Category Archives: Seattle Sounders FC

Timing Is Everything

What if Seattle’s initial MLS bid had been successful in securing a charter team? And how would that bizarro world script play out?

First the Bad News

Alan Rothenberg no doubt had a lot on his mind. There were fewer than 48 hours between this press conference and the World Cup’s opening match at Chicago’s Soldier Field. As president of U.S. Soccer and Chairman/CEO of World Cup USA, Rothenberg had a lot of balls in the air on June 15, 1994, and here he was, before the almighty FIFA brass and a hoard of international media, announcing the first wave of charter cities for Major League Soccer.

Following a slew of salutations and greetings, Rothenberg got down to the business at hand, naming names as the rebirth of top-tier American professional soccer took a giant step toward reality. He said these would be the first seven, with another three cities to be determined later, with the MLS launch two years away, instead of 1995, as first proposed.

An unexpectedly big crowd for USA vs Russia opened the door to MLS. (Frank MacDonald Collection)

Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, San Jose and Washington, D.C. Back in Seattle, a roomful of soccer and sports community leaders listened in, hoping for some kind of miracle.

Five months before, there had been no Seattle bid committee. The lack of a suitable stadium nor a local investor/owner made the effort a non-starter. However, as so often has happened since the mid-Seventies, the Puget Sound fans spoke volumes. Over 43,000 came to the Kingdome to see a friendly between the World Cup-bound national teams of the United States and Russia.

Hank Steinbrecher, the U.S. Soccer secretary-general, was on hand in the Kingdome press box. Witnessing not only the numbers but the noise and knowledge of the throng, Steinbrecher told reporters that Seattle must submit a bid; it’s too great of a soccer city to be sitting on the sidelines. By the following week a committee formed, the state youth association fronted operating funds and despite some pushback from leadership of the budding A-League Sounders, the business of building a bid plowed forward.

Nearly 1,500 families purchased season-ticket deposits as a show of faith. Locations for potential stadiums were visited and scrutinized as were stop-gap solutions, where a Seattle team might play for the first few seasons. Rothenberg was asked if the MLS Seattle bid committee and Sounders could join forces, creating a united front and combining season ticket sales/deposits. Could these born-again Sounders be granted promotion into MLS in two years? Rothenberg’s reply: No and no.

And so, by June 15 any high hopes for Seattle becoming a charter city in MLS were waning. Rothenberg had named his seven names and, barring some breakthrough with either an owner or venue in the next few months, this bid was DOA.

But Then This Happened

But  then Rothenberg suddenly placed his hand over the mic. He paused to confer with an aide and removed a folded page from the inner breast pocket of his navy blazer. Rothenberg glanced at the paper, nodded to the aide and turned back to the mic.

“I apologize; I misspoke,” he explained. “I meant to say New Jersey slash New York (or New York/New Jersey); it’s all one market. And our seventh city, giving us regional representation to the entire Pacific Northwest, America’s once and future great soccer city, Seattle is, in fact, our seventh charter team.”

It was a shocker, no matter the audience. Potential sponsors were wishing for another major market, such as Chicago, Philadelphia or Dallas (which nabbed a charter team in the second stage). But Rothenberg was advised that Seattle had no more obstacles than Columbus or other frontrunners. Besides, nationally televised soccer games always garnered high ratings in Seattle-Tacoma – and there was a track history of pro soccer support, with big crowds coming out for the NASL and now the national team. MLS would find a way to make Seattle work.

Lamar Hunt would operate the team, one of eventually four in his MLS portfolio. He would oversee Dallas and his sons would be hands-on with Columbus and Kansas City. Seattle would be managed by a Hunt-entrusted triumvirate of Al Miller, Bill Nuttall and John Best, the latter being the original NASL Sounders head coach and, later, general manager. Miller and Best had been together under Hunt at the Dallas Tornado. Nuttall was a former U.S. National Team GM. All were longtime friends and associates of Cliff McCrath, the MLS Seattle committee co-chair. Miller, incidentally, had recruited Sounders coach and president Alan Hinton from England to America when he coached the Tornado.

It’s All About the Fans

If its initial response to a bid had been relatively tepid, once MLS was a certainty, the soccer community was all-in. With TV advertisements running throughout the World Cup, season ticket deposits quickly tripled, then increased incrementally as the Sounders started A-League play, then surged to the top of the table and finally sold-out Memorial Stadium for the final regular season game. The MLS team’s business had barely plugged in a fax machine and already there were 6,500 commitments to watch a nameless team at a yet-to-be-determined location.

