Imagine...

Imagine MLS Seattle
It isn't hard to do
We'd have a team to die for
We'd win some trophies too
Imagine thirty thousand people
Cheering in the stands...

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And cheer for our team as one

So with about 16 months to go until MLS Seattle kicks off, over TEN THOUSAND deposits have been made for season tickets. And it's not like all the soccer fans in the city have signed up already, either... many are waiting on the team name and/or ticket prices to be released. This begs the question... how high can we go? Would 20K be all that far-fetched? With 20 thousand season ticket holders, the lower bowl could get sellouts frequently, and the atmosphere would surely be the best for any soccer team in the United States. The lower bowl with the 'Hawks Nest' added probably could hold nearly thirty thousand people. Imagine...

Sounders 2008 home games to be played in Siberia

Tukwila, Siberia, same thing. If you want to see local pro soccer next year, be prepared to drive.

The Seattle Tukwila Sounders will play their home games at 2,000 seat Starfire Sports Complex.

The team played some home games there last year, including the USL final where they stomped Atlanta, 4-0. It's a cool place and all, but... seriously, it's tiny, and it's going to limit the amount of people who will catch a game next season. Imagine the Mariners moving to Everett
Memorial Stadium.

The only way this makes sense is to make people forget about the Sounders, so when the MLS team rolls into town in 2009, those people will be like "OMG we have soccer now!" But even that doesn't really make sense. Hey, we tried.

For those hardcore enough to still want tickets, or the lucky few living in that area, season tickets will be on sale November 27 November 30 sometime before the season begins, and should be a bargain at less than $200.

We'll be waiting for a friendly match of some sort to come to Qwest, thanks.

The Bigger Picture

So to partially fill this off-season we're going to be doing a series on the popularity, acceptance and development of soccer in the United States. This will be called



We're going to be talking to various people around the U.S. and Seattle soccer scene to see what they think of the current and future states of American soccer. The basic question, of course, is "how popular will soccer be in the near future?' There are some differing opinions:

Danny Jackson (former MLS and current Sounders player) - "I do think it will get there, but it will take time. When this next generation of supporter arrives at the stadium, the generation which grew up playing the game, who will vividly remember Beckham arriving, Sounders winning a championship, feeling pain and hurt when their team loses, and when we are on prime time TV, we will be on the right track."

Adrian 'Man of the Hour' Hanauer (owner of Sounders and future MLS franchise) - "The trend is definitely going the right direction, and I believe that we will continue to see increased support for soccer on every level, over the next 10-20 years."

Larry Stone (Seattle Times sportswriter) - "I don't think soccer will ever become a mainstream sport. It's simply not part of our culture, and it never will be. When I was little, I heard people say that soccer would be huge once all the kids who play youth soccer became adult consumers. Never happened, and it won't happen, I believe. Soccer will remain a niche sport -- hugely popular among the fanatics, but not on par with NFL, MLB, or NBA. It might catch NHL."

...so what do y'all think?

The Name Game

Over 8000 Seattleites evidently like soccer enough to place season ticket deposits without even knowing the name of our future team. Nevertheless, this is currently the hottest topic of discussion in Seattle soccer circles. The basic question is... to be Sounders, or not to be Sounders?

So against our better judgment, we're going to offer our opinion. The obvious reason to keep the Sounders name would be to preserve the rich history of soccer this city has. But if the new team has a different name, we will not be 'throwing away our history,' as some hardcore Sounder fans might argue. The ownership group (especially Adrian Hanauer) knows soccer and the importance of its history, and if the name is changed, they will surely take measures to preserve this. Keeping the same blue and green colors would be a start. Another way would be to put (with Paul Allen's blessing) a Seattle soccer museum in Qwest field, with banners, photos and newspapers from the days of the Sounders in the NASL and A-League/USL.

Of course, Sounders would be just peachy, but if not, we trust the owners to not pick a ridiculous name. If they could both take steps to preserve this cities' soccer history and still pick a classy, more 'traditional' soccer name like Seattle City or Inter Seattle, that would arguably be the best of both worlds. And hey, if they pick something horrendously stupid (Seattle Strikerz! Wooo!), there's always the chance that us fans could bitch enough to make them change it, like what happened in San Jose a few years ago.

In conclusion, a name change wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Feel free to vehemently disagree.

MLS 2007 season ends

The Houston Dynamo won their second MLS Cup in a row yesterday, 2-1, defeating New England on yet another clutch Dwayne De Rosario goal (as San Jose fans quaked with anger). And with the 2007 season ending, now would be a good time to do a congratulatory post.

First, obviously, congratulations to the Dynamo for being the best team in MLS for two years running.

Second, congratulations to the NE Revolution for being the second best team in MLS for three years running.

