MLS Thursday Night: Houston Dynamo v Chivas USA

Every week around this time, this little ol’ blog does its best to get you fired up about the new great American pastime known as MLS Thursday Night. Even during weeks when we know that most of you could care less we stay loyal to the subject and try to do our part to promote the game of the week concept. Apparently only some of you are doing your part by, you know, actually watching. We salute all of you who are males between the ages of 18 and 34. As for the rest of you, it is time to get with the program.

The program for this week falls into the category of “this one shouldn’t be too painful to watch because it doesn’t involve Real Salt Lake and/or Columbus Crew”. Instead, it involves the defending league champions and a Chivas USA team that is usually more entertaining than not.

Houston enters the contest with a perfect record in June. That is three straight wins for those keeping track. What makes this even more impressive is that the Dynamo have been winning without their strike duo of Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario who have been out on international duties and who will face one another in tonight’s Gold Cup semifinal when the US and Canada meet.

Chivas USA is also on a hot streak, winning their past three matches and going unbeaten in five straight. Chivas sits a point ahead of Houston in the Western Conference standings. They make their MLS Thursday night debut tonight.

Here are a few things to keep an eye on while you recruit a group of people and single handedly help the ESPN television ratings.

1. Go, go Galindo – It was during the 2005 Gold Cup that the Cuban forward Maykel Galindo sought political asylum in the United States. He hooked up with the Seattle Sounders where he played for a year and a half before signing with Chivas USA this past February. He has been nothing short of sensational, scoring six goals and setting up three others in 10 games for the Goats.

2. New Guy Ngwenya – A few weeks ago Joseph Ngwenya was merely an afterthought in a trade that hardly captured the headlines. Since joining the Dynamo from Columbus, he has had a major impact, scoring three goals in six games. You would think those stats would have at least earned him a bio by now.

3. What’s in a Name? – Tired of MLS teams that borrow their names from other countries? You can be assured that the Houston Dynamo name is original. According to Wikipedia: The name “Dynamo” refers to Houston’s industrial economy, as well as two previous Houston soccer teams, the Houston Dynamos of the Lone Star Soccer Alliance in 1987-1991, and the Houston Dynamos of the United Soccer League in 1984. The official reason for the name is that “Dynamo is a word to describe someone who never fatigues, never gives up. The new name is symbolic of Houston as an energetic, hard-working, risk-taking kind of town.

Of course, it wasn’t a hard working, risk-taking kind of town in 1836.

Enjoy the game and as always feel free to use this space to discuss MLS matters or why they don’t serve Tang in public elementary schools anymore.

Some Related Stories:

Category: MLS, World Football