In its prime the Kingdome was an acceptable venue, but by 1995 both the Seahawks and Mariners were trying to leave it. (Frank MacDonald Collection)

Over the two years leading up to the start of MLS in Seattle, there was a great deal of volatility in the market. At the newly-renovated KeyArena, the Sonics were at the height of their popularity and averaging over 60 wins per season. Down south at the Kingdome, its two tenants were troubled. In 1995, the Mariners were finally proving competitive yet there was the threat of them leaving town. After the Kingdome’s ceiling tiles began dropping, prompting the cancellation or relocation of both Sounders and Mariners games, Seahawks owner Ken Behring demanded a new stadium. When rebuffed, in early 1996 the team’s headquarters was moved to Anaheim.

As stated in the original bid package, there were multiple options for playing soccer around Puget Sound, none of them good. With two tenants already, the Kingdome was too crowded, not to mention in need of repair. The Tacoma Dome accommodated 20,000 seats and a full, FIFA-regulation field but located 30 miles south of Seattle. The University of Washington was already averse to hosting the World Cup at Husky Stadium. Hinton’s Sounders started their first season at the Tacoma Dome, then settled at Memorial, which was increasingly showing its age (49, by 1996). A proposed soccer-specific stadium in Kent was an option, but no sooner than the end of the decade.

Portable seating was added, much like here in 1974, to boost Memorial Stadium capacity to 18,000. (Frank MacDonald Collection)

Whereas most other MLS teams elected to play in big stadiums with greater than 50,000 capacity, Seattle leaders favored the intimacy of Memorial, augmented by investment in new bleachers and additional portable seating. Much like the original Sounders, capacity would reach 18,000 and a new artificial carpet installed, albeit only 60 (crowned) yards wide.

Branding Arrives with Thud

John Best believed the franchise would benefit from using the Sounders nickname, but once again MLS nixed it. As in the other former NASL markets, this was a new age, a new league and a fresh start was sought. Seattle’s newest team, said the league, would be known as the Voyage. Singular, cold, no alliteration and, like most of the other charter team nicknames, almost no clear association with its location. Although the vibrant green zig-zag jerseys would turn some heads (and cause static TV screens), the Seattle Voyage brand was met with a collective shrug.

A crude, early concept of Nike’s Seattle Voyage jersey for the inaugural season. (Frank MacDonald Collection)

The Sounders, meanwhile, won the 1995 A-League championship with a roster stocked predominantly with homegrown players. At first majority owner Scott Oki and Hinton were determined to march forward, going head-to-head with the MLS entity. However, dwindling crowds, expiring player and stadium contracts eroded their ability to leverage. When Best and Miller offered the Voyage head coaching role to Hinton several days after his team lifted the trophy, the Sounders’ fate was sealed.

In the allocation of MLS-signed foreign talent and U.S. National Team members, Hinton swooped for two of his former players at the Tacoma Stars, Preki and Roy Wegerle. He also targeted signing Everett’s returning son, Chris Henderson and young Vancouver super striker Domenic Mobilio. He drafted or bought-out the contracts of 10 Sounders, including A-League MVP Peter Hattrup and goalkeeper of the year Marcus Hahnemann. Hinton reasoned that playing at home, before family and friends, local lads could strengthen the connection with fans and instantly create a continuity no other team could claim.

It may not have been much in the way of a marquee-name squad, but they played as one and, bolstered by international acquisitions from the league, Seattle Voyage finished runner-up to Tampa Bay during the inaugural regular season before being eliminated by LA in the semifinals.

Alan Hinton tapped to becomeSeattle’s first MLS head coach. (Frank MacDonald Collection)

Attendance, while limited by capacity, was impressive at just under 18,000. Season-ticket renewals for 1997 ran about 75 percent. However, walk-ups and continued on-field success helped bridge the gap. While Seattle crowds dipped, it was far less than the league average slide of 2,800 in the second season.

A Place to Call Home

Of greater consequence than any given match in 1997 was Seattle’s future in the game. Memorial Stadium lacked the magical atmosphere of the Sounders’ Camelot era, when fans and players held fewer or more modest expectations. It was cramped, just as much for players as crowds.

Construction had begun on a new Mariners stadium, and prospective Seahawks owner/savior Paul Allen was proposing that the Kingdome be demolished, and a football shrine erected in its place. When polling indicated the statewide proposition was in jeopardy, Hunt got on board, insisting this would also become the new home of MLS. Thanks to the soccer vote the measure passed, barely.

