoisting, flag-waving, noisy-as-hell ruffians the sport's clearest brand differential - and potentially its greatest asset.

Here's an example. I'm at a Chivas/Galaxy derby stood next to a dude wearing a Dodgers T-shirt when the Chivas hardcore burst into the stadium like a red-and-white tornado. Dodgers dude nearly has a heart attack.

"What the [f---]!" he yells, taking a step back. "Who the hell are they!" I explain they're soccer fans and this shouting, jumping, yelling, screaming carnival is how soccer fans trend to behave.

It's baseball dude's first soccer match. You can bet it won't be his last. There's no doubt that David Beckham will put meat in the seats, but it's the noisy, life-affirming, autonomous, independent, witty, irreverent punk-culture of the fans that'll hook them.

Yeah, I know. I'm being ridiculously optimistic. I'm ignoring the fact there are vast deserts of inert fan-zombiedom in the MLS. And even at the noisy-fan infected grounds, the pogoing mobs of flag-waving fanatics are flanked on either side by dumbstruck armies of gawking, spoon-fed sports consumers. (Hey, English footie snobs, remind you of anything?)

But what if the disease spreads?

When Liverpool played an exhibition game against Celtic in Hartford, Connecticut a few years ago, the Liverpool team were visibly stunned by the mentalist reception they got from their American and expat fans. But just behind the seething Connecticut Kop was a large American lady festooned in every possible piece of Michael Owen merchandise. She punctuated the songs of her fellow fans with a shrill "Come on, Mikey!" every 30 seconds and midway through the first half she shouted: "Okay, guys, you've had your fun. Could we all sit down and be quiet now so we can enjoy the game?"

She didn't get it. Others will. The Chivas/Galaxy game ended with the red and white phalanx of still-bouncing Chivas fans (they lost 3-1) surrounded by ponytailed, Galaxy-headscarved BenditlikeBechhamistas (and their mums and dads) jabbing their fingers and screaming "Hey Chivas! You suck!" Way more fun than the game itself.

The MLS has a way to go before it starts to compete with the big European leagues - but US soccer fandom is already on a roll.

 

Of course, he DID forget to mention the Texian Army... Grr...

 

That's very true and it makes a big difference. I'm a season ticket holder for the Dynamo and love the atmosphere at the games - definitely better than Astro and Rockets games. I'm also very happy that Houston management has never played over the PA system any songs/chants to ruin it.

 

I think the Rowdies should turn into a college/soccer like atmosphere. Jumping up and down waving flags, yelling, drums.

 

They'd have to sit a bit higher up if they were going to wave flags. But I agree - if the Rowdies could be, well, rowdier, they might be able to make more people cheer. Because, ultimately, we all want the Toyota Center to be Oracle Arena.

 

Does anyone notice that the Dynamo also have a dance team? Some of them are former Rockets Power Dancers. http://a377.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/l_42a9e417b749f90cdc791399acffeeb0.jpg

 

Yeah, there was a big spread on the team's front page when they were auditioning dancers.

 

Yes, I am aware of it.

Dave2000 is aware of it.