Landon Donovan's remarks irk Dynamo fans
SOCCER DAILY
The Galaxy player calls his team an MLS giant, and Houston fans are quick to counter.
Last Sunday, after the Galaxy had been beaten at home by Toronto FC, Landon Donovan fielded a question in Spanish. Here was part of his answer:
"Some may not like it, but we are the giants of MLS. Then again, we have missed the playoffs two years in a row."
Nothing too controversial, right? A little bragging followed by a little humility.
That's not the way it played in Houston, where the Dynamo has won back-to-back MLS titles after winning two others with many of the same players and coaches when the team was known as the San Jose Earthquakes.
Correctly sensing that Donovan's remark would stir the waters before Saturday's Galaxy-Dynamo game in Carson, Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle posted it on the newspaper's soccer blog, asking, "Who's the giant here?"
The response was instantaneous, and here are just a few of the comments to the Houston reporter:
* "Now old Landy is drinking the LAG Kool-Aid too. . . . If I had just lost to TFC, I would be keeping my mouth shut and training for the next match. LAG needs to stop embarrassing itself and MLS both on and off the pitch."
* "What Landon meant when he said 'giant' was 'face of the league' or 'poster boy of the league.' Those are accurate descriptions. Another accurate description: 'The coddled team that apparently needs more special breaks in order to succeed against the real giants of MLS.' "
* "Does Landycakes mean they are like the San Francisco Giants? As in, they plan to finish last in the West?"
* "King Kong ain't got nothing on me, says Landon. Yeah, right. L.A.'s problem [is that it] cannot create a workable roster with three players taking up so much money."
* "Lando is somewhat right in that L.A. receives the most media attention and has the big stars, but their football is subpar. I don't think any giant of MLS should lose to Toronto."
* "The Galaxy had the chance to become the giants of MLS but they squandered it when they brought in [Alexi] Lalas and started to focus more on the business side of the team rather than the soccer side."
So there you have it, Galaxy fans. Your turn.
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There was also some other reader mail directed in this direction during the past week:
"Thank you for printing that the Columbus Crew front office needs to get its act together. You're right.
