The numbers are well-documented. Since the Dynamo have called Houston home, they have been nothing short of a powerhouse in Major League Soccer.
In the past seven seasons, Dominic Kinnear has guided his club to the postseason six times and has lifted the MLS Cup twice. The team has played in one additional MLS Cup (losing in 2011 to the LA Galaxy) and has been to the conference final five times.
While those numbers are nothing short of spectacular, how do they stack up against the best seven-year runs in MLS history? Let's take a look.
D.C. United 1996-2002
D.C. United was the first powerhouse in MLS. They won MLS Cup the first two years of the league and after finishing as the runner-up the following year, they came back and won MLS Cup again in 1999. Unfortunately for United, that's where the sucess halted. DC went three consecutive seasons without making the playoffs before returning to the postseason in 2003 and winning MLS Cup in 2004.
Quick hits: 3 MLS Cups, 1 MLS Cup runner-up, 1 Open Cup title, 4 playoff appearances
LA Galaxy 1999-2005
The LA Galaxy might be in the middle of their best organizational run, but the teams of the early 2000s were no slouches either. The club made the playoffs each year from 1999-2005 and won two MLS Cup titles along the way. LA also finished first in the Western Conference during the regular season three times and lost two MLS Cups including in 2001 to a San Jose Earthquakes club featuring assistant coach Dominic Kinnear. 2005 capped off a string of 10 consecutive years of playoff soccer in LA. The Galaxy trophy case also features hardware from their Open Cup title runs in 2001 and 2005.
Quick hits: 2 MLS Cups, 1 MLS Cup runner-up, 2 Open Cup titles, 7 playoff appearances
New England Revolution 2001-2007
When you have Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston on your squad, there is a good chance you are going to win a lot of soccer games. Between 2001 and 2007, New England qualifed for the postseason six times and advanced to four MLS Cups. Unfortunately for the Revs, they were unable to win when it mattered the most and came away empty-handed in all four Cup appearances. New England did, however, advance to two Open Cup finals and won the title in 2007.
Quick hits: 4 MLS Cup runners-up, 6 playoff appearances, 1 Open Cup title
Houston Dynamo 2006-2012
The Dynamo hit the ground running in Houston, winning MLS Cup titles in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, the Dynamo won the Western Conference regular season crown, but were ousted by the New York Red Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. Houston rebounded in 2009 to make it to the Western Conference final before being falling to the Galaxy in a match that featured multiple power outages. The Dynamo failed to make the playoffs in 2010, but used a late surge in 2011 to not only make the playoffs but advance to MLS Cup, where it fell to the LA Galaxy.
Quick hits: 2 MLS Cups, 1 MLS Cup runner-up, 6 playoff appearances, 5 conference championships
The book is still out on 2012, but you be the judge. Is the Dynamo's seven-year run the most successful seven-year run in MLS history? How does it stack up against runs from teams in other professional sports leagues? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
