Dynamo 2021 Preseason

I don’t know who’s happier about this: me or @CeltTexan.

https://www.houstondynamofc.com/pos...RKXdhJU7C2fl50AIYKsS0NodivpCuwqOosCicrkHsAieY

This needs to be a yearly thing. Fck going to Arizona.

 

There’s very little reason with the pro teams now in Texas and even OKC to go to Florida or Arizona anymore for preseason training and a low intensity preseason tourney

 

This is definitely nicer and I hope they continue to do it. This being Texas there is surely a market where you can build up a nice little preseason in-state tourney.

By my count we now have:

Houston Dynamo
Austin FC
FC Dallas
Rio Grande Valley FC
Austin Bold
San Antonio FC
El Paso Locomotive FC
North Texas FC

That's enough for an 8 team preseason tournament.

 

Had a scrimmage today - I know this is nitpicking, but those are just last years jerseys with the new hex patch, not actual 2021 jerseys, correct?

We're still even heading into the final 30'

The new boys and the new kits are lookin' nice in that H-Town ☀️ pic.twitter.com/8jce7J5PLs

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 20, 2021

 

yes.

1373344443403751429 is not a valid tweet id

from this tweet it seems like Austin has a Puma deal that’s not been announced yet. They probably have 1 set of Puma gear right now and based on what I remember from The Slice video it would seem like the training kits the team is using right now would be too close to Austin’s so they probably re purposed some of last years that were still around. I suppose you probably could have played the game with one team in those practice bibs but I can see the referee not going for that.

 

I figured this Austin team would be folded by now

Degree of secrecy struck me odd

You can see who the Bold played

RGV beat the same team 2-0 in September

Preseason is not always clear but this will look very tepid

 

This is great!
The Dynamo open La Copita – dubbed “The Best Little Tournament in Texas”

 

It appears from the article on La Copita, our FO has moved the Louisville encounter from HSP to BBVA Stadium.


March 28

1:00 p.m.

Houston Dynamo FC vs. Louisville City

BBVA Stadium

Closed

 

Uh oh, looks like they left out El Battalion, can’t wait until the civil war breaks out over that one!! Where is the EB guy that is on here who hates me now? He’s got something to say about it I am sure, usually with profanity towards me

https://3rddegree.net/texas-based-supporters-groups-announce-mls-division-of-copa-tejas

 

Meh.
And that trophy they use looks el cheapo.

 

well they have the Surge, Texan Army and Bandera Negra in there but no EB mentioned

 

They probably just didn’t want to be a part of it. I don’t think there’s any sense of making a mountain out of a molehill from this

 

EB focuses on our city's players and their efforts down on the field over the 90 minutes.
It's really that simple Westie.

 

I like the tournament idea. I think academy/HBU/RGV/UTRGV then on to AZ had gotten stale and auto-pilot. I think you want some unpredictability in preseason and serious tests that expose poor selections and ideas before the games start counting.

To be real, this whole situation should be in flux. HBU is likely missing as a spring sport this year. The Bold likely won't exist in a year or two. RGV will likely drop out of our preseason schedule and become a potential USOC opponent. Why should we drive down to play UTRGV with several closer games.

 

potential trigger warning--


el copita? why use a spanish name? Is there hard data showing an improved ROI is we use spanish instead of english?
I know the politics involved and the constant chase after the hispanic market but that's not what i'm asking about. I'm genuinely curious if this FO is actually seeing positive returns by using spanish terminology with their initiatives or if this is a FO "cultural" decision that is made regardless of the returns.

 

a couple things. First it’s La Copita because of the “a” at the end (I know a native speaker might give other reasons but this seems like basic enough Spanish). Also, I can see how you get the sense that Dynamo FO was behind this since most of us receive information through that frame of reference, but I don’t see any real evidence that this was their idea. It seems to be a collaboration between the three MLS FOs in the state. If anything I’d probably say the name idea was Austin’s considering how much they use “Verde” in advertising and what not. But ultimately this is a preseason tournament. It’s about warming up the players and no one is really making any money off of it. If you’re ever going to try things might as well be now I guess.

 

yeah, i said "the tournament idea," as opposed to "ours." “Organizing this preseason tournament with Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, provides each of our clubs and fans strong competition in the state of Texas as we prepare for the season,” said Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “It took a lot of hard work and cooperation from each club to work together to plan and we are all hopeful that this can grow into an annual event that the Texas soccer community can be proud of.” suggests it was a group effort.

this year's edition feels to me like a marketing device for a bunch of state teams plus OKC that decided to stay home and schedule each other for preseason. i wouldn't be surprised if us and austin pushed this because they are new and need preseason games, and with our changing relationship with RGV, we probably needed to take ourselves in a new direction as well.

i will be curious if this morphs into something more organized and centralized in the future, a tuscon sun cup type event that maybe the participants take turns hosting. i think there would be natural rivalry game appeal to what otherwise would be hohum preseason games for attendance.

that being said, i feel like we run on autopilot and habits have to be resisted (at least occasionally) as going through the motions. we kind of do the same thing over and over. we then don't do well in the season. everything about what we do needs some fresh air and less robotics about it.

 

i guess the MLS has decided then that all LA, Austin, Houston and Miami teams must integrate spanish into their "identity".
el traffico
la copita
la palma
verde
etc
Just seems to me that calling this the "texas cup" or even the "little texas cup" or "texas tournament" (an even more creative name would be preferred but you get my point) would be easier to integrate the new or casual fan to the sport (or at least have them identify what is going on by using a term that which they are used to) which is where the growth is gonna come from. I'm sure the marketing smart guys know what they are doing, but i still wonder if this is data/science based or if there are other drivers.

 

Fan of the Year!!!!

🎓 "Aggieland"

El @HoustonDynamo juega hoy en el Ellis Field de @TAMU aqui en College Station, TX y su aficionado número 1, @webtilton ya está presente. pic.twitter.com/sMMv2yTiir

— Deporte Total USA (@deportetotalusa) March 24, 2021