jonathan kaplan
Last week, U.S. Soccer announced the list of nominees for the National Soccer Hall of Fame class of 2013. The list includes a compilation of some of the most talented players to play the game including: Taylor Twellman, Roy Lassiter, Ben Olsen and Chris Henderson among others.
But for Dynamo fans, one name stands out above the rest.
Making his first appearance on the National Soccer Hall of Fame player ballot is Wade Barrett. The former Dynamo defender and current Dynamo assistant coach is one of the most decorated players to wear the orange, not to mention one of the most fit people we know.
An original member of the Dynamo, Barrett played two stints with the San Jose Earthquakes (1998-2002 and 2005), winning the 2001 MLS Cup championship, before moving with the club to Houston prior to the 2006 season. The Virginia Beach native captained the Dynamo from 2006-2009 and led the club to two MLS Cup titles (2006 and 2007) and the 2009 Western Conference championship game. Barrett finished his career with 140 appearances in all competitions including 99 in MLS play.
Prior to the 2010 season, Barrett retired from playing to join Dominic Kinnear's coaching staff. With Barrett on the staff, the Dynamo have advanced to the past two MLS Cup finals. Barrett also co-managed (along with Steve Ralston) the Dynamo Reserves to the 2012 Reserve League Central/Mountain division championship.
The hall of fame voting pool includes all past and present full men's and women's national team coaches, all active MLS and NWSL head coaches with a minimum of four years of experience as a head coach in a first division league, MLS and NWSL management representatives, MLS Commissioner, NWSL Executive Director, U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General, U.S. Soccer President, designated media members, and all Hall of Famers.
Each voter can list up to 10 candidates per ballot. Any player appearing on at least 66.7 percent of ballots will earn election, while any player who does not appear on at least five percent of ballots will be dropped from the Player ballot.
2013 National Soccer Hall of Fame Player Ballot
Chris Armas
Wade Barrett *
Mauricio Cienfuegos^
Raul Diaz Arce
Marco Etcheverry
Lorrie Fair
Robin Fraser
Chris Henderson
Angela Hucles *
Jason Kreis
Roy Lassiter^
Shannon MacMillan
Joe-Max Moore
Victor Nogueira
John O'Brien
Ben Olsen *
Cindy Parlow
Ante Razov
Tiffany Roberts
Tony Sanneh *
Taylor Twellman *
Tisha Venturini-Hoch^
* First year of eligibility ^ Final year of eligibility; moves to Veteran ballot in 2014
Back in December, Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall proved his "hipness" by participating in the "Houston is Hip" campaign for the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The marketing initiative was launched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the GHCVB.
The folks at www.visithoustontexas.com caught up with the Dynamo goalkeeper to talk about life in Houston and what he enjoys doing away from the pitch. Is it any surprise that Hall, a fun-loving guy, picked the Houston Zoo as his favorite place to go in the city?
Before today's scrimmage against the Colorado Rapids, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear joined 1560 AM's John Harris to talk about the first few weeks of preseason and his hopes for 2013.
We have a big night of soccer radio, as Glenn Davis will be hosting Soccer Matters on ESPN 97.5 FM from 7-9 p.m. Following yesterday's announcement that CSN Houston will be the new home for Dynamo soccer, Davis will discuss the importance of the deal to the Dynamo organization. This is also an opportunity for fans to call into the show and voice their opinion of the deal.
Davis will speak with Dynamo president Chris Canetti and head coach Dominic Kinnear as well as discuss last Tuesday's friendly between the USMNT and Canada at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The call-in number for the show is (713) 780-ESPN.
On Wednesday, the Houston Dynamo announced a multi-year partnership to make Comcast SportsNet Houston the new home for Dynamo soccer. We caught up with Dynamo president Chris Canetti to discuss the new partnership.
It's not every day that Houstonians get to see the U.S. men's national team up close and personal. And it's even more rare when Houstonians get a front-row seat to see one of their own don the red, white and blue. So it was a truly special affair on Monday, when Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis, goalkeeper Tally Hall and forward Will Bruin took part in the USMNT's open training session at BBVA Compass Stadium ahead of Tuesday's friendly with Canada (8 pm CT; BUY TICKETS).
The Dynamo trio has been training with the national team over the past two weeks. Davis, the veteran of the group, has been in two prior January camps, and has five total caps for the USMNT. Hall and Bruin are in a senior national team camp for the first time.
Following Monday's training session, all three players spoke to the media about the opportunity to represent their country in their home stadium in front of the Dynamo fans.
In case you need more of a reason to attend Tuesday's match, former Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario will be in the lineup for Canada. Think De Rosario is excited to play in front of the fans that supported him for all those years in Houston?
In #houston @bbva compass field in front of Muriel. Some special memories for @houstondynamo #Dynamo with special fans twitter.com/dwaynederosari…
— Dwayne De Rosario (@dwaynederosario) January 28, 2013
With six weeks until the Dynamo open their 2013 campaign, fans now have the opportunity to buy tickets to the March 2 home opener vs. D.C. United and the March 5 CONCACAF Champions League match vs. Santos Laguna. Tickets went on sale Saturday at 2 p.m. and fans flocked to BBVA Compass Stadium to secure their seats.
After defeating Houston Baptist University 3-0 Saturday morning, Brian Ching, Bobby Boswell, Giles Barnes, Ricardo Clark and Eric Brunner spent their afternoon at BBVA Compass Stadium talking with ticket buyers and thanking them for their support.
Haven't purchased your seats yet? We suggest you don't wait much longer, as both matches are expected to sell out. For more information about Dynamo tickets visit HoustonDynamo.com/Tickets or call (713) 276-GOAL.
The weather forecast calls for 70 degrees and clear skies in Houston on Saturday, which is good news for soccer fans who are looking to see the Dynamo in action.
Houston will continue their preseason campaign with a scrimmage against Houston Baptist University at 11 a.m. at the Houston Amateur Sports Park. The Dynamo opened preseason camp on Monday and defeated the Dynamo Academy 3-0 in a scrimmage on Thursday. Saturday's scrimmage is free and open to the public.
Speaking of the Dynamo Academy, for fans who can't get enough live soccer, the Dynamo Academy will host the Sporting Kansas City Academy on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the U-18s will kick off at 2 p.m. with the U-16s to follow at 4:30. On Sunday, the U-18s kick off at 10:30 a.m. with the U-16s to follow at 1 p.m.
The Dynamo U-18s currently sit in fourth place in their division, one spot ahead of the Sporting KC U-18s. The Dynamo U-16s are in third place in their division and are coming off a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Dallas Texans last weekend.
Word on the street is that Tally Hall is surprising folks at the U.S. men's national team camp with his strong play. That's no surprise to anyone who has watched Hall emerge as one of the top goalkeepers in Major League Soccer over the past two years.
More #usmnt tidbits: hearing that Tally Hall has been impressive all camp, could be surprise starter in goal vs. Canada.
— Doug McIntyre (@DougMacESPN) January 25, 2013
The 27-year-old Hall has two seasons as a starter under his belt and led the Dynamo to the MLS Cup final in each of the past two years. Hall is currently in his first camp with the USMNT. Dynamo fans will be eager to see if their goalkeeper can represent the red, white and blue when the U.S. takes on Canada at BBVA Compass Stadium on Tuesday.
Click here to purchase tickets for Tueday's match.
Listen to Tally Hall's Friday interview on Yahoo! Sports Radio's Afternoon Delight with John Wessling and Adam Clanton.
Elsewhere around the interweb, Brian Sciaretta caught up with Will Bruin to discuss the January camp. Click here to read his article in the New York Times Goal Blog.