The Sounders alphabet
For my newest addition to the NWSB Moments segments, I will take a look at the Seattle Sounders from an A to Z format. Only serious fans allowed after this point.
A
- An MLS team of our own to finally cheer for. After years of notoriety in the old NASL, and playing in the Soccer Bowl against Pele’s New York Cosmos, we finally get another pro soccer team in Seattle.
In the USL, the team cemented it’s Cascadia Cup rivalries against the Portland Timbers, and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Which now is part of their MLS legacy as well.
B
- With the best supporters groups in all of American soccer, the Brougham End is full of soccer crazies each home game. Including the ECS.
C
- What kind of soccer atmosphere would we be if our supporters didn’t have any Chants to go along with the game play?
And where else on earth are you going to here 30,000 people singing along in unison to Cock Sparrer’s Take ‘em All week in and week out?
D
The man, Kasey Keller
- Maybe not the prototypical pro sports owner, Drew Carey is by far the most active of any owners in America. Sans Mark Cuban maybe.
E
- The Emerald City Supporters were started in 2004, and continue to be the strongest support group for the Sounders today.
No soccer experience is complete without hearing and seeing the ECS in all of their glory at each home game.
F
- Full stadium, every game. With attendance that rivals the Mariners, and is estimated would be 4th highest in the English Premier League, the Sounders supporters are clearly the best in all of MLS.
G
- Goalkeeping has been a thing of pride for the Sounders, starting with world class icon Kasey Keller, and now that torch has been passed to Michael Gspurning.
H
- Home field advantage. Just like the Seahawks have in their home games, the noise that comes from these fans is something that soccer players in America just aren’t used to hearing.
I
- Another thing that is cool about having a pro soccer team in town is the International friendlies that you get to go see.
I went to the Manchester United game last summer, and I tell you, there is nothing better than being able to watch how the game is supposed to be played live. It really is a thing of beauty.
J
- Joe Roth is the man to thank for making his dream become a reality. In the second attempt to gain an MLS bid, Roth corralled a list of names that the MLS just couldn’t say no to.
K
- Kasey Keller. His name says it all. A northwest product, who after spending his entire career playing in the top leagues in Europe, decided to come home to Washington and finish out his career with our Sounders.
L
- The best thing about sports is rivalries, and the best thing about the Sounders is their local rivalries between the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
M
- As noted above about Drew Carey going above and beyond his duty of being an owner, where else can you see a team owner getting out with the fans before each game like Carey does during the March to the Match?
N
- As other sports that I love so dearly have so many interruptions during game play, the thing I enjoy most about soccer is the ninety minutes of bliss each match.
End to end, non-stop action, with the exception of the fifteen minute halftime break.
O
- Another thing that we have been spoiled with in Seattle is the play of the best mid-fielder in the MLS, Osvaldo Alonso. This guy goes out there every game, plays the entire ninety minutes, and never lets up.
The Northwest's very own Paul Allen
P
- Yet another member of the ownership group, we wouldn’t be where we were today if it weren’t for the deep pockets of the Northwests very own Paul Allen.
Mr. Allan has been the savior of more than one local team, and his ability to open up that check book whenever he feels its necessary is one thing that keeps the Sounders competitive year in and year out.
Q
- When the new Seahawks stadium was being built, later named Qwest Field, and even later, renamed CenturyLink Field, the powers that be decided to make it both a football, and a soccer facility. We owe them everything for that decision.
R
- What kind of article would this be if I didn’t mention the uniqueness of our uniforms? The Rave Green kits that the Sounders wear are by far the most identifiable in all of sports.
S
- Speaking of our kits, the brand new Super Cyan third uniforms have got to be the best looking kits in all of soccer.
T
- Watch any Sounders away match, and you will notice the same thing every game. The traveling fan squad. Whether it’s twenty people, or its two hundred plus people, there is always fan support at each and every away Sounders game.
Our place of worship for football fans of all kinds (photo Clinton Bell)
U
- In our three years of existence, we have amassed not one, not two, but three U.S. Open Cups. This year we shoot for an unprecedented fourth in a row!
V
- As in every other culture that plays soccer, the Sounders have adopted a developmental team. A place for young players to hone their game before getting the opportunity to go pro.
The Sounders U-23 team plays their home matches at Viking Field, in University Place.
W
- Playing sports is all about winning, and we have had a pretty good run to start off our MLS franchise. Winning just makes the game more enjoyable to watch, doesn’t it?
X
- The Sounders main sponsor (XBOX) and the name of the field in which they play, XBOX Pitch, is another reason we can say thank you to owner Paul Allen.
Y
- Throughout all of the various forms of this club, the fans have come out year after year to support them.
Whether it was the NASL, the USL, or now in the MLS, we have had the best fans in all of North American soccer.
Z
- One name; Steve Zakuani. Zak is my favorite player just for the mere fact that his name can be turned into the song by Falco, Amadeus. Just substitute Zakuani for Amadeus, and you’ve got it.
