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April 02, 2006
Well done, Houston
It's a bittersweet opening day in MLS for San Jose Earthquakes fans. The team we remember as ours played its first game in Houston today, spanking ex-Quake Joe Cannon and the Colorado Rapids 5-2 behind a whopping four goals from Brian Ching. Well done, guys, even though it's weird as hell seeing you wearing orange and playing somewhere else.
We saw the AP story about the game and noted that the attendance was reported at 25,462. Knowing that some MLS teams have fluffed their numbers a bit in the past, we checked in with a source who was at the game. His take? "The crowd was probably closer to 30K."
Which brings me to the following. On the dark day last December when we learned that the team was being moved, we wrote a letter to our members that closed with the following paragraph:
Finally, we have a message for the soccer fans in the city of Houston. The team you are inheriting from San Jose is the best in MLS. The players, coaches and staff are not only good at their jobs, though—they are also fine people. Although it grieves us greatly to lose them, we would ask that you recognize the tremendous gift that you have been given. Please support them as we have supported them.
It's a bit too early to tell whether Houston fans will match the enthusiasm of those in the Bay Area over the long term but we have to say, they're off to a great start. To them, we wish the best of luck and we look forward to a new Earthquakes team kicking Dynamo butt as soon as possible.
Posted by Jay at April 2, 2006 10:38 PM
Comments
Hopefully we'll be able to compare to you guys. We felt the same way when the Oilers left for Ten. Here's to an MLS Cup win in 06'. And a Quakes vs. Dynamo feud in 07. Blue and Orange are complentary colors you know.....
Posted by: Bryan at April 3, 2006 03:10 PM
Well put Jay. One of these days I'm going to get on my soap box and start preaching...
Posted by: Colin at April 5, 2006 10:05 AM