FRISCO, Texas -- When you think University of Tennessee or Syracuse University sports, you think orange. And when you think about the big delegation of Houston Dynamo fans who will be in a north-bound convoy along Interstate 45 from Houston to Dallas this weekend, you think orange, too.
There's no home-field advantage in MLS Cup 2006 featuring Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution. But is there a home state advantage?
Because Dynamo fans from Houston are a mere 250-mile drive from the Metroplex area, many of the same people who outfitted themselves in orange apparel and cheered Dynamo at Robertson Stadium will be filling the gas tank and making the drive to Pizza Hut Park in hopes of seeing their guys lift the Cup and take it to a different part of Texas.
"I think we have a bit of an edge that way," Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. "I talked to our [general manager] last night and I think we're expecting 4,000 to 6,000 people coming up. I know they'll all be wearing orange, because they've been doing that pretty much for most of the season.
"They'll tailgate and they'll be there to cheer us when we come on the field. Any extra edge we get from our fans will be really welcome."
Forward Brian Ching would love to see Dynamo fans make the championship venue seem like Robertson Stadium North.
"The crowd that is coming will probably be our die-hard fans," Ching said. "They did a lot for us at Robertson and if we can feed off their energy on Sunday, it will be a huge factor."
The Revolution, however, doesn't expect all the cheers to be for Houston. According to goalkeeper Matt Reis, some of New England's most loyal fans are flying in or making the long car trip.
"I know we have a lot of fans coming down and we actually have people driving all the way from Massachusetts and the New England area," Reis said. "We'll definitely have our support, too."
For both clubs, Pizza Hut Park was more like Cold Pizza Hut Park this year. Dynamo had a loss and a tie in two trips to Frisco. New England surrendered four goals in the opening 19 minutes against FC Dallas and went down 4-0 for its worst defeat of the season.
For one club, Pizza Hut Park will remain a house of horrors. But for Sunday's winner, it will be suddenly transformed into a favorite destination.
"It's a great field," midfielder Dwayne De Rosario said. "The grass is nice, so you can play low ball. We're a team that likes to keep the ball on the ground, so it definitely suits our style of play."
As perhaps the widest field in the MLS, Pizza Hut Park plays to the strength of both clubs. Both Dynamo and the Revolution like to get wide and push the ball down the flanks. New England might have a playoff-type familiarity advantage in that it played the MLS Cup Final at Pizza Hut Park last year, losing 1-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"It's like déjà vu," Reis said.
The Revolution, looking to get over the hump after two MLS Cup defeats in the last four years, vow that they won't be blinded by all the orange they see in the stands. From New England's perspective, there's not going to be any home state advantage.
"We just beat D.C. United in RFK Stadium," Revolution defender Avery John said. "If we play our game, we can win any time, anywhere."
Robert Falkoff is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
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