My first ever memory of watching Houston Dynamo play came when I was randomly browsing the TV channels for something to watch when I came across an MLS game on ESPN, (bearing in mind I would literally watch any soccer game as I’m so in love and engaged with the game). I’m pretty sure Houston Dynamo were playing Colorado Rapids or San Jose Earthquakes, I’m not 100% as it was about 8/9 years ago. After that, as all top soccer fans know, the next best thing to playing the game or going to watch is playing FIFA on the PlayStation.
So off I went as I started a career mode with the Dynamo. This is when I saw the kits, they were awesome, the colours and the badge were my cup of tea. I started to get heavily involved now and done some research were I stumbled across BBVA Compass Stadium (now known as BBVA Stadium), this was absolutely incredible. To this day it is the most beautiful soccer specific stadium I have ever seen. This is where it all began to take off… Houston we don’t have a problem.
Around 5 years on from watching my first ever Dynamo game, in which I literally stay up every single week whether the game be a 2am kick off or a 4am kick off I have great pride in staying up to support and watch my team live. I would actually say over the past 6 or so years I have only missed a handful of games. Whenever the time come where my girlfriend and I had the chance to visit Houston we jumped at the chance. This was my first ever visit to the USA, which people around me questioned and found rather amusing that on my first visit to the USA I choose Houston. Honestly, I don’t regret my decision. In fact, it’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
September 2017, off we went to Houston! My Dream was finally coming true and I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t feel real. We planned it really well as we got to attend a double game week. The first game was a Wednesday night under the lights at BBVA Compass Stadium (BBVA Stadium). I know I spoke previously about how beautiful the stadium looked. I can assure you it didn’t disappoint, seeing it in person it blew my mind, even to this day. It’s truly a work of art and hats off to the Dynamo for creating such a wonderful home for our fans. So, the first game was at home to the LA Galaxy, the game finished 3-3 after a late comeback from the Dynamo. But the best part of the night was yet to come.
I met a guy on Twitter called Jay. He made this trip one to remember. Jay had a surprise for us after the game. We got to go behind the scenes and meet all the Dynamo and LA Galaxy players and staff. We met guys like Alberth Elis, AJ DeLaGarza, Rico Clark (who actually was the last one out of the changing rooms after a lengthy wait, maybe drying his hair…), Jermaine Jones, Dominic Kinnear, Gyasi Zardes, Ashley Cole and many more. This was a dream come true. To this day I still remain forever grateful that Jay made this happen and I regard him as one of my best friends even though we only occasionally communication over Twitter.
The next game was on a Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium against Minnesota United. Jay, once again pulled out all the stops and managed to get us in the tunnel to see the players walking out onto the field at the start of the game. I was in pure dreamland. The Dynamo went on to win the game 2-1. You could say I’m a good luck charm as the Dynamo remain unbeaten when I’ve seen them play live in person.
In the past few years the Dynamo have slowly been left behind as the ever growing MLS continues to grow rapidly. However, we still hold our own and I strongly believe the future is very bright for our club. The keys to success are obviously stability. We also need investment on and off the field, most importantly in the first team squad and academy. We really need to get the fans back too and get the stadium sold out again as it should be. We aren’t a small club by any means but the attendance has been poor over the past few seasons. The ideal situation is to get a Mexican coach in place after the departure of Wilmer Cabrera and a Mexican star player. This would be a brilliant start to get the fans back at the stadium again. We need to be smart about things like that and think about how we can appeal to get our own fans in Houston back and also attract fans across the pond like myself. Everything is in place, we just need to execute it to take us to the next level and compete with the dominant MLS teams.
Houston has easily been the best place I have ever visited and highly recommend it to everyone. The people pleasantly surprised us with their kindness and generosity and they welcomed us with open arms. I can say I have defiantly made friends for life with some of the people I met in Houston and I still keep in touch with over Twitter etc. to this day. It’s amazing how a soccer club can bring everyone together in a friendly and happy environment and everyone attends the games for the same reasons with no fear of trouble that you see here in the UK and Europe.
Next year, 2020, my girlfriend and I are heading back to Houston. I’m going to relive the dream and see the Dynamo play live again and visit the city of Houston and all the amazing people I met for the first time in 2017. I have to give a special shout out to Jay Adelberg and Tony Rubio for making our visit first time round so special and I can’t wait to be reunited with them next year. One thing I would love to get up and running is a Houston Dynamo supports group within the UK and Republic of Ireland. I’m enormously proud to support Houston Dynamo and represent them passionately everywhere I go. I hope to see more fans like myself in the future around the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
I would like to thank MLS Ireland for giving me this great opportunity to share my Dynamo story with you and would love to get to know other passionate MLS fans like myself within the UK and the Republic of Ireland regardless of the club you support. My twitter account is @Ross_lufc98 hit me up! #ForeverOrange
Thanks,
Ross
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