Just got back from Pizza Hut Park (I'm in Dallas visiting some relatives). For Dallas' reputation, I was impressed by the fan experience, attendance, and passion. It was no Livestrong or Century Link, obviously, but the atmosphere was quite good. Not a sellout, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got 17-18k of their 20k-ish capacity. I'm surprised by the negative reaction to the attendance in this thread; I think it may be because the cameras happen to catch the unshaded side of the field, which is a less popular area to buy seats for obvious reasons. We'll see if they can keep the momentum up when it's not Henry and the Red Bulls playing, when it's not opening weekend, and when it's not 60 degrees out (though it's worth noting that the weather had been miserable here in Dallas over the past few days and the forecast called for thunderstorms; that might have discouraged a few people).
I suppose I'm inclined to think well of the organization because of what they did for me before the game started. I went up to one of the people taking tickets at the gate and asked him for directions to the ticket shop. He asked, "how many do you need?" I told him I was there alone, and he produced a ticket from his pocket. Apparently he ran across a party that was missing a member, and they decided to give the ticket to him. He gave it to me for free, and the seats were incredible. Row 20, very close to midfield. One of the best seats in the house, 75 dollar nominal value
Dallas impressed me. Their counter-attacks looked as dangerous as they did back when Ferriera was at the top of his game. I was particularly impressed that they managed to look dangerous despite the fact that Shea had a pretty atrocious game. This team is more than just their stars, and look good to make a run at significant trophies with the fixture congestion that plagued them last season in the rear view mirror.
New York, on the other hand, looked toothless for most of the game. For the first thirty minutes, in particular, they were unable to hold much possession or get anything in the way of dangerous chances. They only looked good when Kenny Cooper came on, but to be fair, they played magnificently for about 15 minutes after he came on, where they got one goal and looked good to equalize. It's still troubling that, with all the technical talent on the NYRB squad, their only answer to a George John-less Dallas defense was to lob long balls to a target forward.
I was also perplexed by Henry's role in NY's system. For most of the game he looked not so much like a Trequarista or attacking mid as he did a box-to-box Center Mid. There were even a few touches where he was occupying the space of a fullback! I would imagine that Henry's clinical finishing would be the most valuable part of his game to NYRB. I guess they don't want to shackle a player as fluid and creative as Henry. And to be fair, the NYRB roster is stacked with talent that can finish, while their ability to create chances is only above average, so I suppose it makes sense that they'd cast Henry in a more creative role. And he did do a great job springing Kenny Cooper on that goal, so I guess it worked in a way.
Anyway, I had a blast, and I'm really looking forward to the CCL quarters coming up =)
(As a side note, I think the OT is a little too defensive. I'd go with something like "2012 Major League Soccer OT- Jump In, the Water's Fine." or "2012 Major League Soccer OT- Counting Down the Seasons till We Get Our Own Sticky," if a change is still possible.
Other than that, great job with the OP! I'll update the FAQ and PM the result to Akim when I get the chance.)