Archive | October 2016
October 17, 2016  

Houston Has Arrived In The Collaboration Age

By Cheval John

The Houston Dynamo wanted to give their fans a win in the final home match of the 2016 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.

The Dynamo fell short after ceding a 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy in front of 21,085 people on Fan Appreciation Day.

Dynamo coach Wade Barrett shared some of his frustration with the media when the team could not get points at home since taking over the team midseason.

Houston played hard against Los Angeles and nearly closed out the matchup with a draw.

Midway through stoppage time in the first half, Joe Willis made two crucial saves that kept the matchup scoreless.

However, Los Angeles got the break that they needed in the 72nd minute when Alan Gordon knock the rebound in the back of the net.

Those type of breaks help great teams to win a matchup.

Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena give Houston a lot of credit for playing his team tough throughout the matchup.

Despite the disappointment that the city of Houston will not be hosting a matchup during the MLS playoffs, they have a lot to look forward to when Partnership Tower (PT) opens up to the public on Wednesday.

The PT is what many in the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) calls “the front door” to the city of Houston.

And the people are not lying because the tower is strategically located in front of Minute Maid Park, connected by sky bridge to the George R. Brown Convention Center and a train ride to BBVA Compass Stadium, where the Dynamo and the Houston Dash play their home matchups.

Businesses and organizations can get an awesome view of Discovery Green Park, where most of the festivities during Super Bowl week will take place.

The PT is now the home of the GHP, Houston First, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Houston Hotel and Lodging Association and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, which gives them more opportunity to work together to bring in more visitors to the city.

Jamey Rootes, who is the Houston Texans president and is serving a one year term as chair of the GHP has every reason to feel truly confident about Houston going to the next level due to PT.

“When the Partnership leads a business delegation overseas, we are received in spaces that reflect the nature of the region and country, which instantly builds a memorable experience as well as the host’s credibility” Rootes said. “Partnership Tower will enable visiting business leaders and dignataries to experience many of the things that make Houston so special.”

PT has elevated Houston to another level of a unique city.

When people was taking a photo with Tap Snap, many could see the backdrop of downtown houston.

And people will see all of what Houston represents inside PT with the Houston Wall

The project to build the two floors of PT cost 8.5 million dollars.

Five companies provided the funding for the PT: CenterPoint Energy, Phillips 66; Reliant, an NRG company, Silver Eagle Distributors and the Texas Medical Center.

Mr. Rootes used a football analogy to describe the leadership of the five companies who made PT possible.

“This is a very special group of leaders; they understand the need and they know this is a great time to make an extra investment in Houston. When big things happen in Houston, you can be sure forward-looking, community-minded leaders are calling the plays, Rootes said.

It is great that the business leaders were able to come together to build a place that would allow Houston’s leading organizations to be in one place where they can collaborate on making the fourth largest city in the USA a leading destination in the state of Texas.

Small businesses can follow the lead in working together in order to succeed in the marketplace because they are constantly competing against the giant companies.

And once the Super Bowl arrives next year, visitors will see a more “globalized” Houston due to the major improvements to the city.

That is why Houston will continue to be the forward thinking city that it has established itself to be for the better.

October 9, 2016  

Your Intuition Is The Compass To Success

By Cheval John

The inaugural National Women’s Soccer League Championship(NWSL) game between the Washington Spirit and the Western New York Flash is set to begin later today at 5 p.m eastern, 4 p.m. central that will be aired live on Fox Sports 1.

The championship will be held at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Houston Dash, who failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The irony is that the Dynamo also failed to keep their playoff hopes alive last night when they lost to the Colorado Rapids by the score of 3-2 in front of a capacity crowd of over 18,000 fans.

You could have hope that the Dynamo could have won the matchup and set the tone for the NWLS championship.

But Colorado, who secured a spot in the West-Semifinals of their conference in the MLS, was too good

It is truly interesting that the NWSL choose the city of Houston to be the place to host their first ever championship.

In reality, it should not be a surprise because the Dynamo and the Dash are well run organizations that have made it easy for the staff of the NWSL to select the city of Houston for their inaugural championship.

This tweet by TexSports Publications captured Dash forward Kealia Ohai firing the cannon called “El Capitan” prior to the start of the matchup.

And of course, the Dynamo fans were excited to support their team.

Despite the loss, Dynamo fans were thrilled to see the post-game fireworks display.

Now if the staff of the Dynamo did not like their work, do you believe that the fan base would have been loyal? No.

Yet, there are so many people who hate their work, yet stay with the company because of the salary and the health benefits that their employer provides.

That is why “The Walking Dead” is so popular because people can relate to the theme of the show according to Nicole Welch.

They do not follow their intuition, which is 99.99% correct all the time because they are afraid that they will end up broke.

However, those who do follow their intuition will always end up succeeding in their business and careers.

Maybe that is the reason why the city of Houston has always been the first to achieve major milestones due to the leaders following their instinct.

And why the NWSL choose to host their first league championship matchup in Houston and at BBVA Compass Stadium.

October 1, 2016  

The Trend Heard Around Twitter #BOTPW

By Cheval John

The 91st edition of the Battle of The Piney Woods took place at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday afternoon.

The rivalry between Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University has become a part of the sports culture in the city of Houston.

Every year, the Battle of the Piney Woods has seen record crowds at NRG Stadium.

It really wasn’t a surprise that the Bearkats defeated the Lumberjacks 63-28 with twenty-eight of those points happening in the first quarter.

Maybe it was a surprise that SHSU’s quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe threw a Bearkat record of 7 touchdown passes in a single matchup against their rivals.

Or that the Bearkats (4-0 overall, 3-0 Southland Conference), also ranked No.2 in the country, had 653 total yards of offense, which was also the #botpw record.

If you were a Sam Houston State fan, you are happy to see this.

Even the people behind the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Twitter account have to agree.

If you are a Stephen F. Austin State University fan, you had to feel sick to your stomach as this lady pointed out in this tweet.

The biggest surprise is that the Battle of the Piney Woods hashtag #botpw was trending on Twitter.

I did not expect to see #botpw trending because normally college football matchups in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) would usually trend if these teams are colleges like the University of Texas, which of course trended after their epic lost to Oklahoma State.

The fact that a college football matchup between two FCS universities trended on Twitter shows how far this rivalry has come in the city of Houston.

Also, it shows how far the FCS has gained respect to a degree in the college football world.

You would only know about college football universities in the FCS level when national media outlets mainly ESPN would televised the NCAA FCS Championships.


Or if the FCS colleges are facing teams in the FBS.

The athletic administrators from the two universities along with the staff of Lone Star Sports and Entertainment were able to put together an awesome football matchup at NRG Stadium year after year.

And their hard work and dedication led to the Battle of the Piney Woods to stand out from the other college football matchups on Twitter.

This shows that if you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to put in the work and dedication to be successful in your business and career.

And also solve a problem for your audience because people will instantly trust you because you solved their problem.