is this from the realm of the real world? If Lester Gretsch is accurately quoting Canetti, part of the Houston bid to host World Cup 2026 games comes down to how well attended the USOC Final is? I’m sorry, but this seems incredibly farfetched and more aimed at trying to sell tickets for September 26th. http://mobile.twitter.com/elgretsch/status/1034134184640557057 @HoustonDynamo president Chris Canetti on Houston’s chances of being selected as host city for @united2026: “(Houston) is going to be measured (...) including September 7 ( @miseleccionmx vs. @Uruguay) and @usopencup final.” The expectation is to sell out the game v. @PhilaUnion .
Our city sold out Reliant Stadium in May of 2003 for U.S.A. vs. Mexico. In a time when our city had no USL or MLS team. No college team save San Jac JuCo. In that era also, MLS was struggling very badly. But bang! The game was set up for us in Houston by the USSF. That was our city putting up 70,000+ in ticket buying customers and thus shutting up any non believers of Houston looking from the outside on how our city goes for pro soccer support. 15 years later! With all the passion and love our city has shown to AEG, our current owners and our FO suits, there is this statement coming from our FO. That the deal breaker for our climate controlled, NRG(Reliant) Stadium to earn it's place on the list for NorthAmerica2026 World Cup venue is FIFA taking into account not past international fixtures at said Stadium but the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final and it's attendance. C'mon Lester! Why does our FO do this? To say to their Dynamo's most faithful customers, "you better buy tickets...or else!"
I was there in 2003 and for Canetti to claim the USOC final matters in the analysis for awarding 2026 WC games is beyond absurd to being insulting to our intelligence.
I agree. It is like our own FO does not know how soccer savvy our city is. Certainly how in love with the sport our highly diverse city is. On top of this in place soccer culture, our city has a climate controlled venue, seating 70,000, for a tournament to be played during an North American Summer. That we would be aloof enough to think FIFA officials are watching our domestic Cup Final and thus scratching NRG Stadium off the list of venues.
NRG has been open for 16 years now and host dozens of soccer events And had solid attendance for almost all of the major events. For Canetti to claim that a midweek game for the US open cup is going to determine or even have a significant influence on whether or not we host World Cup games is incredibly disingenuous. It would be like the NFL not awarding Houston the Super Bowl because Rice or UH didn’t draw very well for their conference games. I suspect next week will hear a statement that 2019 season ticket sales for the Dynamo could have an impact on hosting World Cup games in 2026
Our marketing team has declining faster than the product on the field has..... People questioned me on reddit about their #USSOCChallenge attempt and why I thought it was stupid. I say it is a poor attempt because: 1. Social media challenges are ridiculous in themselves 2. most pick up traction because it fits with state of the culture at that time (ei: new hot song, social things and causes) not a ********ing MLS team playing in a final that 99.9% of Americans know nothing about or that it exists. 3. There is a celebrity pushing.... Ching and co are celebs to us, but not to most of the city of Houston and couldn't be picked out in a crowd 4. The Houston Dynamo or people attached, don't have the social media presence or traffic that is required to pull off such an obscure challenge to actually see quantifiable results. But I am the one that is the negative asshole..... I'm not easily fooled.
There seems to be something inauthentic about 100% of what the Dynamo FO or their “media” contacts do in terms of trying to rally people to buy Dynamo tickets. That “challenge” to get folks to buy tickets for the USOC to “show” the FO something while routing the purchases thru a specific sales guy who happens to appear on their 20 listener podcast is just funny. This club lacks authenticity - as in they don’t have any authenticity at all. They have the appeal of one of the clerks who issues licenses at the TX DMV offices.
I honestly couldn't agree with you more! The FO of the past had it a little easier with card kind of laid out of 2x Defending Champions, 3-4 Future MLS HOF'rs, but even then, they tried and came up with new ideas to connect to the fan base... These guys, as stories have been coming out on here and other places, have threatened, bullied and resulted to name calling. When they come up with ideas the try something so silly and with a laughable rate of success as USSOCChallenge. I will not bash that podcast, because I will actually listen to it now that I know about it. We need to support those guys by listening and interacting with them. We don't have or get the coverage like we need to get the information out. Most of the guys on this forum have been around since Houston 1836 was the original team name! Hell some still have collared shirts to prove it! I am going to reach out to these guys and see if they are will to come on here and banter with us instead of the shit show that is most of Reddit!
I'm not going to bash the podcast at all. It's a service to Dynamo fans. I won't even criticize Jay Adelberg as I think he's one of the best sales people on the staff. He is passionate about both clubs. He tries very, very hard. If the rest of the FO cared or tried as hard as Jay, we would have a shirt sponsor and the USOC would already be sold out.
