First off, let me be clear. I love Obafemi. He has been a great addition for our team and I really hope we keep him. But we don't pay him to get red cards and he's got two so far this season.

As of the Seattle vs. Houston match he has eight goals this season, one of which is the fantastic chip in our first match-up with San Jose, here, go ahead and rewatch it before you keep reading because I want you to remember why you like Obafemi before I lay into him. Alright, did you watch the video? One more, watch this beautiful silky pass of awesomeness. Did you watch it?

Good.

Now I won't feel guilty as I tear into Obafemi.

As of the end of Seattle vs. Houston, Obafemi has eight goals for the season. That's respectable enough putting him at #11 in the league right after LA's Zardes. But that is not the stat that he ranks best for...

Is it assists? Nope, #15 (trailing teammate Gonzalo Pineda.)

Is it minutes played? Nope, not even top 50.

It's red cards. His two red cards tie him with four other players for most in the league. That's not a good thing to be tied for first in. And it's a terrible thing for a DP to even be in the running for.

Why?

We, as a team, pay him to help us score goals. Every red card represents lost minutes of play which lessen his opportunity to score goals.

Some will argue that Obafemi didn't deserve his red card. Those people are wrong. Whether someone is arguing the first, or second, or both of his yellows. It doesn't matter what you think of the fouls, any of them. To think that Obafemi's red card can be blamed solely on the ref is a sham of an argument.

Players must play through refereeing, and Obafemi has been playing for far too long to lose his cool and make the sort of fouls which even put him at risk of a second yellow. Look, I get that he's probably frustrated by his lack of goals recently and it certainly looked like he was getting absolutely manhandled in that match, but that doesn't excuse the play. The tackle which earned him his second yellow was high risk for low reward.

I mean it isn't as if referee Chris Penso hadn't been giving out cards tonight and this was a surprise out of nowhere.

I'm going to ignore the first penalty because in this equation it simply doesn't matter. As soon as it is given, it's the reality and the circumstances where it came from become irrelevant.

Here's the play by play of the foul which earned the second yellow:

In the 86' minute Obafemi has the ball poked away by Beasley, Obafemi then gives chase to fight for the ball. He bumps into another Dynamo before sprinting after Houston's #22 Brian Ownby. He decides to slide tackle from behind in hopes of poking the ball away from Ownby. Now, there are times to make a tackle like this. Those situations are usually ones where the attacker is about to break away. That is not the case as Obafemi makes his slide tackle on Ownby.

The foul has all the signs of being one of passion. Obafemi wants the ball back. He is a fighter that's why we love him. But this fight is not a fight that he's going to win. And in fact, it is a fight that is incredibly unnecessary as Ownby is about to run into not only Ozzie Alonso, but also defender Leo Gonzalez. Granted, Obafemi's impact is definitely soft and he pulls his feet back, but his collision is still contact from behind that brings Ownby to the ground. It's a stupid foul and one that an experienced DP player should never make.

Now because of it Martins' is going to miss the Sounders' upcoming match against Real Salt Lake on the road, a match where the Sounders need every offensive weapons to take on the MLS's newly-minted clean-sheet record-holder Nick Rimando.

So that is why, while thousands of fans in CenturyLink applauded Obafemi as he walked off the turf after his red card, I shook my head in frustration, as fans lauded a costly and highly paid petty and stupid foul.