August may be considered the dog days of summer, but it is anything but quiet around the Dynamo team. The SuperLiga final is coming up on Tuesday, as we face our "championship" nemesis, the New England Revolution. And of course, this Saturday we resume the second half of our MLS season with the tilt against the Columbus Crew. Finally, we have two of our players, Stuart Holden and Pat Ianni, in China preparing for the Olympic Games.
You may remember the Dynamo match vs. FC Dallas on June 26, when we arranged an official "send-off' for Pat and Stuart. In attendance at that game was Ms. Qiao Hong, the Consul General of the People's Republic of China, who is stationed in our fine city. Well, she was so impressed with the event that she arranged a very nice dinner party in honor of Stuart, Pat and the other Houston-area athletes who will be representing the United States in Beijing. The party took place at the official residence of the Consul General, an impressive building in its own right.
My wife, Kathy, and I were able to attend, along with Maria Duran from the Dynamo's marketing department. In addition, the three Chronicle columnists who will be covering the Olympic Games for the newspaper were in attendance - David David Barron, Jerome Solomon and Fran Blinebury.
The evening was a complete success, and we enjoyed the entertainment of J. Xavier, a local Houston teenager who will be performing in Beijing during the Olympics. The Consul General is a charming woman and a very capable representative of China and has become a big fan of the Dynamo. She, along with all Dynamo fans, will be following our two players very closely as the Olympic Games kick off, with the United States opening play next Thursday morning, August 7.
