OK, the Houston Dynamo won the U.S. championship a few months back and if they’d been the Rockets or the Astros or the Texans (ha), they’d be laying back right now, doing a little fishing, hunting, enjoying life, whatever.
But see in major league soccer when you win a national championship, that just elevates you to another playing field. So all those orange men have been playing games in the CONCACAF (whatever) league, which puts them up against increasingly worthy opponents on the international scene.
The Dynamo are now in the CONCACAF semi finals for its Champion’s Cup. Turnout at the games has been increasingly from Mexican supporters of the game, who now have a chance to see top level teams from Mexico compete in Texas.
And their next rival is: Pachuca, which if you Google it, turns out to be “the oldest club in Mexico.” So great for the fan base, right? Nope.
It turns out that while Pachuca is ancient, it’s not one of the fan favorites in Mexico. Which means, Dynamo president Oliver Luck says, that in this upcoming game Wednesday, March 14 at 7:30 at UH’s Robertson Stadium, the club could have a real first in its international competition.
There might actually be more Dynamo supporters in the crowd than Pachucans. — Margaret Downing
This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2007.
