Careful Rapids, They Used to be The Houston Dynamo

By: Kyle | May 9th, 2008

”We tried very hard not to be overconfident, because when you get overconfident, that’s when something snaps up and bites you.”
-Neil Armstrong

The San Jose game comes to mind. Let’s just hope that this weekend isn’t a repeat of that game. The Earthquakes the Rapids played are very similar to Houston: poor scoring and no wins. The players really can’t afford acknowledge that, though. That’s a big part of how upsets happen: the good team expects this win to come easier then the last ones and plays accordingly. They cease to be the good team and become a team who’s playing poorly on purpose. If the Rapids pretend this is still the team which won the MLS Cup last year, they’ll be fine.

On Saturday, the Rapids have a game against the worst team in soccer. If I was a neutral observer and sports betting were legal, I would have to get 6/1 to bet on Houston, at least.

Why? Simple, Houston can’t score. They average 0.83 goals per game, second worst in MLS. That few goals will sometimes get you a draw and usually a loss. And sure enough, Houston’s record is perhaps the biggest spot on their resume: 0-2-4. Six games with no wins is hauntingly familiar.

In fact, watching Houston remands me a lot of watching the Rapids’ play last year during the ten game loosing streak. There are a lot of attempts at easy solutions like kicking over the defense and hoping a forward makes a good run, all the while losing the midfield battle so that if your risky maneuver pays off, they’ve already put a few goals away on you. It should be nice watching the Rapids on the other side of that equation this year.

Another trend that would be nice to see end: The Rapids have never beat Houston on the road.

My Prediction: Houston 1-2 Colorado

And I’m being generous with that goal, Houston.

Other Game Predictions:
Real Salt Lake 1-2 Dallas
San Jose Earthquakes 0-1 Columbus Crew
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-2 New York Red Bulls (Maybe this is low-balling it for the Gals. Landon is on pace for 40 goals this season. Let’s hope he still feels that way against England, Spain, and Argentina).
Chivas USA 2-2 New England Revolution

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the worst part of Houston’s rapid decline: Houston is going to be representing the United States in the Champions League and SuperLiga this year. That’ll be a little embarrassing. At least DC is still…oh crap.