March Madness

Well, the big NCAA dance begins today and Seattle sports fans are confident that the local UW Huskies can make a long run in the basketball tournament. However, for many people here in Seattle, there's bigger news. So indulge me as I talk about one of my favorite things. As you may have heard, Seattle sports suffered through a terrible 2008 during which the Mariners lost 101 games (dead last in the league), the Seahawks were far from stellar (4 wins), the UW football team was winless (0-12), and the beloved NBA Sonics just up and left town for Oklahoma City. But 2009 brings new sports blood to the northwest corner in the form of the newest Major League Soccer team, the Seattle Sounders, which opens its season today.

Now this is a pretty big deal in Seattle. As a recreational player and follower of soccer both in the U.S. and globally, I've been quite impressed by a couple of things. First, the extent of the participation in rec leagues here in Seattle. I play in the Greater Seattle Soccer League, which has six open divisions, five over-30 divisions, three over-40 divisions, three over-50 divisions and, get this, one over-55 division. With eight to ten teams in most divisions, that's a lot of soccer. The other thing that amazes me is how many people follow international leagues like the English Premiership and German Bundesliga. My soccer team, sponsored by the Lock & Keel pub (owned by our sweeper), boasts ardent, knowledgeable fans of Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal (I'm the lone supporter of the Gunners). Also, seven blocks from our house, the George & Dragon pub usually has standing room only on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with folks packing in to follow their clubs and have an English breakfast. Anyway, what this all means to me is that Seattle seems to have a strong fan base to support a thriving MLS club.
But before we chat about the 2009 Sounders, let's take a trip back in time. You see, the first incarnation of the Seattle Sounders played in the NASL from 1973 through 1984 and actually had a decent amount of success. My memory of the Sounders comes primarily due to the fact that I was a big Cosmos fan in those days and the Sounders lost to the Cosmos in the Soccer Bowl (NASL's version of the Super Bowl) in both 1977 and 1982. The 1977 game was decided by one of the worst goalkeeping blunders of all time. After folding in 1983, the Sounders did come back as a semi-pro team from 1994 through 2008, winning four championships over that time. There are even a couple of players from this squad that are now on the roster for the new pro Sounders.


It's amazing that we have Drew Carey to thank, in part, for the new Sounders. About a year and a half ago, he and Mr. Microsoft Multimillions, Paul Allen, purchased the rights to the franchise here. They seem to have brought in a great management team and supposedly have sold more than 20,000 season tickets. That's more season tickets than the Mariners sell. And so, they take the field tonight against the New York Red Bulls with a Sounders team that includes Swedish star Freddie Ljungberg (an Arsenal mainstay for most of the 2000s) and Kasey Keller (longtime star goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team). I'm excited to get out to see them play, but won't be able to do so until they take on the LA Galaxy on May 11. I'll be sure to give you all an update after that game to let you know about the Sounder stadium experience.