Hello Dynamo fans! Welcome to what will become a weekly note from your Dynamo President and General Manager. "Oliver's Story" debuts shortly after the anniversary of our first MLS game in Houston, April 2, 2006, within the friendly confines of Robertson Stadium. When I think back to the challenges that we faced 12 months ago, getting the first game under our collective belts it really seems amazing how far the franchise has come in such a short time period.
During the lead-in to last year's opener I can remember telling folks that Houston was incredibly lucky to have inherited a great franchise from San Jose. Dominic Kinnear, our outstanding coach, was coming off 2005 MLS Coach of the Year honors and Pat Onstad, our always reliable keeper, won the top league award for his position. In 2006 the club set an MLS record for the most points in the regular season only to get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. In addition, of course, fans had the pleasure of looking forward to the artistic goals and assists of Dwayne De Rosario, who has won a number of MLS Goals of the Year awards.
To be honest, with all the operational issues that we had to deal with on opening day last year, I did not have a chance to sit down and watch the team until the second half, but what a second half it was. You will remember Brian Ching's "grand slam of goals" (sorry to mix my sports metaphors but I think that is the best way to describe four goals in one game), two of which came in the second half against the Colorado Rapids. And then the icing came with just a few minutes left as Alejandro Moreno bicycled in a beautiful goal. Wow! What a way for the franchise to start off in Houston, and what a way for the over 25,000 Dynamo fans to embrace the team.
The initial reception that Houston fans provided to the team was critically important. Not much has been written about the challenges that the players and their families faced when the decision to relocate the franchise was made by AEG. Even though all professional athletes are aware of the possibility of being traded or waived, it doesn't often happen that a franchise is moved lock, stock and barrel. The majority of the guys had very little prior experience with Houston and my perception was that most of them were not real sure of how the team would be received by the fans. In fact, I can remember a call from Pat Onstad a day or so after the opener in which he asked me to thank the staff for "getting such a phenomenal crowd" out to the match. There is no doubt that you, the fans, set the tone for the success that we enjoyed in the 2006 campaign. And, there is no doubt that the same can be done on April 8th for the 2007 campaign.