Midway through 2002, the Voyage moved from Memorial to Seahawks Stadium, and it came none too soon. The team remained competitive (after all eight teams always made the playoffs), but had the stadium dilemma remained, Seattle might have been one of the two contracted teams, instead of Tampa Bay or Miami. Hinton was retired, as were most of the players he brought with him. With forgettable player names and few staying for more than a couple seasons, the bloom of MLS had withered.

attendance to near 20,000, with nearly 30,000 for the inaugural match. Preki, at age 40, benefitted from greater operating room, and Henderson still exhibited the engine of a player 10 years younger. The one true drawback: Allen decided that instead of grass, the stadium playing floor would be artificial.

Hunt began listening to offers for two of his MLS holdings, including Seattle. The threatened exodus of both the Mariners and Seahawks had made fans of teams wary of out-of-state owners. Allen, more focused on reshaping the Seahawks’ image, wasn’t interested. Among locals, most were only open to becoming a partner. Investment groups began bargaining with Hunt. In 2005 he sold the Voyage to a group of California investors for $11M, just above the Salt Lake and Toronto’s expansion fees.

How to Bring Back the Buzz

Crowd support, once the new stadium buzz subsided, leveled off around 17,000, still respectable and among the MLS top five. The crowds, which were largely families in the first seven seasons, were morphing, with more millennials. A drum-banging bunch began growing in the southeast corner. Although Seattle continued to make the playoffs year after year, there were no trophies and there’s a sense of general impatience with the bland (they were now wearing all-white home kit with green trim) brand that was the Voyage.

In 2005, owners of the USL Tacoma Tugs, used their connections to bring Real Madrid to Qwest Field, to play the Voyage in a friendly. It was the first major international tour to stop (Manchester United opted for Vancouver in 2003), and the turnout of 55,000 indicated there was an untapped audience that didn’t fancy MLS.

Tod Leiweke

One of the Tacoma owners, Adrian Hanauer, initiated conversations with Seahawks president Tod Leiweke and VP Gary Wright. All three shared a passion for soccer and a vision for what pro soccer could once again become in Puget Sound. The Voyage ownership group wasn’t interested in advice on the business front. They reminded the community that fans should support their endeavor because ticket prices were reasonable, the team regularly qualified for the playoffs and would soon play in Superliga, the new competition featuring MLS versus LigaMX clubs. Furthermore, they were exploring the signing of a first Designated Player in 2008.

At that point, the Great Recession applied the brakes to all MLS expansion plans. Hollywood exec Joe Roth’s proposed Vancouver start date was pushed back to no sooner than 2012. Voyage owners wanted out; their investment portfolio had cratered. Hanauer cobbled together a group to buy a majority stake for $16M. Among the partners was Paul Allen’s Vulcan Sports, which would now manage the business side. They soon recommended a rebrand. The Californians had rejected such suggestions and the Sounders name in particular, claiming that brand was ancient history and would no longer resonate with fans who were in their youth back in the NASL and A-League days.

Yet in 2009, the Voyage came to an end; the Sounders re-emerged. Hanauer was unsuccessful in prying Sigi Schmid loose from Columbus, but he hired Paul Mariner and convinced him to bring aboard Brian Schmetzer, the Tacoma coach, as the top assistant and Chris Henderson as technical director. Local hero Kasey Keller, after solid career in Europe, was signed to a two-year deal. Leiweke claimed it all to be a reboot, an unshackling from MLS 1.0. There was now a vision of reaching the crowd levels of the NASL days and a more vibrant, loud stadium atmosphere.

The reborn Sounders did not make the 2010 playoffs, yet led the league attendance at just over 23,000. It had taken 14 years, an ownership change, a new vision, but Seattle and MLS – now with David Beckham added – seemed to start the new decade on an ambitious trajectory. Once Roth’s Vancouver comes online, Cascadia might produce a combustible rivalry, one that Portland might someday join. Practically everything was falling into place: local ownership, front office expertise, a likeable brand, a major-league stadium and the prospect of local rivalries.

If only all that had been the case in 1996. Timing, it proved, can be everything.

All Salaries Aside

Professional sports is generally depicted as glamorous, a high life where players mix with other celebrities, relax at exotic and exclusive destinations and, all and all, lead a jet-set existence.

Truth be told, the majority of those being paid to perform in the athletic arena are relatively simple folk who face many of the same struggles of the common human. And while the rock star may flash a Rolex and rumble off in a Lamborghini, the stories told by the rank and file are interesting in their own right and, without question, more relatable.

Take the fishing story of Roger Levesque. Our smiling, swashbuckling former Sounder forward is well-known for his pirate face and his scuba celebration. But how many know that Levesque made his pro soccer life possible by fishing the open sea?