And lastly, we should give props to all the Seattle Unnamed FC fans who have already signed up and made a deposit for season tickets. At least 6000 deposits have been made - and that's before ticket prices have been released. So respect to all you who have signed up. If you haven't yet, uh, no hurry... there's still about 500 days to go until the first game. But do sign up eventually, as the cheap-seat season plans shouldn't cost more than $300. That's an awesome deal. Go for it.

MLS Cup - back on, by popular demand

Yesterday we learned that KOMO had bumped the nation's most important soccer game of the year for Hannah Montana. At the time, words failed us.

The original reason was that the FCC requires a certain amount of children's 'educational' programming, and so instead of cutting off NASCAR or one of the 3 football games ABC is showing on Saturday, MLS Cup will not be shown on channel 4 in Seattle.

However, we've just learned that the game will be shown live in Seattle on ESPN2! Keep in mind, if you live elsewhere, it's still on ABC. Big ups to all those who called in and/or emailed KOMO to make your voice heard. Also, respect to KOMO, ABC, ESPN, Adrian Hanauer or whoever got this thing figured out. Seattle soccer fans will be appreciative.

*EDIT* We aren't going to be able to post this weekend, so here's our MLS Cup prediction: New England 2, Houston 1. We're rooting for Houston, though, so we win either way.

Press Announcement Wrap-up

Turns out we didn't learn that much new information from the press conference. The name, colors and crest are yet to be unveiled, although it's safe to say the colors will be some combination of blue and green. The one interesting new thing is that the USL Sounders will be back for the 2008 season, which is cool but also sort of weird. How many people will go to Sounders games knowing they only have to wait one year for a team in the big leagues?

We hope that multiple high-profile friendlies are lined up for next year to draw in the casual fan. Maybe a Korean team like the Suwon Bluewings or FC Seoul? A Mexican team like Cruz Azul or Toluca? Toronto FC, perhaps?

On another topic, we'll respond to Mr. Wiley's question of "...what season ticket prices should be?" In a perfect world we would like a pair for free, please. Since that won't happen, we'd say 13$-15$ per game for the cheap behind-goal seats, 20$ for the corners, and 30$-50$ for the nice seats (with the highest prices being the club seats right at midfield.) These are sort of low prices, but we'd really love to see a packed house every night.

We'd also be very much in favor of student discounts. This has nothing to do with the fact that we are in school.

And now for the fun part...

The speculation can end: Seattle will have an MLS franchise.

And now, according to this article, all of the team's details will be announced at the press conference this coming Tuesday. So until then, we have three questions to ask of Seattle MLS: What is your name? What is your crest? What are your team colors?

We expect to see a new crest, but using the traditional Seattle soccer colors of green and teal-ish. As for the name... let's just say that the hardcore Sounders fans should be happy. *LATE EDIT* Suggestions for the name are now being accepted online, so the name may still be up in the air.

(Bonus points if you caught the Monty Python reference!)

Also, since this news has already been leaked, we can confirm that Drew Carey will almost certainly be a part of the ownership group.

It's official!!!!!

Screw Monday, we've got confirmation today!

As reported by the always awesome Larry Stone, Seattle will officially have an MLS franchise in 2009!

This news was really only a formality, but it is fantastic to hear nonetheless. A press conference is indeed scheduled for next Tuesday, so keep your ears peeled for that. One question that remains unanswered is about the team's name...hopefully that will be cleared up in the press conference?

At this point, we really don't care. The quest for MLS in the northwest is complete. Crap...that means we have to think of a new name for this blog!

Come Monday?

The new word on the street is that a Seattle-to-MLS announcement could be made as soon as next Monday. Details are scarce, but this informal announcement would be at Seattle's famous George and Dragon pub, and supposedly features a 'Hollywood celebrity.' Could this be Drew Carey, rumored to be in on the ownership team? To find out, head on down to the pub at 12 PM on Monday; it's a holiday, so there's no excuse for not being there. While you're there, cheer on Arsenal to beat Reading in an EPL match that starts at the same time. Go!

This informal announcement will apparently be followed by a more official one for the press and all next Tuesday. So we may not even have to wait until MLS Cup to hear what we expect will be good news. (We say this as we cross our fingers, knock on wood, and kiss our lucky egg.)

And if you can't wait until Monday, check out this site frequently. The domain name is owned by the Seahawks, and the website could come online as soon as today, although we wouldn't expect it until Tuesday. Still, there's the potential for a bunch of ridiculously awesome news to happen within about 75 hours, and we're crazy excited.

Designated Player Speculation: Shinji Ono

As MLS Cup and a possible Seattle-related announcement draw nearer, only 2 weeks away at the time of posting, all we can do is wait. Wait and speculate.

Supposedly Adrian Hanauer, the MLS Seattle boss-to-be, has been in Asia for scouting purposes. (Which would explain why he isn't responding to our emails!) It makes sense for him to be looking for an Asian superstar player to sign, as sort of a soccer equivalent to Ichiro. Well, we think we know of the perfect guy.

