Houston Texans Fans Acting Like Houston Dynamo Fans

For the first time in franchise history, the Houston Texans have made it to the NFL Playoffs. On Saturday January 7, 2012, the Texans hosted their first ever Playoff game at Reliant Stadium, and prior to that game there was an indication that the Texans' front office had paid attention to the tifo displays that have occurred down the road at Robertson Stadium, former home of the Houston Dynamo, because, as evidenced by the above picture, they managed to orchestrate a tifo display worthy of any major football club in Europe. You can see the display starting about 30 seconds into the below video clip.

The Texans went on to win the game, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 31-10.

Today the Houston Texans will take on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Division Playoffs at M&T Bank Stadium in Charm City. Yesterday, when the Texans arrived at their hotel in Baltimore they were surprised by the large amount of travelling fans on hand to greet them:

Travelling fans aren't a completely new concept in the NFL, when I lived in Wisconsin it was amazing to see how many people traveled to away Green Bay Packers games, but here in Houston, it wasn't until the Houston Dynamo came to town that the concept of a large contingent of travelling fans came into vogue in the Bayou City. The Dynamo have much more experience being a playoff team than the Texans do and they are used to having a good contingent of travelling fans on hand no matter where they play, especially in the playoffs.

I'm not saying that the fan treatment the Texans are getting would not have occurred but for the presence of the Houston Dynamo, after all, Texas is football country and Houston has been starved for NFL Playoffs since 1993, but there is a good amount of sports fan crossover in this city, with many local sports fans supporting all the professional teams, so there probably has been some cross-pollination between the Texans and Dynamo.

The Texans-Ravens game starts at Noon Houston time and will be aired on CBS.

Houston Dynamo Players React to Advancing to the 2011 MLS Cup Final

Photo by Chris Canetti

Following Sunday afternoon's 2-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the 2011 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Final, members of the Houston Dynamo shared their thoughts on the win and the upcoming MLS Cup Final with Simon Borg of MLSSoccer.com.

The Houston Dynamo will be facing the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2011 MLS Cup Final on Sunday November 20th at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The match, which starts at 8:00 pm central time, will be broadcast on ESPN and Galavision.

The Zygo Soccer Report in the Raw: Dynamo 1-0 Union

Photo by Katy Umaña

The Houston Dynamo beat the Philadelphia Union on Thursday night, 1-0, to advance to the 2011 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semifinal. This episode of The Zygo Soccer Report features raw post-match audio from Stuart Holden, Chris Canetti, Bobby Boswell, Adam Moffat, Brad Davis, Brian Ching, and Dominic Kinnear.

The Dynamo play Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Final on Sunday November 6, 2011. The match starts at 4:30 p.m. central time and will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.

I apologize for the quality of my intro audio, had to use different equipment to record that part, the rest of it is the high quality you find on previous podcasts.

Music in this episode from Girl in a Coma, Cage the Elephant, Dum Dum Girls, and The Black Kids.

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Brian Ching Says Goodbye to Robertson Stadium & Hello to Eastern Conference Finals: Dynamo 1-0 Union

Photo by Katy Umaña

On April 2, 2006, over 25,400 sports fans packed into Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus to see the first ever MLS match to be played in Houston. The match featured the newly minted Houston Dynamo, formerly the San Jose Earthquakes, hosting the Colorado Rapids and the star of the night was a Hawaiian forward named Brian Ching who scored the first goal and then three more in the 5-2 Dynamo victory. Therefore, it was fitting that it was Brian Ching who scored the last Dynamo goal, the last MLS goal, at Robertson Stadium, ensuring that the Dynamo would advance to the 2011 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Final.

On Thursday November 3, 2011, over 24,700 Houston soccer fans were on hand to watch the Houston Dynamo host the Philadelphia Union in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal and to say goodbye to Robertson Stadium. This past Sunday, the Dynamo picked up a 2-1 win at Philadelphia in the first leg of the semifinal. Brian Ching picked up his goal in first half stoppage time. Fittingly, Brad Davis picked up an assist on that goal. After 90 plus minutes, all the Dynamo needed was Ching's goal, giving them a 1-0 win in the second leg and a 3-1 aggregate victory in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals.

As you will hear in an upcoming podcast, the significance of Ching picking up the last Robertson Stadium goal was not lost on those connected to the Dynamo organization. Following the match, Chris Canetti, Stuart Holden, Dominic Kinnear, and several Dynamo players all reflected on the fact that Ching goals book end the franchise's Robertson Stadium era.

This season will mark the 4th time in six years that the Dynamo have advanced to their respective conference finals, the last time being in 2009 when they lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in a controversial match. In the sporting landscape of Houston where the Astros are considered one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball, the Rockets have been so poor that the NBA lockout barely seems to register as a concern, and the Texans are just now starting to have a serious chance at making the playoffs, the Houston Dynamo, with its MLS Cup championships in 2006 and 2007, have truly been a bright spot, bringing pride to the city. A new era in professional soccer in Houston will begin next season when the Dynamo move into their new downtown stadium, but one thing that never changes is the Dynamo's drive to win the MLS Cup.

The Dynamo don't have much time to relax and enjoy their victory because they'll soon have to travel to Kansas City where they'll face Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Final on Sunday November 6, 2011. The match starts at 4:30 p.m. central time and will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.

City of Houston to Hold Dynamo Rally on Wednesday

Leg two of the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals match-up between the Houston Dynamo and Philadelphia Union takes place at Robertson Stadium in Houston at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday November 3, 2011, and in preparation for the match, the City of Houston will be holding a Rally to support the Dynamo, who won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, on Wednesday November 2, 2011. The rally will be held at the City Hall Farmers Market between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

The first leg of this semifinals tie took place on Sunday in Philadelphia, with the Houston Dynamo picking up a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Andre Hainault and Calen Carr. The team that picks up the most goals in the two match tie will face the winner of the Sporting Kansas City - Colorado Rapids Semifinals Series on Sunday November 6, 2011. Kansas City currently leads that series after beating Colorado, 2-0, on Sunday.

Tickets for Thursday's match are going fast, but there are still some available via the Houston Dynamo website and by calling 713-276-GOAL.

Amanda Knox - Sounders Fan

Those crazy kids over at TMZ managed to get their hands on pictures of Amanda Knox wearing a Seattle Sounders scarf, along with her Halloween outfit. Considering Knox has played the beautiful game (after all the nickname "Foxy Knoxy" that the Italian prosecutor tried to use against her was actually earned via her soccer playing skills), not surprising that she's pulling for the home team in the MLS playoffs (though Real Salt Lake beat them up pretty good, 3-0, this weekend).

Click here to see the pictures over at TMZ.com.