Rivalry Review: A Look at the History of Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo
By Aaron Rench
Houston Dynamo forward Cam Weaver (15) and Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic (15) battle for the ball during the MLS Eastern Conference Championship soccer game at BBVA Compass Stadium. (Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
Rivalries enhance the enjoyment of sports. Instead of the sundry, indiscriminate opposition, your team now faces the hated abomination that is your rival. Maybe the team comes from a nearby city, creating a natural rivalry, or maybe they discovered a secret method that brings your team to its knees. The latter reason describes the relationship between Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo. These two teams will add to that story on Saturday night, at 6:30 pm CT (NBCSN), in the final match of the MLS Cup Conference Final.
The Houston Dynamo have a very short history in the MLS. They’ve only been apart of the league since 2006. So you’d think that such a new team wouldn’t have a lot of time to create some good rivalries with teams that don’t also play in Texas. You’d be wrong. Houston and Kansas City have somehow found a way to get in each other’s way. In just seven short years, they’ve formed one of the best Eastern Conference rivalries.
Houston opened their new stadium, the BBVA Compass Stadium, just last year on May 12, 2012. The Dynamo never lost at home in 2012, ending it with a 11-0-6 record. The streak continued into 2013 until Sporting came to town. Exactly one year from when the home undefeated streak started,
Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes walks onto the field (looking sexy) before the MLS Eastern Conference Championship soccer game against the Houston Dynamo. (Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
Sporting KC became the first team to defeat Houston in their own territory.
The managers themselves, Houston’s Dominic Kinnear and Sportings’ Peter Vermes, are friends from the past when they both played on the U.S. men’s national team in the early 90’s. Each also joined the MLS in its infant stages, seeing the league grow from ten teams to now, where it has passed 20 teams.
Where the rivalry has grown the most is in the playoffs during the past few years. Since 2011 the Dynamo have found a way to stop Sporting. In 2011 and 2012, Sporting came into the playoffs with the number one seed of the Eastern Conference.
Last year in particular, Houston was the fifth seed, barely making it into the playoffs at all. When it came time for the Dynamo to play their part of politely bow out of the way, they scored three goals in Houston against Sporting.
Houston has been to the MLS Cup Finals in the last two years, a spot that should have been Sporting KC’s. Now, Sporting gets another chance to redeem themselves. Since no goals were scored in the first leg, there will be no aggregate score to worry about: the winner will move on to the MLS Cup Final.
Here’s a look at the action from the last game: link
Sporting does not have a regional rival quite like Portland vs. Seattle, or New York vs. DC, but they’ve unintentionally found themselves pitted against the Dynamo in so many vital situations that a decent rivalry is beginning to grow. It has favored Houston in the playoffs, but hopefully things will change this weekend, allowing Kansas City to play in the Finals, the first time since 2000.