Shinji Ono (shown here in a Seattle jersey, 2 years in the future) is an midfielder, primarily attacking but able to play anywhere in the midfield. He's played for Feyenoord, Uwara (in the J league) and has had 55 appearances (with 6 goals) for the Japan national side.

He's known for fantastic vision and versatile, all-around strong play. Ladies think he's cute, so we guess that's a bonus. Plus his nickname is 'Tensai,' or 'Genius,' which we think is just awesome. But here's the best part - his current contract with Uwara runs out in winter of 2008 - just in time to join Seattle for their inaugural MLS season in 2009! And by that time, he'll still only be 29 years old. Perfect. A Japanese midfielder in his prime to build around.

The only knock on him is durability, as injuries have caused him to miss a bunch of games for Japan internationally. Still, that shouldn't stop Hanauer from pursuing Shinji Ono, who looks to be a perfect fit for a Seattle MLS team.

(Check out videos of him here and here.)

Memorial Stadium Semi-Update

We're pretty interested in this issue. So here are some more things we've been hearing.

There have definitely been closed-door meetings involving Seattle city officials about a new basket ball arena in Seattle Center. The idea of also having Memorial Stadium (the ugly thing in the above picture), remodeled, renovated or rebuilt, is a possibility. A Seattle MLS team playing there is one option, and there's been a rumor that Bob Whitsitt would be interested in putting a lacrosse team there as well.

Quest Field haters, take note - there is a realistic, if somewhat small, chance that Seattle MLS is not in Quest permanently.

We are of the opinion that nothing could be cooler than a Seattle MLS team in a rebuilt Memorial Stadium. Unless, of course, a certain T.Henry was suiting up in the home colors. Paul Allen, are you listening...?

Stadium Mumblings

So we've heard some stuff we're pretty sure we weren't supposed to hear.

But this requires a sort-of introduction to the Seattle basketball scene for those not in the know. A bunch of rich midwest guys have kidnapped (bought) the Seattle Sonics Basket Ball team and are trying to move them to Oklahoma City. Their reason: KeyArena, current home of the Sonics, isn't big or fancy enough. And so far Seattle's been pretty 'eh' on the whole thing, acting as if they don't really care.

Until now. Apparently there's been a lot of recent talk between Seattle mayor Nickels and a bunch of other Seattle political people, and they want to partially remodel Seattle Center in order to take down KeyArena and build a new, big, fancy place for the Sonics to stay. But they all want this kept quiet for some reason, which is why we have to be annoyingly vague.

So how does this relate to Seattle MLS? Well, we'll tell you. But first read this, or at least the first paragraph. Clicky.

If you were lazy and didn't read it, basically Memorial (currently a pile of crap) Stadium might be remodeled, too. We've talked to one of the guys behind this thing. Although the article doesn't mention it, we've heard on good authority that under this plan the New Memorial Stadium could be used to house an MLS team. Seriously. Now, how much of this plan the city is talking about using, we're not entirely sure. Possibly none. But there is a slim chance that Seattle Fillintheblank soccer club will one day be playing in a Soccer Specific Stadium, downtown and in an awesome location.

We will update as we learn more, and as soon as the city decides to stop being all secret-like about their plans.

Seattle MLS: What We Know

As some dude named Socrates might say, we only know that we know nothing.

However, many rumors from both credible and BigSoccer sources are floating around the inter-web. So, a brief summary. The supposed group interested in bringing MLS to Seattle includes Joe Roth (formerly of Revolution Studios), Adrian Hanauer (owner of the USL Seattle Sounders) and Paul Allen, who we hear has a bunch of money or something. The as-of-yet unnamed team would play at Qwest Field, reportedly for free, thanks to Allen. They'd begin play in 2009, with a formal announcement presumably coming sometime before then.

What we also know is that inter-webbers far and wide are getting all argument-like over whether or not a new team playing in a football stadium is a bad thing. They want smaller stadiums. To which we say, meh. The team will play in Qwest. It's a flippin' gorgeous stadium. It's in the middle of downtown, close to restaurants, bars and other fun places. And the Seattle (fill_in_the_blank) soccer team will possibly play there for free.

Any logical person would realize that all these awesome goodies that come with Qwest are way cooler than having a stadium with less seats. Sadly, not all inter-webbers are, in fact, logical.

Welcome, folks.

...and thus was born MLS Seattle dot blogspot dot com.

This is basically the first website that was designed specifically to provide the very latest in all news regarding both Major League Soccer coming to the city of Seattle. Eventually, if - WHEN - Seattle does land a franchise of its own, this site will convert into one of the premier fan sites of the yet to be named team.

I promise to add pictures and more EXCITING! things to make this humble little slice of the internet pie one of the tastier ones. Not as well known and famous as others, sure, but still tasty. Like huckleberry. It's always apple pie and pumpkin pie, but nobody ever talks about huckleberry pie, even though it's just as good. Therefore, I proclaim this website the huckleberry pie of the internet.