For over 12 years, Levesque held a commercial fishing license, working out of ports such as Astoria, Westport and Bellingham. Out into the Pacific they’d sail in search of sablefish, a.k.a. black cod. When the USL Sounders season ended, he would go out to sea where the catch enabled him to make ends meet.

“I couldn’t buy a house or condo, and it was a huge investment at the time,” explains Levesque, who took out a line of credit to pay $90,000 for the license in 2006. “It helped bridge the gap.”

Thar he goes: Roger Levesque , commercial fisherman. During his USL and post-MLS days, he supplemented his income by catching black cod, a.k.a. sablefish, off the Washington and Oregon coasts. (Courtesy Roger Levesque)

Stormy Weather

In October, the weather can contribute to rough seas, and Levesque and the crew would usually stay out 2-3 days until they reached their limit. At times, it could take a week. They might sleep for a couple hours as the lines soaked, but it could be 36 straight hours of demanding and sometimes dangerous work.

Continue reading All Salaries Aside

How Legends Are Made

There was not only a new head coach and GM but also literally a ton of new players. And if Zach Scott thought he was the only substitute schoolteacher among the lot of 2002 Sounders, the know-it-all student in the front row would soon inform him. There was at least three.

However, Scott was probably the only player/teacher whose Sounders career began by commuting 4-5 hours each way and who not only graduated from college but got married within the first two months.

“I flew back to Maui for three days, we got married, and then,” recalls Scott, “I flew back because we had a game that weekend.” All that and no pay.

Having made Brian Schmetzer’s squad through a tryout, the rookie from Gonzaga signed for the minimum. “We were getting $250 per game, if you made it onto the field,” Scott confirms.

But in the first match following his nuptials, a one-sided win over Hampton Roads, he never got off the bench.

Zach Scott progressed from first-year trialist to legend status after 15 seasons.

Those final years prior to Seattle joining MLS are remembered for their four trophies and two extended runs and upsets in the Open Cup.  Yet as that A-League and USL era fades in the rearview mirror, some may not comprehend just how lean was the Sounders’ payroll.

Reminder: It’s A Business

It should be noted that it’s unlikely Seattle would’ve scored an MLS franchise, at least in 2007, had that USL club not existed. And it only existed because Adrian Hanauer and fellow investors kept it afloat by running a tight ship. Three pro soccer franchises in Seattle and Tacoma had drowned in red ink, and when Hanauer became the managing partner the club was coming off its worst finish for both attendance and league standing.

Continue reading How Legends Are Made

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.

Arlo Across America

For an Englishman, Arlo White sure gets around. America, that is.

White has been an Americanophile for over 30 years, beginning with a boyhood trip to Chicago to visit his great aunt. He kept coming back, and then in 2010 began broadening his travel as Sounders broadcaster and, beginning in 2012, as lead commentator for NBCSN coverage of MLS.

His work for the network’s Premier League coverage has since taken him back home to Leicester but a piece of his heart always seems to drum to the beat of a Yankee. He spends his summer holidays exploring the country with his wife and twin daughters. This year was no exception, and he’s already plotting a 2019 return to where this TV business all started.

Dedicated to his craft, White is always prepared for the worst and exuberant for the best. Now beginning his sixth season of EPL play-by-play, he says he’s altered his style, but only slightly, and believe he and NBC have found their groove.

 Almost 10 years into working on TV, do you find that you’ve changed your approach in any way?

In terms of preparation, it’s exactly the same, with a few tweaks. At the start there was possibly more statistics. Now that I’ve grown into the League and the role, it’s probably more about storylines. If I can add a nice quote that gets a conversation started or makes a point, it lets the players or the manager dictate the storyline rather than me shoehorning something into a game.

White’s detailed preparation is ready for the worst of times.

Continue reading Arlo Across America

Sometimes You Gotta Get Away

Professional sports travel in North America can be arduous what with all the time zones and long distances between destinations.

But sometimes the road is where a team discovers itself, its character. Within the confines of airliners, buses, hotel rooms and shared meals can come a newfound camaraderie.  Constant interaction can act as an incubator, speeding the development of relationships, on and off the field. Of course, this all assumes the chemistry elements are correct in the first place.

The Reign just returned home after playing four consecutive road matches. They have seven more points than when they last played at Memorial.

The Sounders, meanwhile, are outbound to a pair of imposing away matches at Toronto and Portland. The Reds have apparently sorted things out and are coming off a 3-0 win over Philly. The Timbers have won three straight, scoring six goals in their last two home wins.

Continue reading Sometimes You Gotta Get Away

Seattle Seeing Red

What’s been Rave and white and red all over? Ah, that would describe the inauspicious start to the Sounders’ MLS season so far.

