Since its inception in Major League Soccer in 1996, FC Dallas has been a largely irrelevant franchise.
Sure, they've made the playoffs a couple times, most recently in 2007. Yes, they've had some outstanding players, such as Jason Kreis and Kenny Cooper.
The name change from the Dallas Burn, coinciding with the opening of Pizza Hut Park in 2005, was cool, too.
None of that, however, mattered much until coach Schellas Hyndman arrived in 2008 after 24 years and 368 wins at SMU.
When he took over, FCD was a bickering, broken franchise.
Now Hyndman's preparing to lead FC Dallas into the MLS Cup on Sunday against Colorado , having dispatched the league's top two regular- season teams – Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles – in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Coaching matters.
A franchise is much better off having a good coach with average players than an average coach with good players. Hyndman, known for his consistently strong teams at SMU, advanced to the NCAA Tournament 23 times in 24 seasons.
The lure and challenge of coaching at the professional level while remaining in Dallas proved too much to resist. Especially since the request came from club owner Clark Hunt, who captained one of Hyndman's teams at SMU.
When he took over, FCD was 4-5-8. They went 4-5-4 under Hyndman that season. Last season, FCD went 11-13-6 as some players continued to struggle with the transition in Hyndman's first full season.
FC Dallas went 12-4-14 this season, including a league-record 19-game unbeaten streak.
Goalie Kevin Hartman led the league with a 0.62 goals-against average and was sensational in a 3-0 win over Los Angeles last week. David Ferreira, a 5-foot-5 dynamo, leads the team with eight goals and 13 assists.
Finally, they understand what Hyndman needs and wants from them. Everyone, as my pastor often says, is on one accord.
Change is rarely easy.
People enjoy familiarity, which is why most of us are brand-loyal whether we're talking bubble gum, laundry detergent or video gaming systems.
Hyndman, though, forced change upon the team.
He demands accountability from players. Those who produce play and those who don't sit, which is why Jeff Cunningham has started just 13 of 27 games, though he leads the team with 11 goals.
Coaches struggle for respect when they don't hold their best players to an even higher standard than everyone else.
Those who accepted Hyndman's obsession with attention to detail and his approach to the game thrived and remain with FC Dallas. Most of those who didn't are no longer here.
"It was a lot of work because I came halfway through the year and I couldn't do much with the team," said Hyndman, "because the players were the players.
"It has taken awhile to get my type of players and change the culture to a winning culture. When we added players, we wanted to add good people. We never talked about their soccer skills because that's why we liked them, but we wanted players with good character, who were committed and loyal."
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