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Houston Tinmen
We have all watch as the team has struggled along this season. The struggle seems to be worsening with each passing game and we naturally try to come up with reasons for why our beloved team has started to sink. Ricardo Clark gone to injury, Brad Davis and Boniek Garcia gone to some little thing called the World Cup seem to be the favorite points of fans and media. But when the team steps onto the field they aren't playing like a team. They have lost their intangible. They have lost their heart.
It can be easy to place the heart of a team into a single player but what happens when that player isn't there? That what the Dynamo have right now. No heart and the Wizard of Houston can't conjure one for the team. Their heart it would appear is in Brazil getting ready to represent the US against Ghana Monday evening. Have they also lost their courage and brain with the loss of Boniek Garcia and Ricardo Clark? As time goes on that seems to be the case.
Noone has stepped up to fill the vital roles these three guys are playing on the field. Could it be that it is happening in the locker room, but it isn't translating on the field? Possibly but frankly I doubt it. There is no one on this team for other players to turn to to lead them. They aren't playing like a unit. At times they look less organized than a pick-up game at the park. Losing sucks and it is sucking the heart and passion out of these guys.
We had all hoped that Wednesday's game against fourth division Laredo Heat would give the team the much needed confidence that it needs, but that didn't happen. Everyone kept waiting for the goals to come and they didn't. Well, okay there was a single goal from Alex Lopez that gave them the win. They even spent part of the game up a man after a Heat player was sent off. Then in what seem to be classic Dynamo this season Tyler Deric was red carded for handling the ball outside of the box and sent off. The two teams played out the game 10v10. The press conference sounded more like one from a team that was defeated rather than one that will move on to the next round of the tournament.
Perhaps the two week break will give the guys time to dig deep and find their heart and their passion because right now it's missing. To simply lay it on Davis' absence is a cop out. Each player much bring their own heart to the game.
A stadium for Honduras
You may wonder why I would talk about a Honduran priest who helped to build a stadium in Juticalpa, Honduras which is pretty much the middle of nowhere. The fact that the Dynamo have two players on their roster from Honduras make this relevant and well frankly I think more people should know about this because it's awesome.
Boniek Garcia and Alex Lopez grew up 109 miles from Juticalpa in Tegucigalpa which is one of the most populous cities in Honduras. Juticalpa however is a cattle-ranching town that now has a 20,000 seat football stadium. Tired of the rampant drug problem in the area Father Alberto Gauci decided that football would be the way to save the local youth from drugs. Locals chipped in what every they could to help fund the stadium. The donations weren't limited to monetary donations but also consisted of things like concrete and labor. Eventually, they were able to raise the $2 million dollars needed to build the stadium with just a quarter of the money coming from the government.
The chain-smoking priest had already helped to build an orphanage, an old folks home and a healthcare center. Estadio Juan Ramón Brevé Vargas is now nearly complete still waiting on its roof. They have built a stadium that is the largest of its kind outside of Tegucigalpa. It will be the home of Juticalpa FC who were just promoted to the First Division. It is also hoped that the stadium will host concerts and other activities for families and youth to enjoy.
They built more than just a soccer stadium the city came together to build hope for the community and hope for the future.
A little tournament in Brazil
No article is complete without the mention of the World Cup right?
Well in case you didn't know soccer totally sucks because they have games that end in ties and little to no scoring. Clearly, this means that soccer is boring. B-O-R-I-N-G. NOT! With results like Brazil 3-1 over Croatia, Costa Rica with the upset win over Uruguay and of course the Netherlands 5-1 win over defending champions Spain that argument is hard to make this World Cup. Switzerland pulled off the last second win against Ecuador as they scored a goal at the end of stoppage time to win it 2-1 to prevent the first tie of the World Cup.
More important than the soccer was Mothra who made an appearance in the Japan Ivory Coast game. Who or what is Mothra you ask?
What in the world… RT @SBNation: RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! MOTHRA IS INVADING THE WORLD CUP! pic.twitter.com/qQcTxzheVf
— SB Nation Soccer (@SBNationSoccer) June 15, 2014
That my friends is Mothra who then reeked havoc on the tournament.
OH NO THE MOTHRA GOT RVP HELP pic.twitter.com/jb89GL6qGE
— SB Nation Soccer (@SBNationSoccer) June 15, 2014
He went late into the night until finally he was stopped by the one and only Clint Dempsey.
AT LAST! MOTHRA HAS BEEN DEFEATED!! #DEUCEFACE #MURICA pic.twitter.com/LX8guPc543
— SB Nation Soccer (@SBNationSoccer) June 15, 2014