Tag Archives: MLS Cup

Attendance, MLS, NASL Sounders, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle Reign, Seattle Sounders FC

Big Crowd. Big Cause.

Without question the best, most dramatic match I ever witnessed live was played before less than 1,500 fans and ended near midnight. The largest crowd to which I was a party was for a scoreless affair under a scorching midday sun. And five of the eight biggest attendances for matches played in Seattle didn’t matter at all.

That’s what makes this coming Sunday such a beautiful convergence of the masses with the most meaningful afternoon of footy our state has ever seen. When the first whistle pierces the mid-autumn air for Sounders v Toronto, CenturyLink Field will be teeming with people who came to be part of history, part of a unique experience in Seattle sporting culture: One game to determine the champion of an 8-month marathon known as MLS.

No doubt, that’s what sparked the run on tickets, fans seeking to seize the moment. When the Reds took down Atlanta and soon after the ticket link went live to season ticket holders, no one needed a clever hashtag or promotional gimmick to go online. Seattle became a soccer capitol long, long ago; like their playing heroes, the fans are smart and opportunistic, and soon the lower bowl inventory was exhausted, and folks took aim on getting tickets for friends in the upper deck. Within 48 hours, the CLink was full-up.

Bigger match, bigger crowd. It stands to reason.

The Kingdome’s first sporting event, a Sounders friendly vs. New York Cosmos, was also the first U.S. soccer attendance of 50,000 or more.
Continue reading Big Crowd. Big Cause. →
FC Seattle, Know Your History, MLS Sounders, NASL Sounders

Brand Him A Sounder

He commenced his career in Toronto, played for Canada’s Olympic and national teams, and has made the Great White North’s largest city his home. And yet on Saturday, despite never setting foot in CenturyLink Field, Jack Brand will bleed Rave Green.

“Some of my friends will curse me for that,” says Brand, “(but) my heart is with Seattle.”

It’s not so much the quantity of time Brand spent in Seattle in his earlier years. Rather, it is the quality of that tenure. He was part of something truly special, both in Sounders lore and the rebirth of the game with a semipro club comprised of local lads.

Jack Brand (Courtesy Brand Family)

Brand, now 64, presides over his family’s business, based in nearby Mississauga. The Brand Felt Ltd. manufactures industrial felt for a multitude of industries, exporting worldwide. The German-born Brand, at 17, was sent abroad by his father, company founder Klaus Brand, to study in New York state. Although he had played for then-West Germany’s youth national team, his father forbade him from turning pro at the time.

Beckoned to Seattle Continue reading Brand Him A Sounder →

NASL Sounders, Seattle Sounders FC, USL Sounders, Washington Youth Soccer

A Brief History of Homegrowns & Finals

When he takes his place on the terra firma of BMO Field on Saturday night, the mission of Jordan Morris is to do whatever it takes for the Sounders to bring home the Anschutz Trophy.

Win the ball. Hold the ball. Connect. Cover and mark bigs on Reds set plays. Set-up or score a goal, all the better. But just win.

The Philip F. Anschutz trophy

It would be Seattle’s first such championship in the top flight of North American soccer, and it would obviously hold extra special meaning to a Mercer Islander who grew up watching the boys in Rave. And given Puget Sound’s proclivity for producing top-class players, it would be a fantasy come true for fans, to see a homegrown lad lift MLS Cup.

Continue reading A Brief History of Homegrowns & Finals →

Seattle Sounders FC

Buddy, It’ll Be Cold Out There

If the weather forecast holds true for MLS Cup 2016, it will easily set a new Sounders FC standard for chill factor.

screen-shot-2016-12-05-at-6-21-03-pm
As of Monday evening this was Weather.com’s forecast for Saturday in Toronto.

Temperatures are likely to drop into the mid-20s for first kick at Toronto’s BMO Field after a daytime high of 29 degrees. With winds expected to reach 9 MPH, the windchill will make it feel closer to 10 degrees.

To date, the coldest kickoff for a Seattle match is 34, set for the second leg of the 2014 Western Conference Final at CenturyLink Field (those who attended the 2013 UW-New Mexico men’s quarterfinal on Montlake may recall it was 27 at kickoff). Continue reading Buddy, It’ll Be Cold Out There →

MLS Sounders

The Treble: Too Much to Ask?

Is it too much to ask for The Treble?

Growing up a fan of all things Seattle, my sense is that we tend to settle. As if that term is just an ‘a’ away from who we are. There’s rarely an outcry if sports team is stopped short of the summit.

Unlike some fan bases which shall remain nameless, web-footed western Washington supporters seem to have a comfort zone that begins with playing in bowl games your daddy watched and advancing beyond the first round of any particular playoff.

seattlesoundershighs_yymyhrfkcwbe1bqh7ilmuwlzaOh, sure, we lament underachievement, and we have piques of frustration. But by and large we are OK with, say, winning 116 games but falling short of the World Series. Our passive/aggressive MO merely manifests itself in a faint cry of ‘We’ll get ‘em, next year!’

Continue reading The Treble: Too Much to Ask? →