Fans arriving at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco for MLS Cup on Sunday would have been forgiven for thinking that they were in Houston. Dynamo fans were out in full force all around the park, turning the parking lot into a sea of bright orange.
Most Dynamo fans had taken the jaunt up I-45 from Houston to Frisco on Sunday morning, many coming with a convoy organized by Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale of Gallery Furniture. The convoy consisted of seven chartered buses, as well as more than a hundred fans in their own cars, and was billed as the largest ever organized convoy for a professional sporting event.
Many of the cars in the convoy had been decorated with orange shoe polish, ribbons and paint. One truck, covered in orange and white shoe polish and with ribbons hanging from the antenna, read "Dynamo 3, New England 0."
Kelly Cates, a bartender from Houston, showed support for his team by shaving his head in a soccer ball pattern and wearing a white-and-orange checkered flag as a cape. Cates, along with coworkers Justin Tilotta and Tim "Murph Dawg" Murphy, had joined the convoy in Houston after working an all-night shift.
Cates, who is originally from Dallas, said that he is "a Dallas fan in every other sport, but in soccer, I'm a Houston fan."
Jim and Tracey Hughey left their Missouri City, Texas, home at 5 a.m. in order to meet up with the convoy. Their son, Bryan, was taking a nap in the back of the car while the Hugheys tailgated with Chris and Melissa Murphy.
"We have seats right behind the goal," Tracey Hughey said. "We told all of our friends to look for us whenever a goal is scored."
Miguel Scalcione of Houston attended every Dynamo home game in the 2006 season. Sporting a Dynamo sweatshirt and cap, Scalcione was eager to cheer Houston to victory.
"I've been to every game," Scalcione said, "and I got my tickets online for the MLS Cup during the Western Conference Championship game, as soon as it looked like Houston was going to win."
Not every fan rooting for Houston came decked out in orange, though. Kim Klyberg, president of the Screaming Eagles, a D.C. United supporter's group, was decked out in her D.C. United gear, complete with jacket, scarf and hat. Klyberg, who is originally from Providence, R.I., says she's rooting against New England as much as for Dynamo.
"I'm for anybody playing against New England," Klyberg said of D.C. United's Eastern Conference rival.
Klyberg said that there were more than 50 members of the Screaming Eagles in attendance, and that they would all be rooting for Houston.
But no matter why the fans are rooting for Houston, Dynamo supporters are all hoping to see their team succeed in the MLS Cup against a tough New England team.
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
