The 2003 Dallas Burn season was the eighth season of the Major League Soccer team. It still stands as the worst season in franchise history. It was the only season where the team had the worst record in the entire league. The team's average attendance of 7,906 still stands as the lowest in franchise history. The season saw team management fire head coach Mike Jeffries in September. Colin Clarke took over as interim head coach for the rest of the season. The 2003 season was played at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, home of the Southlake Carroll high school football team, featuring black, purple, white and yellow field lines for 5 different sports, on artificial turf. At the Cotton Bowl, the Dallas Burn were known throughout the western hemisphere for having the best pitch in soccer. The inexplicable stadium move decimated the team and their fans. Crowds dwindled below 1000 and the team finished the season with a -29 goal differential.
| 2003 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Hunt Sports Group | ||
| Head coach | Mike Jeffries (until September) Colin Clarke (September – October) | ||
| Stadium | Dragon Stadium | ||
| MLS | Conference: 5th Overall: 10th | ||
| U.S. Open Cup | Lost Fourth Round vs. Wilmington Hammerheads (1–4) | ||
| Brimstone Cup | Won Championship vs. Chicago Fire (1–1) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 7,906 | ||
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Final standings
edit| Western Conference | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y - San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 35 | 10 | 51 |
| x - Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 44 | 4 | 42 |
| x - Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 45 | -5 | 40 |
| x - Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 |
| Dallas Burn | 30 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 35 | 64 | -29 | 23 |
y - Conference Champions, x - clinched playoff berth
Regular season
edit| April 12, 2003 1 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1–1 (OT) | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| April 26, 2003 2 | New England Revolution | 2–1 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| May 3, 2003 3 | Dallas Burn | 0–0 (OT) | D.C. United | Washington, D.C. |
| Stadium: RFK Stadium |
| May 10, 2003 4 | Kansas City Wizards | 3–1 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| May 17, 2003 5 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1–1 (OT) | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| May 24, 2003 6 | Dallas Burn | 1–2 | MetroStars | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Stadium: Giants Stadium |
| May 31, 2003 7 | D.C. United | 2–3 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| June 14, 2003 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 2–1 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| June 18, 2003 9 | Dallas Burn | 1–4 | Chicago Fire | Chicago, Illinois |
| Stadium: Soldier Field |
| June 21, 2003 10 | Colorado Rapids | 1–3 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| June 28, 2003 11 | Dallas Burn | 0–3 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Carson, California |
| Stadium: The Home Depot Center |
| July 2, 2003 12 | D.C. United | 3–1 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| July 5, 2003 13 | Dallas Burn | 0–0 (OT) | Columbus Crew | Columbus, Ohio |
| Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium |
| July 12, 2003 14 | Dallas Burn | 1–5 | Kansas City Wizards | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium |
| July 16, 2003 15 | Dallas Burn | 2–1 | New England Revolution | Foxborough, Massachusetts |
| Stadium: Gillette Stadium |
| July 19, 2003 16 | MetroStars | 2–1 (OT) | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| July 26, 2003 17 | Dallas Burn | 0–3 | San Jose Earthquakes | San Jose, California |
| Stadium: Spartan Stadium |
| August 9, 2003 18 | Dallas Burn | 0–2 | Colorado Rapids | Denver, Colorado |
| Stadium: Invesco Field at Mile High |
| August 13, 2003 19 | San Jose Earthquakes | 3–0 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| August 16, 2003 20 | Kansas City Wizards | 2–3 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| August 23, 2003 21 | Columbus Crew | 2–1 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| August 30, 2003 22 | Dallas Burn | 1–2 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Carson, California |
| Stadium: The Home Depot Center |
| September 6, 2003 23 | Dallas Burn | 1–2 | Colorado Rapids | Denver, Colorado |
| Stadium: Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium |
| September 13, 2003 24 | Dallas Burn | 2–3 | Columbus Crew | Columbus, Ohio |
| Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium |
| September 20, 2003 25 | Chicago Fire | 0–2 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| September 27, 2003 26 | Dallas Burn | 2–5 | San Jose Earthquakes | San Jose, California |
| Stadium: Spartan Stadium |
| October 4, 2003 27 | New England Revolution | 4–1 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
| October 11, 2003 28 | Dallas Burn | 0–0 (OT) | MetroStars | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Stadium: Giants Stadium |
| October 18, 2003 29 | Dallas Burn | 0–1 | Kansas City Wizards | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium |
| October 25, 2003 30 | Colorado Rapids | 3–4 | Dallas Burn | Southlake, Texas |
| Stadium: Dragon Stadium |
U.S. Open Cup
edit| August 6, 2003 Fourth Round | Dallas Burn  | 1–4 |  Wilmington Hammerheads | Wilmington, North Carolina |
Johnson  6' |
Johnson 33' Nylen 52'Murray 69', 89' |
Stadium: Legion Stadium Attendance: 3,019 |