Sometimes, we’ll do projects for other teams. Not just other teams we follow outside of MLS, but other teams within the league. Why? Because we have buddies in whichever location. Also, it’s fun. I realize this concept is mind-blowing to a lot of fans, but these guys are my friends, and sometimes you just get an idea in your head that wouldn’t quite work for your own team.
This is one such idea, and honestly, it requires so much setup to explain the joke it’s bordering on “if you have to ask” territory. The short version is that my pals in Houston are kinda cut from the same nerd fabric as I am. And there’s a popular cartoon where the characters run around in goofy looking headbands, which, in turn, inspires a lot of kids who’re into such things to run around with goofy looking headbands. Mostly this is limited to anime conventions, but I’ve spotted this stuff in the wild on occasion. Anyway, one of my Houston pals is a fan of the show, and one day it occurred to me that it’d be really easy to adapt Naruto headbands into stupid soccer fan gimmicks.
Using some aluminum flashing, laser toner transfer, scrapbooking brads, and a couple dollars worth of broadcloth, I ran up a dozen of these, slapped “BELIEVE IT” (the show’s slogan) on a banner made from some leftover canvas, boxed ’em all up, enclosed a note that said “WAIBEL MORE LIKE KAWAIIBEL AM I RITE?” and shipped ’em out. Then I spent a week issuing vague threats to the recipient, promising that every photo he took of an actual Dynamo player wearing whatever it was in the box was redeemable for a drink when next we ran into each other.
What I didn’t count on was that my buddy Devin would get the package mere hours before going to a team appearance featuring none other than Waibel himself.
And this, right here, is why it is rad to be an American soccer fan.