There had been 2,000 people in line when the gates opened Sunday morning, and by early afternoon, there was a four-hour wait for the main attraction.

Officials put the total attendance at more than 7,000. Funny, but no one seemed to mind the wait.

“It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Ivan Garcia of Houston. “Who knows if I'll ever get this chance again?”

He wore a large sombrero and was using a Mexican flag as a cape. When his turn came, Garcia was going to be ready.

“To be a couple of inches away, to be separated by glass, is something special,” he said.

There was a street-party atmosphere all around him on the intramural fields at the University of Houston. As the line snaked through the grounds, there was a band playing, food served, and here, there and everywhere, exhibits, soccer clinics, etc.

What they'd come to see, the reason they were willing to wait four hours for a quick glance and a photo, was in a tent just off Cullen Boulevard.

The World Cup Trophy sat spotlighted in a glass case, on its way to Johannesburg, South Africa, at the end of an 83-country, 225-day tour.

It's surprisingly small, just 14 inches tall, a solid gold globe held aloft by two human figures who form a “V.” Its simplicity somehow adds to its power and appeal.

“For me, I see world supremacy when I see that trophy,” said Bryan Chenault, FIFA's media officer. “I have flashes of the different captains who've held up the Cup. Every city we're in, there's a whole new group of people astonished to have the chance to see it.”

Trophy replaces original

This World Cup Trophy has been used since 1974 after Brazil won permanent possession of the Jules Rimet Cup with its third championship in 1970. World Cup champions get to keep a replica of the new trophy after the tournament.

Coca-Cola sponsored the tour leading up to the June 11 start of the World Cup, and officials seemed both stunned and thrilled by the size of the turnout at the only U.S. stop in which the trophy was on display for the public.

“It's truly amazing,” said Reinaldo Padua, Coca-Cola's associate vice president for Hispanic initiatives. “Our crew tells us they get the same reaction over and over. It doesn't matter about age or culture. It's inscrutable emotion of being close to the trophy. It's a very unique connection with the sport.”

Fans continued to line up even as security guards warned them that they were in for a long wait.

“It's worth it, every second of it,” said Karlen Palyan, who was accompanied by his friend, Scott Clark. “I have a great appreciation for soccer. I think it's the most beautiful game in the world.”

Added Clark: “This is something that doesn't happen every day. It's a beautiful day, so why not stand in line?”

The day of celebration reflected some of the passion the Dynamo have tapped into. It's why the atmosphere for their games at Robertson Stadium is so special, why the players say they feed off it.

The Dynamo have done almost everything right since moving here four years ago, but amid good play and an astonishing amount of community work by its players and coaches, the franchise tapped into a community's love of the sport.

Eyes tell the story

Some of that passion surely comes from our large Hispanic population, and indeed Sunday's crowd appeared largely Hispanic. But soccer is a sport of beauty and grace, and its appeal surely will grow.

“For me, it just reinforces the passion that people have for the sport, for World Cup, for the trophy especially,” Chenault said. “It's amazing. I never get tired of seeing people's eyes light up when they walk in the room and first lay their eyes on the trophy.”