Two games, two red cards; no goals, no points. Even for historically slow-starting Seattle, this is a bit unsavory for the faithful. But when referees are showing cards, might as well go all-in. In other words, let’s dive in to an anecdotal history of notable Sounders walks of shame.

First Impressions

In the beginning, there was Dave D’Errico. Seven games into the original Sounders’ existence and, personally, just his second appearance, top draft pick D’Errico decked Toronto’s Gene Strenicer. It did not go undetected. While D’Errico sat in the locker room, Davey Butler scored late to give 10-man Seattle the road victory.

Tommy Jenkins no sooner arrived in Seattle than he saw red flash before his eyes.

Newly-imported from England, Tommy Jenkins was billed as an elegant playmaker to support Geoff Hurst. Yet when the pair debuted in 1976 at St. Louis, Jenkins introduced himself to the NASL by getting stuck-in, way in. He saw red then, but never again in his four seasons. Three other openers were marked excessive force, most recently Tony Alfaro’s double yellow versus LAFC.

Early? You want an early shower? Leo Gonzalez had barely broken a sweat in Columbus before his seventh-minute sending off in 2013. You probably don’t remember that; instead that game is best known for Eddie Johnson’s winner, celebrated by his ‘show-me-the-money’ mime.

Continue reading Seattle Seeing Red

Little Feeling for the Draft

What do a Playboy Playmate, basketball All-American and Cristian Roldan have in common? They’ve all been selected in American soccer’s most anachronistic and superfluous offseason exercise.

Just completed was SuperDraft week across MLS. And that woosh you feel is the collective sigh of purists who only wish to be awakened from their offseason slumber for news of a DP signing.

The merits of a draft must be examined on two levels: competitive and fan interest. Does it help: a) identify and, b) distribute top talent to create parity? And does it satiate diehard fans’ appetite and/or attract new fans to the game?

The Draft as Hype

Of course, the SuperDraft piggybacks on the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Annual Convention and the vibe that comes from 11,000 soccer types gathering together under one roof. Before it joined the coaches’ festivities, the draft was conducted via conference call, and some might say that was just as well. That’s no slam; neither baseball nor hockey drafts are must-see events, either.

Continue reading Little Feeling for the Draft

Everything Must Go

It was a seminal moment in the shared experience of Seattle area soccer history. To the casual observer it would’ve appeared to be American boys run amok. To Walter Schmetzer, however, it was the inspiration that would launch a business of 43 years and probably thousands of stories.

Forty-some years before Brian Schmetzer delivered an MLS Cup to Puget Sound, his family’s name became synonymous with quality soccer goods dispensed on Lake City Way and, more recently, Aurora Avenue. Schmetzer’s Sporthaus helped outfit generations of players in a region gone mad over the game, until closing the doors for good earlier this month.

This Lake City Way location is most closely associated with Sporthaus Schmetzer. It served as the flagship store from 1976-2012. (Courtesy Schmetzer Family)

One of the first such stores in the Northwest, Schmetzer’s was the region’s longest-running soccer shop. It preceded premier academies and every women’s collegiate program in the state, and thrived while multiple professional clubs fell by the wayside.

At its essence, Sporthaus was a family business dedicated to delivering exceptional equipment and service to a demanding demographic. It was not always easy, and shrewd stewardship from two generations of Schmetzers proved to be the essential ingredient. While its closing after nearly 43 years may make some wistful, it leaves behind a mass of memories, beginning with Walter Schmetzer’s recollection of a summer day in 1974.

Pursuing a Vision Continue reading Everything Must Go

And Sometimes You Draw

Midway through Bull Durham, pitching protégé Nuke LaLoosh scrambles up the bus aisle, bellowing his newfound appreciation for learning. He’s in the midst of a winning streak and finds it addictive.

“I love winning,” he exclaims in the ear of mentor Crash Davis. “You know what I’m saying? It’s like better than losing.”

Moments later Crash begins a crash course lesson on baseball clichés, among them, “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes it rains.”

Not all draws are equal, evidenced by the added time comeback in Portland early in the unbeaten run. (Courtesy Sounders FC/Charis Wilson)

If ever they flip the premise to futbol (the reverse of Jimmy Fallon’s Fever Pitch), that particular cliché will require reworking. When it comes to the Simplest Game it’s a little more complicated. More like: “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes you draw.”

The latter fact is all too topical at the moment in Sounderland. By match day in Utah versus RSL it will have been more than a month since the Sounders lost. Or won.

Fit to be Tied

Continue reading And Sometimes You Draw