Stop us if you've heard this before: A well-known pro sports owner in Dallas is touting his team's chances at a league title this coming season.
Sounds familiar? Sure. But what if its the owner of the city's MLS team?
While speaking to NBC affiliate KXAS on Tuesday, FC Dallas co-owner and team president Dan Hunt invoked his inner Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban with some big talk ahead of his team's season opener.
"I think this is going to be a special season for us," Hunt said. "This 25th season is amazing. It’s hard to believe the league has been around for 25 years now, and nothing would sort of top it off for us like an MLS Cup."
Unlike Jones's Dallas Cowboys and Cuban's Dallas Mavericks, Hunt's FC Dallas have yet to win the crown jewel of their league, though they do have two U.S. Open Cup titles and one Supporters' Shield to their name.
Along with brother Clark, Dan Hunt has carried on the legacy left by influential MLS founding owner Lamar Hunt. And like his father, who was a longtime investor in American Soccer and has been honored as the namesake of the Open Cup, Dan Hunt isn't just shooting off the cuff with his aspirations.
He discussed specifically about how his club has built its roster following a promising 2019 season in which his team were historically young by MLS standards.
"I don’t even know where our ceiling is going to be," Hunt said. "Because this is a team that made it to the playoffs and lost to the eventual champions (the Seattle Sounders) with the youngest team in the history of the league in the playoffs. And then we go and add players like Franco Jara from Pachuca, who is a star. ... And we also added Thiago Santos, who won a couple of trophies in Brazil and Fafa Picault who was a very productive player in Philadelphia.
"Hey, the ceiling is hopefully a championship this year for the team. But our idea of building this year’s roster was keeping the players intact — that’s why you saw a new deal for Paxton Pomykal, Jesus Ferreira, we’re working on Reggie Cannon right now — but then adding winners to our stable."
Hunt knows a little bit about what a champion feels like, having seen another team he co-owns — the Kansas City Chiefs — recently win their first Super Bowl in 50 years.
His NFL credentials also give him an appreciation for the star power MLS has built in the quarter-century since the then-Dallas Burn were one of 10 original members.
"This is a league of choice," Hunt said. "You’re seeing top talent from around the world picking to come to MLS, and you’re seeing people pay franchise values that you can’t even really conceive."
