Sporting Kansas City v. Houston Dynamo, Saturday, September 23

ugh. KC

if these turnips ruin three points for us I'm gonna puke

 

Another big game for the orange. West is very tight, Dynamo legitimately could be 2nd or end up 10th

 

Go all out for 3 points here. Really don't care about US Open Cup at this point when the Dynamo have a legitimate shot at a top 3 finish.

 

It depends on perspective I suppose. I think the Open Cup is a lot bigger. Only because it’s Messi. This is probably going to be the most notable Dynamo game ever. This is Buster Douglas’ chance against Tyson. It’s a game that can change the whole trajectory of the Dynamo’s future. If it’s Cincinnati I agree with you, but you have a shot at the giant, the one MLS player that everyone knows, in a game that will have global attention, you got to take the shot.

 

I have very little juice for the Open Cup, but I do agree this game (if Messi plays) is going to have a lot more attention on it than Game 2 of a 1st round playoff series vs. Vancouver at 9:30 on Wednesday night on Apple TV. Its a spotlight game - BBC articles about it and Messi's injury! - and its hard to not prioritize it.

And I generally don't care about the US Open Cup, but the last two months of Messi have changed the importance of this game.

 

Only, as I understand it, it's not Messi because he's injured.

 

That is true but the game has been hyped as such. And if you have the chance for a trophy, go for it. It's been...4 years since we won anything? You have to go for it. We can balance the team to get a point or more from KC and win the championship.

 

It's how American soccer crowns our National Champion in the most dominant sport on the planet. Pretty damn important in my humble opinion!
More so if one is a lover of knockout tournament culture. March Madness, the FA Cup, the SFA cup, our Open Cup etc. The one off, have a bad night, lose to an underdog stories that make sports so enjoyable over the years.

 

In a 10 day span we're away to SKC, away to Miami and home to Dallas. I see fans on Reddit calling for the Dynamo to basically sacrifice (or risk sacrificing) those MLS matches in favor of trying to win US Open Cup.

If we had no hope of MLS Cup glory or if we had not already qualified for Champions Cup next year, I'd agree with that. However, we've already qualified for Champions Cup. SKC is a winnable game, we take that and our two home games and I think we finish top 3 if not top 2 and the way this team is playing, from one of those spots I think you have a genuine chance of running all the way to the MLS Cup final.

On the other hand, if we took 0-2 points from those two league matches, I think we're relegated to somewhere in the 6th to 9th place range which puts you at a huge disadvantage for an MLS Cup run.

Reality is most of the broader fanbase doesn't know what US Open Cup is, and outside of a subset of fans most don't care. Winning US Open Cup in 2018, for me, was meaningless. It just indicated that we were so crap we went all in on it whereas teams that were genuine competitors treated it as a second class trophy (which it is). It would be equally meaningless to me if we win this year. It's just not anywhere as remotely important as MLS Cup final is when you're a contender.

 

This isn’t just any Open Cup final. This is Dynamo vs Messi. Even if not all of the Dynamo fanbase knows what the Open Cup is everyone knows who Messi is. This game reminds me of Kansas City Wizards vs Manchester United. Everyone remembers how SKC turned things around with the rebrand and new stadium, but in the middle of that they played and beat Manchester United.


52,424 People watched this game at Arrowhead Stadium. 10,287 was KCW average attendance that year. They got huge exposure to a new audience that provided momentum turning the team around. The Dynamo will have the same extra audience. CBS is taking this game seriously. They are sending their Champions League crew to Miami. You could very well see promos for this game during college football and NFL coverage this weekend. This is a very unique and specific chance for the team.

 

That would all make sense if the game was being played here. I think the probability of people watching a mid-week US Open Cup that is televised on the CBS Sports Network, a channel most people don't have, in a way that makes any difference whatsoever on attendance or interest in the Dynamo is very low.

Given that, I can't understand why you would change your match selection behavior because of one guy who isn't going to play anyway.

 

I don’t think there’s anything conclusive for Messi. It’s probably going to be a gametime decision.

 

The Open Cup Final will be on free TV smart guy.
It's called Telemundo.
The channel many of us have enjoyed for pro soccer in our nation when pro soccer on TV was rare to none. Telemundo always delivered.

A-That Kansas City vs. Man U match serves to remind folks of the exposure an MLS club will get when squaring off with a globally recognized club in a Man U or a AC Milan or a Real Madrid etc. What I will say is in that win over Man U, the very next morning, K.C.'s Front Office was flooded with calls from locals that wanted season tickets! The impact was immediate and moved the needle in their market over night.

