CultureMap Video

Young Dynamo scoring machine: Is Will Bruin the bear of love?

Will Bruin
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchlightGroup.com
Will Bruin
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchlightGroup.com
Will Bruin stares down Kofi Sarkodie.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchlightGroup.com
Will Bruin is all about watching Animal Planet and playing golf.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchlightGroup.com

Want to get up close and personal with your favorite Houston Dynamo player? While contributing to a good cause?

Head to Drink Houston on Saturday for Cruz'in for A Cure, a fundraiser and party organized by Dynamo player Danny Cruz to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

This is no run-of-the-mill fundraiser. The night centers on a bachelor auction of 11 Dynamo hotties. Who should you bid on? Let CultureMap's dating personality quiz be your guide.

First-year forward Will Bruin was one of the top picks in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, and earned the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award during his tenure at the Indiana University. The 6-foot 2-inch standout rookie is a little shy, but opened up to CultureMap to answer some tough questions in anticipation of being auctioned off.

He talked about his love of monster movies. And he also showed off his big hands.

Stats:
21 year old from St. Louis

Zodiac sign:
Scorpio

Idea of a perfect first date:
"Just have a good time; it doesn't have to be anything specific. Just getting along with the person and having fun, maybe going golfing."

Biggest celebrity crush:
"Jennifer Aniston."

Do you believe in love at first sight?
"No."

Give us your best pick-up line:
"Honestly, I don't know that I've ever used a pick-up line."

Are you a cat person or a dog person?
"Dog person for sure. I'm allergic to cats."

If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?
"A bear."

What's your most annoying habit?
"I don't make the best eye contact."

Sarah's appraisal: $2,400

I like Bruin's "dancing bear" moves but golf and monster movies are, ahem, an acquired taste.

Caroline's appraisal: $3,500

Bruin's shyness may make for some awkward conversation on a first date, but he gets points from me (a University of Missouri grad) for his St. Louis connections.

Longtime sports writer Chris Baldwin's appraisal: $4,400

Here is your chance to get in early with the guy who figures to be a soccer star in Houston for the next decade. It's not so far-fetched to imagine Bruin as the face of the Dynamo in the near future. He was a scoring machine in college (he put up 18 goals for Indiana in 2010, the most by a Hoosier in a century).

He still has some things to learn in the MLS, but you don't teach finishers in soccer. You either have that skill or you don't. Bruin has it and he showed it again in the Dynamo's last game — a 1-1 tie with Chicago. Bruin didn't score Houston's lone goal, but he had the best run of the game. He puts pressure on opposing goalies.

If you're someone who likes to do all the talking, Bruin could be an even better buy. This quiet star in the making isn't much for needless conversation. But you can always talk about golf. Sounds like the perfect dinner.

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Dynamo difference makers

Shirt off & bids high: Bachelor auction of soccer hotties brings in the bucksfor LLS

Lovel Palmer ups the ante by showing off his abs at the Dynamo Cruzin' for aCure auction.
Photo by © John M. Boni/CatchlightGroup.com
Goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley created a frenzy, selling for a whopping $800.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchlightGroup.com

The sun was still out as Houston Dynamo players and fans filed into Drink Houston on Saturday night for Cruzin' for a Cure. The spacious club felt open without hordes of people, and even with hip-hop playing and the bar doing steady business, the place seemed not quite ready for prime time.

"I think we might have done ourselves a disservice by having this a little earlier," confused Dynamo defender/event organizer Danny Cruz. But though the dance floor might not have been fully rocking, the moment 95.7's Sarah Pepper climbed up to the stage over the bar to begin the Dynamo bachelor auction, the energy in the room totally changed.

Suddenly girls in party dresses seemed to fill the floor, waving their orange bid placards energetically to get the attention of Pepper and the Dynamo Girls who were hanging out in the crowd as spotters.

Pepper started out by flirting with keeper Tyler Deric about how good he smelled and hyping Will Bruin's Friday night hat trick to pump their date prices to more than $200 each. The bidding atmosphere was competitive from the start, and Pepper had a knack for convincing people to keep the prices for dates going up.

It was an atmosphere that was so contagious, that even a mild-mannered reporter like this one could get inspired to put money down for her own Dynamo (Kofi Sarkodie, in case you were wondering). It was just that kind of scene.

Plenty of players pulled out all the stops to coax women out of their money — Lovel Palmer took his shirt nearly off to flash his washboard abs, and Mike Chabala got on the microphone looking for "Tyler Deric's mom." Cruz and Geoff Cameron both brought in big bids, but in the end it was 51-year-old goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley who created a bidding frenzy.

With a half dozen women bidding enthusiastically, Hanley's selling price was more than double most of the players at a whopping $800.

Between the cover charge, the bachelor auction and the silent auction featuring outings with other Dynamo players, Cruzin' for a Cure brought in more than $10,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, supporting Cruz's very personal cause and also his bid to win LLS Man of the Year.

But for the lucky ladies who made a date with the Dynamo, the fun is just beginning.

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