Category Archives: Know Your History

Know Your History, MLS Sounders, NASL Sounders, USL Sounders

Pause for Revisionist History

At last, away goals are weighted in MLS.

Why it took so long, who knows. But once again, (North) America has joined the world, our fans apparently now savvy enough to figure it out.

Actually, most folks probably could’ve been entrusted with understanding away goals and, for that matter, aggregate series scoring long, long ago. And, if so, who’s to say there wouldn’t be more banners, more trophies, more history to celebrate?

Some say away goals rule only erodes the home-field advantage of the higher seed. Others, myself included, contend it makes the playoffs less of a crap shoot, and that’s a good thing, because local Sounders history is framed by the randomness of a shootout. I’ll explain.

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Know Your History, MLS Sounders

With Shield, Will Sounders Become Unstoppable?

As the countdown clock winds down toward first kick, I’ve gone through 40 years of Seattle pro soccer. History seems to repeat itself in some way, shape or form.

But in the case of this winner-take-all, season-ending match (OK, a draw will do it for the home side) for the Supporters’ Shield, there’s never been anything quite like it: the league’s top two teams vying with one another for a major prize as they cross the finish line. Never happened, not in 18 years of MLS, nor dating back to ’74 for the Sounders.

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Know Your History, NW Collegiate Soccer

Promotion/Relegation: Been There, Done That

It’s been a hot topic of late, the notion of bringing promotion/relegation to America. But believe it or not, it’s already been here and people have done that.

One instance of promoting a top team into an upper division while relegating a bottom finisher was accompanied by little fanfare 25 years ago, when it was practiced in the Pacific Northwest, not by professional clubs, mind you, but by collegians.

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Know Your History, MLS

The Test of Time

Records are made to be broken.

Of course, the author of that saying assumes the team or league remains viable into the future.

Anyone who’s followed the struggle of professional soccer to gain a lasting foothold in America knows that you can fill a dustbin with all the acronyms–USA, NASL, MISL, ASL to name a few–that would rise and fall in the past 50 years.

And when a league and its members are laid to rest, the personalities adapt and move on. The records, however, remain behind. Never to be matched or overtaken. However, those records, those standards, can still provide a valuable service.

MLS Cup 2009
Seattle broke a longstanding US Open Cup attendance record in 2010 with a ‘below-average’ crowd (Courtesy US Soccer)

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Know Your History, NASL Sounders

Mike England: A Most Decorated Defender

In a way, Mike England was the first Sounder whose reputation preceded him. That is to say there were high expectations, and then he exceeded them.

Two weeks prior to his Seattle debut in 1975, England walked off the pitch a winner at White Hart Lane. That was nothing new. His nine years with Tottenham were filled with fanfare and silver. He played nearly 400 matches for Spurs, winning an FA Cup, two League Cups and the North London club’s first UEFA Cup.

Englandax
England was a unanimous All-NASL Era selection and Sounders’ only 4-time NASL Best XI choice (Frank MacDonald Collection)

“I used to watch him play as a kid,” says David Gillett. “He was a big time international center half, representing his country and playing for one of the better teams in the country at the time.”

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Know Your History

Standing on Shoulders

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In the moments before kickoff, as I peak over my outstretched scarf and survey the throbbing mass at the CLink, I sometimes close my eyes for a moment and give thanks. I’m thankful to be there with family or friends and forty-thousand like-minded disciples. And I’m thankful for all those who made this scene possible.

To be honest, there are probably hundreds of people deserving of a shout out. Make that thousands. Because what makes Sounders FC world class is the sheer size and fervor of their support. In time the play will climb to that elite level; your voice and your passion is already legend.

Black Diamond's vaunted miners, circa 1916–some 30 years after their elders first brought a ball to the region
Black Diamond’s vaunted miners, circa 1916–some 30 years after their elders first brought a ball to the region (Courtesy Pep Peery Collection)

Ah, but you are not the first throng to throw yourselves behind this great game.

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