keeping you motivated and all -- so it is a great place to be and a great place to train."
Raised in the Dallas suburb of Southlake, Brown feels right at home in Houston after spending his college years in Tulsa and his first two professional seasons with New England and Real Salt Lake, a long way from home.
"I grew up in Southlake, I love Texas, and I have friends that live in Houston, so it is a good place for me," Brown said. "It's a lot closer to home than where I was the last two places. It is definitely nice to be back in Texas."
Brown has been a regular on the substitute's bench for the Dynamo so far but has yet to make his first-team debut. He has established himself as a starter with the Dynamo Reserves and netted two goals and an assist in a 4-0 drubbing of defending champion Colorado Sunday.
Brown actually should have had a hat trick, as he one-touched a Geoff Cameron cross into the net in the second half, but the goal was disallowed when the linesman ruled the ball had crossed the end line before Cameron crossed the ball. Brown disagreed with the call but could find nothing else wrong with the 4-0 rout.
"It was awesome. I was really excited to get a couple goals and get my first goal of the season," Brown said. "Colorado is one of the better reserve teams you're going to play in the year, so it is a good result for the reserve guys and it builds our confidence. We have been working hard the entire pre-season and since the start of the season, so it's nice for it to pay off."
The 24-year-old scored two goals for Real Salt Lake last year, including a goal that came against Houston, and has played 20 career MLS games after a standout college career.
But in high school, Brown had the opportunity to star in a different sport as an all-state wide receiver for renowned football powerhouse Southlake Carroll High School.
"My first three years were kind of tough years, but in my last year, I had a good year and I was an all-state receiver," Brown said, modestly omitting his Fort Worth Star-Telegram Male Athlete of the Year Award and his co-district MVP award after amassing more than 2,000 all-purpose yards.
It was the beginning of a Southlake Carroll football dynasty under head coach Todd Dodge, who recently moved to the University of North Texas. But it was the end of football for Brown, because despite the allure of the Friday night lights, soccer -- where he also made all-state and established himself as the school's all-time leading scorer -- always came first.
"I enjoyed football, but it was one of those things where I played soccer my whole life and I didn't really excel in football until that final year," Brown said. "[Football] wasn't anything that I ever thought about real seriously going to college for. I had that out there, but it wasn't anything that I stressed over too much, I didn't lose any nights of sleep picking soccer over football."
Seven years later, Brown is back in Texas and happy to be in Houston, but if he loses any sleep, it is only because he wants to be off the bubble and in the game. Saturday night lights are all he's worried about.
