1836 is history in Houston; Dynamo it is
Jamie Trecker / Fox Soccer Channel
Posted: 3 hours ago
Houston 1836 is no more.
Nearly one month after the embattled franchise chose to withdraw their first choice of name after outcry from some in the Hispanic community, the team unveiled their new name in Houston on Monday: the former San Jose Earthquakes will henceforth be known as the Houston Dynamo.
The name was chosen to reflect the city's status as the de-facto energy capital of America. GM Oliver Luck said in a statement that "Dynamo is a word to describe someone who never fatigues, never gives up. The new name is symbolic of Houston as an energetic, hard-working, risk-taking kind of town.
"Finally, we'd like to once again reiterate that at no time did MLS or AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) ever want to offend any members of the community in Houston. We want everyone to feel welcome and become a part of professional soccer in Houston. Similar to soccer around the world and in our other MLS markets, the sport embraces all cultures and unites the community."
Houston Dynamo spokeswoman Vanessa Astros added, "We had very little time to conduct polls and collect information and by us I mean our owners AEG, MLS and team officials. We look at a group of different names over the past few weeks, and in studying them and checking on trademarks, we found that some of the names we would have chosen were already registered, so we looked at Dynamo. For us, it symbolizes the energy of the team and the coach.
"Also, in 1984, we found out about a team called the Houston Dynamos which played here, and we wanted to pay tribute to it."
The MISL Houston Dynamos were in existence from 1984-86 and folded due to lack of support.
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Houston staff electric on Dynamo
The name, of course, has another long-standing meaning for European football fans: In Soviet times, the name "Dynamo" was given to teams fielded by police and secret police departments. Dinamo Bucharest was formed in 1948 by the government to represent the police force; Dynamo Berlin were sponsored by the hated Stasi of East Germany.
In choosing the name, MLS has chosen to placate the Hispanic fans who were understandably upset with the choice of 1836 for a nickname the year represents not only the date of the city of Houston's founding but of Texas' secession from Mexico. A number of Latinos across the spectrum saw the choice as being in poor taste.
But Houston and MLS officials will now have to contend with some blowback from some that see the name controversy as a case of "political correctness" run amok. One AEG staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that that was a huge concern for the league during discussions on the team's future.
MLS officials were not immediately available to comment.
In Houston, the team will play its first three seasons in 32,000-seat Robertson Stadium, home of the University of Houston football team. Luck, a former quarterback with the Houston Oilers, has been seeking corporate sponsors to help build a soccer-only stadium.
Hispanic soccer fans have flocked to Reliant Stadium in recent years for international matches involving mainly Mexican teams. An Interliga doubleheader in January drew a crowd of 25,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
