Say it ain’t so, Brian Ching!

HOUSTON – The Houston Dynamo and Brian Ching are about as inextricably linked as the Houston Dynamo and the color orange.

In terms of players and coaches, only one man has been a part of the organization longer than Ching, and that is manager Dominic Kinnear. Ching has been with the organization literally longer than the club has been around in its current incarnation.

Ching joined San Jose in 2003 and moved to Houston three years later when that organization evolved into the Dynamo.

The longtime MLS and U.S. international striker came into 2012 expecting this to be his final season; injuries and general wear and tire on the tires – Ching was ever willing to throw his body selflessly into the human mash-ups – has reduced Ching, 34, to a substitute’s role this year. He has been a great man to bring off the bench late, it should be said.

At any rate, if Ching and the Dynamo cannot get past Kansas City in the Eastern Conference semifinal, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET today, this could mark his last appearance in his adopted home town.

What Ching told the Houston Chronicle this morning:

One thing that I’d miss probably the most is being around the guys every day. It’s a young bunch of guys having fun, doing a sport we love. I think that lifestyle is what I’ll probably miss the most and what I’ll need to adjust to. I think just by the fact that I’ve been thinking about it and semi-planning about it, I think it will help me a little. …But I don’t think it’s something that’s going to be easy.”