Look I don’t know the guy but if the story posted on here that Jay berated a customer for buying a cheap club seat on Flash Seats then his passion is misdirected. He’s dead center in his Circle of Suck. There is this bizarre entitlement mentality by the FO to blame the customer for everything they come up short with.
I want to know if that is true as well, because he was on there show. If it is I'd like him to explain himself. You want us to buy tickets and even season tickets from you, but this is how you act....
that's the problem with this fanbase and FO tho. we keep people/players/coaches/GMs/field maintenance/concessions ops/big soccer posters around because they're "nice" and "we like them". pretend he's a Mexican player and maybe you'll hate him!
Dynamo announce new Director of Season Ticket Sales: Luis Angel Landin The FO personnel have jobs, families, etc. so I’m not big on calling for specific peoples heads but there’s also this sort of latent dickishness about much of the FO that erodes sympathy. They didn’t seem to care that they took my STH money in 2016 and then proceeded to cut back on the squad, coaches, stadium staffing, etc.
Recall the STH plaque pledge. To then have us mention it with laughter over those early years as a fun, run on joke about how our FO would say one thing and do another. It symbolized our collective sighs at their collective odd, bone head statements or choice of actions. This STH plaque joke still makes me smile when one of y'all haul it back out in print on our threads! Ha! Now, a decade later, this latent dickishness you speak of WC is nail on the head of how best to describe just where our FO has evolved to. I ain't f'n laughing nowadays my friends.
The STH plaque debacle - and their lack of ability to set $1000 aside to manufacture a plaque along with a list of people from an Excel spreadsheet who Renewed tickets in 2008 - is epic in that it shows they didn’t care about any promise they ever made any of us. “If we wait long enough everybody will probably just forget!” It’s a pervasive attitude that has existed for several years and now they’ve pretty much run out of all the suckers who drop money down for season-tickets who don’t care what kind of product they get in return. With Brener as owner they’re out of resources, out of ideas, and now running out of customers.
Well for the all the comments about how soccer savvy our city...then why aren't the soccer savvy folks buying tickets to a chance to watch us potentially win a trophy and a ticket into international competition? And isn't it the fan's fault for not supporting their team which has beaten some good teams in a knockout competition to reach US' oldest soccer competition?
You are speaking of a trophy that even Dom, a former MLS player and U.S. International, who could have cared less about the Open Cup tournament. He literally went on record of questioning a tournament that was some five game stretch. Or him sitting on the bench as our boys are losing an Open Cup match and he looked non the less concerned. Compare this spirit to how much a regular season MLS match meant to Dom. I say all this in that even though our boys are in the Open Cup Final, I am not going to draw a straight line from Houston soccer fans not grabbing up tickets to this game to it is all of our "fault" for not being in love with the Open Cup trophy. Specifically since the greatest coach in Houston's soccer history did not go all in for the Open Cup trophy now did he Pen. Or even our FO's marketing department over the years marketing the Open Cup tournament to Houstonians that might not even know about it.
Can you name last year's Open Cup winner? Because a midweek reserve-heavy tournament where MLS teams enter in the 4th round and then play amateur sides for a round isn't exactly a top-notch exciting soccer competition. Many games are effectively decided by the lineup choices to rest players by some teams. To wit, in Seattle's loss to Sacramento, they had 1 (ONE!!) forward in the 18 man roster with MLS experience. And yes, who can forget the epic 2013 DC United USOC championship squad that went 3-24-7 in MLS play with a minus-37 goal differential? How prestigious a trophy this must be if one of the worst squads in MLS history was able to win it!! I'll give the FO credit for at least bidding enough to get a few home games then winning coin flips to host the last few games.
Arguing the legitimacy of this tourney only sounds like it is ok for them to act a certain way or no one to give a shit. I cannot recall who one last year, but I do know it wasn't us.... that is enough for me to care! For a team to begin to succeed, everyone has to be on the same page top to bottom. This is why I struggle with not showing up, not giving a shit or not buying merch, but I also struggle with supporting the crap they put out.
I coached youth teams for 13 years and supported a losing team now for awhile (season tickets since 2006) and no one has a right to tell me I am failing to support soccer if I decide not to buy tickets to any game now or in the future. My obligation is over - time for someone else to step up. That being said, I bought 5 tickets for other die hard soccer friends to come with me to the open cup game. I did this once before during 2016 when Wade Barret was interim coach. It did not go over well with my friends then - I hope there is good coaching and high technical performance from the team. It's up to the organization as a whole to sell the product to people that don't go to Dynamo games. They are now reaping what they have sown. Win / play good soccer and a lot of problems go away.
This all day! The real outrage should be directed towards those (if stories are true) that are representatives of this team and have treated those who pay for tickets (regardless of how much they pay for them) to be at the game.