The strange and curious goings on vs. Austin FC.

Well, this rivalry got heated quick.  I mean, I understand it.  I just don't get it.  In only a year of existence, the 290 Derby heated up quicker than a Hot Pocket.  And, just like a Hot Pocket, everyone who bites into it runs the risk of melting the roof of their mouth off with nuclear levels of heat.  Let's be real with each other for a minute.......this entire rivalry is childish. Just like most things going on in America today this matchup has a bunch of grown adults acting like petulant 6-year-olds.  So, just like you should do with a couple of toddlers throwing temper tantrums at pre-school, let's sit down and hash this out.  The two sides need to set some ground rules, boundaries, and get to know one another a little bit.

(1) Austin F.C. Fans, you are more than welcome to come to Houston and cheer on your team.

This is the south (we here in Houston like that, despite certain writers in Austin running from it like it were a swear word), we treat people with hospitality and respect......or at least we fake it really well for the sake of being southern.  This isn't Philadelphia.  Not all of us #ForeverOrange followers are Hooligans just setting out looking to brawl.  Most of us are ashamed of the Hooligan nature of a very small contingent of our fans. So #Verde, despite what some of you are saying about us and our entire fanbase/city, that's nowhere near an accurate depiction. I know you are new to all this, so let's review some basic respect here. 

(1) Show up, cheer your team on, pound your drums and sing your songs.  However, throwing green smoke on our field?  Probably a bad idea.  Booing our team in our stadium?  That's disrespectful.  It's embarrassing to have you outsing us in our own stadium, but something we will have to hang our collective heads and deal with. 

(2) Don't act like you're better than us.  If we are being real, your team hasn't done anything.....at all.  To show up to our stadium and act like you own it is disrespectful. To be honest with you, your team was a slightly less hot pile of garbage than ours was last year.  Congrats.  We know you are off to a great start, but you've never accomplished anything in this league. Sorry, not sorry.

(3) Just show some proper level of respect as you would if you were in somebody's home you didn't know.  You wouldn't show up to someone's house with muddy shoes and start smoking cigars in their house, telling them their cooking sucks and disrespecting their significant other.  Treat our stadium like you are a guest because that's exactly what you are.  I'll admit, during last year's game I looked at Wade and said "That's pretty awesome, but who do these people think they are bringing their drums into OUR stadium?" I'm not saying it was wrong of you to bring them in.  I'm saying your energy was something we hadn't seen, and a little bit shocking.  There's a duality to it, I appreciated it and was angry about it at the same time.  

We know you guys beat us twice last year, and we're kinda grumpy about it.  There are Dynamo fans here in Houston that have pride in our team and our city, but (sporting-wise) we've been on hard times recently.  I'm all for the support you give your team.....truly. Just please keep it classy.....which brings me to my next point.

(2) Dynamo Fans, Austin FC is great for MLS, let's treat them with respect.

Not gonna lie, I'm actually a little jealous of the support and fanfare Austin F.C. has generated in their short time.  It's phenomenal.  We here in Houston can act like jilted lovers, pointing out how fake it is (I'm making a point Austin F.C. fans, relax) and blah blah blah blah blah, or we can accept the fact that what they are doing there is good for the league and hopefully pushes our FO to be better.  100%, they are currently our annoying brothers......well, really more like our annoying distant cousin. They just got here and are acting like they won the league even though they were terrible last season and have never done anything.  I get it. But we can't just threaten them or start smacking them around.  That's not what this city is about.  That's not what this team or this fanbase is about.  I'm not telling you to cheer for them, but it's ok to laugh at them on the inside because they're being a little ridiculous.  As much as we don't like it, it's actually a good thing.  Look at all the empty stadiums across the league. Look at all the empty seats in our own stadium! This league needs more ridiculous, and we could actually do a little to emulate it. I seriously hate every MLS team not named the Houston Dynamo, but I also want to see a league with stadiums packed (including ours).  Let them have their fun, this league and this sport need it.

(3) Please, for the love.....put down the Twitter Muscles. 

#Verde, I'm letting you know (as @HoustonDynamPod tried to do in a very ineloquent way) that there are those among us who will take the things I mentioned above as disrespect.  We all know what happened last year.  You guys are accusing all of us of being Hooligans.  I can promise you that 99.5% of us are not.  So, let's all put down the Twitter muscles, let's all stop flexing our thumbs and digitizing our testosterone.  Stop lumping us all in the same boat. Y'all need to just relax, it's a game.  I love a good, heated rivalry.  I'm a Cowboys fan.  Literally, everyone who isn't one of us hates us. But let it play out on the field.  People on both sides need to quit looking for trouble on Twitter, because you might actually find some.  

Everyone just relax.

It's going to be fun.  Austin FC, I'm glad you're doing well.  Enjoy it, it's exciting and it's awesome.  I hate you guys, but I'm glad that you are off to a good start and have an enthusiastic fan base.  I'm jealous.  I'd love to have the fanbase you guys have here.  So show up, cheer on your team, keep it classy, and everything will be fine.