Heading to the Cowboys’ 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium to watch USA-Jamaica and Mexico-Panama makes me think of Franklin Field and Texas Stadium — and the remarkable evolution of soccer in Dallas.
 
My youth soccer began in Dallas as a 6-year-old in 1970, after becoming infatuated with the sport while watching the 1970 World Cup on television during a summer visit to grandparents in Hamburg, Germany. That year, we were among the 1,900 fans who attended a Dallas Tornado friendly against Hertha Berlin at the 8,000-seat Franklin Field. It was my first pro soccer game, and we attended every Tornado home game from then on.

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Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla has written freelance articles about soccer for more than 30 media outlets in nine nations. The winner of eight United Soccer Coaches Writing Contest awards,...