When we started the stadium tour, we joked that Houston was likely going to be one of the last places we went. No offense to Houston, but it’s not exactly a top vacation destination. Yet, Houston has one very important attribute that made it incredibly attractive for four Midwesterners – it’s warm.
2015 was an odd year for the stadium tour – and for the four intrepid stadium tourists. First, Sis and BIL were unavailable Memorial Day weekend because they were doing a family vacation with BIL’s family. This meant that we were no longer locked in to which teams were playing at home on Memorial Day weekend. Second, all of us had weddings and wedding festivities to attend throughout summer and fall, which severely limited our ability to travel. I was also running summer orientation at work, which meant I was not available or too exhausted for most of summer. We quickly realized that we were going to have to make our trip in April or early May. January 2015, when the MLS schedule was released and we started our planning, also happened to be the coldest month on record. Remember the Polar Vortex? Hubby and I were living in Wisconsin then, and I don’t remember ever experiencing cold like that in my life. So in January, when we looked at available dates, Houston in April or May sounded like heaven.
As an aside: We were lucky that we made that plan because I got pregnant! That meant there would be no flying for me in the Fall anyway, and the earlier we went, the more comfortable I would be (theoretically anyway).
As it turned out, Houston was absolutely perfect. Temperatures were in the low 80s, it wasn’t too humid yet, and the MLS season was early enough that it felt like every team had a chance to be in the playoffs (unlike our trip to Orlando, for example). So, on a beautiful Friday night on the first day of May, we watched Houston Dynamo take on their in-state rivals, FC Dallas, at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The first feature I noticed in planning is that both BBVA Compass Stadium and Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros Stadium, are downtown, which meant that we could walk to both of our games from the hotel. As a tourist, that accessibility is incredibly valuable, not only because you don’t have to rent a car or deal with parking costs at the venue or at the hotel, but also because I could get a better sense of the fan experience and fan community walking to the stadium allows.
Houston did not have a March to the Match that we saw, but we were funneled through a village of sorts, that had fan experiences, food trucks, music, and bar tents that created a buzz and experience for arriving fans. We found out later that one of the supporters groups, the Texian Army, hosts many of the pregame activities. However, we didn’t participate in any of the pregame hype because we arrived very close to game time.
We had decent seats inside the stadium. We were near the supporters section and fairly close to the field, but we were in the corner so we naturally had some great angles on the field, but also some awkward sight lines as well. Because we were so close to the supporters section, we could hear most of their cheers, and a lot of them were in Spanish which was very cool and unique. Obviously, given the demographics of Houston, I expected a strong LatinX presence, but I appreciated that all of the supporter sections seemed to know both the English and the Spanish cheers. However, the supporter section was not full, and that was disheartening, especially considering the intrastate rivalry.
My impression of the supporter section carried over to the overall atmosphere of the game – great support, but there was just nobody at the game so it was somewhat underwhelming at first. I think it took until half time before the stadium filled up. We speculated whether the location of the stadium and the time of the game had something to do with it – a Friday night game downtown was certainly convenient for those working downtown, but not for families, especially if they lived in the outskirts of the city or the suburbs.
Unfortunately, the first half was the better half of soccer. By the 55th minute, the Dynamo were losing 4-1 and only the most loyal supporters were still cheering. As a neutral fan, five goals in 55 minutes was fantastic, but a three-goal deficit made the Dynamo fans go as quiet as when the stadium was half empty.
Soccer aside, we met some great people in Houston. The fans around us were very chatty, and gave us great tips for BBQ restaurants to try. Hubby made friends waiting in the beer line who helped him carry all his beers back to the seats, and Sis and BIL really enjoyed the local brews that they had.
Our stadium tour to Houston served its purpose well. It was warm, it was convenient, and we saw a fun game of soccer. The stadium itself was comfortable, thought the team support was lackluster. We made our visit in 2015, and I know the three supporter groups moved to a new location in the stadium after our visit. I’d love to visit again to see how that has changed the overall atmosphere of the game.