B- In a sport that the mainstream media has always derided for having no traditions and or history to lay claim to, I just grin and think well there is this 100+ year old knockout tournament that is here in our nation. Offering a tangible David vs. Goliath experience and these traits are adored in American sports culture. Can the Open Cup be better marketed, certainly. But to throw shade at it is weak sauce from any soccer fan. Winnable pieces of silverware are up for grabs in all soccer cultures and there is a pecking order. But the Chick-Fil-A Bowl this Cup Final is not! Messi and his arrival has changed the landscape for the beautiful game here permanently.

 

Again, the Manchester United game was in Kansas City meaning 54,000 Kansas Cityians (or whatever they call themselves) physically went to a stadium and watched that game. This game is not in Houston, trying to compare these two situations is like comparing a Yugo with a Ferrari. They aren't remotely in the same category.

I'm sorry, but I'll be amazed if the total viewership in Houston across all the tv options is 54,000.

Again, Messi vs Houston in Houston, moves the needle (but frankly only for that game, you're simply not going to see an SKC situation in these times). This just doesn't.

 

There is a calculation that every football club around the world has to make where it comes to domestic cup competitions versus the domestic league. Which do I prioritize? This is not my response, this is a response that plays out time and time again around the world. If you have a chance to win a bigger competition, that bigger competition is always, always prioritized. If you don't, then you prioritize the smaller competition where you have a chance to win. You can look back at the history of US Open Cup and the winners often, but certainly not always, are teams that don't make the playoffs or barely make the playoffs.

Starting this Saturday we have 5 games in the next 14 days. 4 of those are in the league where we have a chance at reaching levels that will actually move attendance. Win US Open Cup but stumble to the finish line in the league and flame out in the first round of the playoffs, attendance next year will be exactly the same as it is this year. Finish strong and make a deep run into the playoffs, attendance gets a boost. That's just reality. This isn't soccer in America in 2010 and we aren't playing a home match against one of the biggest teams in the world. All due respect, if you think this is remotely the same situation then I want some of what you are smoking.

 

You did notice how I broke down my post into two segments, an A and a B. Thus, the twain shall never meet. It should be very evident that I am not correlating Kansas City in an exhibition with our team versus Messi and a domestic Cup Final.

Also, a Cup Final in September, a chance at silverware, trump's any future match in late October playoff run. One cannot plan ahead in sports. There are so many variables that pop up like odd injuries, cards, a poor ref, late season fatigue and inclement weather that night. As a coach I can manage minutes but I can only piss with the cock I got!

 

I have a lot of respect for you and you are of course entitled to your opinion, but I think you are dead wrong. The Open Cup is our Cup, an all-American Cup. Winning it might only mean something for us die-hards, but we count too. Trust me, I would never trade an MLS Cup for an Open, but as Celt mentioned, you can't plan for games that you may not even be in. We can get hardware now. That's what we are playing for.

I mean, really, what does a Gold Cup mean? There's only one Trophy all the World wants, but damn it hurt when we were knocked out, and it hurt seeing Mexico win. Hardware is hardware and this isn't some stupid thrown together Leagues Cup, this Trophy has traditional. Again, all respect brother.

 

YES, it is your response because you keep reiterating it. Dynamo are 10th in MLS and 10th in PPG, this team is not winning the Shield, one Wednesday game in September is not the same as playing 6 more rounds and replays of the FA Cup while also being in the Champions League. You are way overdoing this.

I don't even rate the Open Cup that highly but this is not playing the Fire in a midweek game at some junior college, it's playing a Miami team that rightly or wrongly has dominated the attention of domestic soccer in this country the last two months.

Attendance needle isn't moving either way, if playoff chase mattered we'd have more than 7k folks in the seats vs. Vancouver

 

To be clear, I'm reacting to the Reddit posters who essentially have said, "throw the SKC game and the Dallas game and focus on the US Open Cup final". For me, that's a terrible idea. You're right, you might not reach the MLS Cup Final but you're focus has to be on putting yourself in the best position possible to do so.

The Western Conference is insane right now with how tight it is. We're 2 points and a game in hand out of 2nd. We're also 5 points and a game in hand for Dallas out of flat out missing the playoffs. You can't let up in that situation. Clearing the bench in order to focus on US Open Cup could well end up being a case of, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes" where a Messi led team beats us in the final and we stumble against SKC and Dallas with the end result that the entire season winds up f&@#ed.

 

Just as I suspected, Open Cup promo on the CBS ticket postgame show for the Bama game. Will see if they run anything during Penn St vs Iowa.

 

new drinking game

take a shot whenever Teenage leaves his feet

 

newer drinking game

take a shot whenever Escobar acts like an idiot

 

Ahh, that's the dynamo I remember.

Is this a regression to the mean or just a blip?

About to go on a 3 game loss streak or end up with a trophy and the tejas cup?