2009 Houston Dynamo - Not Record-Breakingly Old

Before the season, I examined the average age of each MLS team in league history. That's done by taking the average age of all the players for the season (using July 1st birthdates) and multiplying it by minutes played. It's then divided by the total team minutes. I think it was one of the more interesting posts I've ever had on this blog. So let's revisit one comment I made on that post. I made lists of the top ten youngest and oldest teams, and the 2008 Houston Dynamo were the 8th oldest team in MLS history. I wrote: 55% of their minutes were to players over the age of 30. That's the highest of any of the top ten, and probably any team in league history. They could make a run for the top spot this season, as Dwayne DeRosario is the only one of their older players to leave. Since the season is now past the halfway point, I thought I'd check in on the Dynamo to see how the quest for the record is going. Here's the results: 2008 Dynamo - 28.79 years 2009 Dynamo - 28.58 years Unfortunately, they've actually gotten younger and are nowhere close to the record mark of 29.56, set by the 2002 Colorado Rapids. What gives? Most importantly, injuries to Eddie Robinson (31.03) and Wade Barrett (33.02) have meant that Geoff Cameron (23.97) and Andrew Hainault (23.04) are starting instead. In addition, Brian Ching has missed nearly half the season's minutes while Kei Kamara has become a full time starter. They've also traded for Dominic Oduro and Cam Weaver while Ade Akinbiyi has done little. Unlike last year, only 37% of their minutes have gone to players over 30. Don't worry, they're still a really old team. In fact, they're currently on pace to be the 10th oldest team ever. They're just not record-breakingly old.

How Many Years Until the First Winning/Losing Season?

Currently, Real Salt Lake is in their 5th year of existence as an MLS team and they've yet to have a winning record (defined as having more wins than losses). It got me thinking, which teams in the five major American sports leagues have gone the longest before their first winning season? I used the reference family of sites to figure this out (Baseball Reference, Football Reference, etc). Franchise histories in previous leagues (AFL, WHA, etc) were included. Most Years Until First Winning Season New Orleans Saints NFL 21 Seattle Mariners MLB 15 Denver Broncos NFL 14 New Jersey Devils NHL 14 Minnesota Twins MLB 12 Houston Astros MLB 11 Tampa Bay Rays MLB 11 Washington Nationals MLB 11 Philadelphia Eagles NFL 11 Milwaukee Brewers MLB 10 San Diego Padres MLB 10 Pittsburgh Steelers NFL 10 Houston Rockets NBA 10 Utah Jazz NBA 10 Yeah, I don't think RSL is going to join the company of those teams. Maybe they can shoot for the MLS record instead, which is held by the New England Revolution. They didn't have their first winning season until their 8th year in 2003. RSL will get to tie the New York Red Bulls (Metrostars) this year for second place among MLS teams at the very least. NY didn't have a winning record until their 5th season in 2000. The Saints may have a lock on this one. They did have two 8-8 records during that time span. Two current franchises that have a chance of making the top ten in a couple years: Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) and Houston Texans (NFL). Most Years Until First Losing Season Green Bay Packers NFL 13 Cleveland Browns NFL 11 New York Rangers NHL 11 New York Knicks NBA 10 Chicago Bears NFL 10 Oakland Athletics MLB 8 Los Angeles Galaxy MLS 8 Los Angeles Lakers NBA 8 Sacramento Kings NBA 7 Arizona Cardinals NFL 7 Pretty good company for the Galaxy. The Houston Dynamo are already in their 4th year, so they could make a run. They're the only current franchise among the five leagues to never have a losing season. So 2003 was the first year that the Revs were good and the Galaxy were bad. Amazing that both of those streaks lasted so long. The Chicago Fire and DC United are second for MLS teams with 5 years.