Behind the Orange Lenses: Cesar V
Welcome to a reboot of our series that highlights you, the fans. We will kick off the first installment with a fan that you might see often in Houston Dynamo's marketing lately. He goes by Xespool on game day, but lets get to know the man behind the luchador mask!
Name: Cesar V aka Xespool
Current Season Ticket Holder: Yes, three years running
Where are you originally from and what is your earliest memory of soccer?
I am originally from Matamoros, Mexico, a city located just across the Texas-Mexico border. When I was about 9 years old, here in the States, I was invited by classmates to kick the ball around during recess. It made it easy to make new friends and I was hooked.
Tell us a little about how you became a Houston Dynamo fan?
In 2008, the Dynamo went to my high school, where they held a pep rally. They brought their recently won trophies and even gave away tickets for an upcoming match and I was so hyped. Unfortunately, I didn't win any tickets that day, and I remember begging my folks to go, but we couldn't. But my love for the club started then. It was cool to see that my hometown team came out and cared about the kids in our community. The outreach the club had was great.
What is your favorite Houston Dynamo memory and why?
It wouldn't be fair to say one thing. I'll break it down this way, my alter ego's favorite memory was the US Open Cup final against Miami. I was here in Houston, watching the game at Pitch 25 and by the end of it we had the entire building singing "We Are Orange". It was amazing, epecially because we beat Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
Now, as for me Cesar, my favorite memory was the 2018 US Open Cup final against the Philadelphia Union. We had not won anything in many years! Having the final at home and lifting our first US Open Cup trophy with a stacked Dynamo squad. Union was not a bad team either, but beating them 3-0 was just awesome!
Tell us the story about wearing the luchador mask to games. How did it start?
The mask was a happy "accident". My daughter and I were at a flea market and saw a wrestling shop. I was intrigued by the merchandise being displayed and I walked in. We saw the wrestling mask of Ultimo Dragon, and my daughter jokingly said to me, "you should take it and wear it at the next game". Well, match day came and I was kind of acting like I didn't remember what she had told me, because I was nervous to wear it. But of course, she didn't forget. I was so nervous to wear it, but I love my daughter and I do anything that she asks of me. I put the mask on, and a switch just flipped. I never looked back. It wasn't easy at first but I figured no one knew what I looked like anyways, and it created a new persona for me.
Anything else you want to share with the Houston soccer community?
I just want to give a special shout out to a very special person that made a huge impact in my life, Superlobo. He was a high school classmate of mine who would wear a Blue Demon wrestler mask to our high school games. He was louder than I could ever be. Chavez High School soccer was just loud and exciting back then all thanks to him. I didn't play in the varsity team, but I used to go to every game to see him play. Esta es por ti, carnal!
Our hope is that you can put a name to a face in the crowd at Shell Energy Stadium. If you’re interested in being spotlighted in our fan series, reach out to us on social media!
