One Man Shows
By urbanhoustonian at November 21, 2007 | 2:00 PM | Print
This weekend was a showcase of all that is great, as well as, everthing that so frustrates me about our professional sports teams in Houston.
The current leaders of the pack, both in their own league and among their Houston brethren, are the Dynamo. Sunday’s victory over the New England Revolution was a textbook display of what it takes to win a championship at the highest level of your sport. Playing without one of their leading scorers and team leaders, Brian Ching, the Dynamo found themselves shorthanded, and down 1-0 to the Revolution going into the second half of the MLS Cup. Instead of making excuses or feeling sorry for themselves, they banded together as a team to dominate the second half to repeat as champions; only the second time in league history that a team has repeated as champion. This is the same team that started the season 2-5-1 before launching a 5-game winning streak that catapaulted them to the top of their conference; finally giving up the lead to a Chivas USA team with an equally magnificent run of their own. What impresses me most about this Dynamo team is what frustrates me most about our other two professional sports teams that played over the weekend.
Take the reinvigorated Houston Texans. Anyone who has watched this season can tell you that the team that soundly beat the New Orleans Saints was a totally different team from the one that went 2-5 since their star receiver, Andre Johnson, went down with an injury in the second week of the season. I believe this team, playing at their best, should have gone at least 4-3 in Andre Johnson’s absence. That is a reversal of the losses against the Falcons and Titans. I would even go so far as to suggest that had he not been hurt, the Texans could have been sitting pretty with no less than an 8-2 record. I know I sound like a complete loon, but the more I think about it, I really believe the Texans would have been 8-2 had Andre not gone down this season. Remember, they are currently 3-0 with Andre Johnson in the line-up.
Okay, so let’s get back into reality. He went down against the Panthers, and the wheels just didn’t seem to spin like they have when he is in the game. My frustration about this team stems more from the fact that they did not seem to believe in themselves without Andre Johnson. I know there were other injuries to the offense, but that shouldn’t have mattered against the Atlanta Falcons. As for the other losses, the team did not play up to their winning stature for most of that seven game stretch. Even the wins against the Dolphins and Raiders were hard to cheer about. The Dolphin game alone needed the greatest performance of a kicker in NFL history to secure the win. That is NOT the kind of performance a team puts in at home against a team that is currently 0-10. Against the Raiders, we took a 17-0 lead into halftime, and could only manage a 24-17 win. This against a team that is currently at 2-8. The Dynamo won a championship against a superior team without their best player on the field. The Texans can and should do better. As it stands right now, they will make this the most exciting season in franchise history, but it could have been something more special. I am looking forward to next season already, but I would have like to have seen more.
Now let’s move onto the Rockets, who have seemed to make it their sole purpose to underperform when they are shorthanded. T-Mac went down in the loss against the Lakers. The Lakers are playing above expectations, but the Rockets were playing at home, and still have Yao.
Let me make something clear about my feelings about the Texans and Rockets. It is not that I expect the Texans to beat the Colts, Titans or Jags without their best player nor would I expect the Rockets would be capable of beating the Spurs or Suns without T-Mac. Obviously, these are teams that you cannot defeat without being at full strength. However, and forgive the tired adage, it’s not about winning or losing, but how you play the game. Okay, so T-Mac goes down, and the Rockets proceed to go 0-3 with three uninspired performances. I actually expect them to beat the Mavericks tomorrow night because T-Mac will return to the line-up, and everyone will be happy again.
It’s frustrating to me as a Houston sports fan. I never know what to expect from my favorite teams, and find myself feeling incredibly foolish that this one team of scrappy guys that I have yet to truly embrace is greatest team in Houston. I’d like to become a better Dynamo fan, but it’s hard to become a fan in championship years. I might as well rubber stamp “Bandwagon” on my rear end. Still, there is little doubt in my mind that we are witnessing greatness that will resonate in the annals of MLS history for many years to come. Let’s hope the rest of our teams play by their example instead of being the one-hit wonders we’ve seen this season from the Texans and Rockets.
