Pedigree suggests I had no future in soccer. Our town had no youth program, let alone a high school team. So we started our own club. Then I had a mercifully brief tryout at the University of Washington. Apart from an intramural championship and several seasons in the state league, that's it.
Nevertheless, the game intrigues me to this day. Some days it's tactics and player combinations. But mostly it how the game connects the people on this planet and marks time.
Nothing has ever come easily for soccer in America. Failures abound. But if the mark of a champion is getting knocked down only to climb back to your feet, then it there's a real possibility fùtbol will not only persevere but flourish.
I've tried to do my part, be it as a paying fan, a journalist, a publicist or historian based in the nation's soccer capital, Seattle. So this blog serves as an outlet to share what I've collected from 30-some years in around the sport in these parts, as well as the shared experience of going forward together.
We all know the story of Ralphie and his craving of a Red Ryder air rifle for Christmas in 1930s Cleveland. It’s fun and fiction and ends, albeit after some plot twists and turns, with the 10-year-old boy blissful, laying in bed beside his new BB gun.
Now picture this: Same era in Seattle. Preteen boy in Mount Baker awakes on Boxing Day, hoping his Christmas present was just a bad dream. But no, there it is, on the floor. A misshapen skin of leather wrapped around a rubber bladder. A new ball, all right. Yet Robert’s parents had got it all wrong.
As a child, my Uncle Bob wanted a football such as this.
Alexander MacDonald, Robert’s father, must have meant well. The then-fiftysomething Scot had grown up in the outskirts of Glasgow, learned the shipbuilding trade on the River Clyde and later built ships for the Australian navy on the Duwamish. He was described as a stern, humorless man, but not mean-spirited.
As it turned out, Uncle Bob unwrapped this type of football. He was not happy.
No, Alexander MacDonald was raised on association football and even in his adopted city, many of the industrial workers played in state league matches on the Woodland Park pitch each weekend.
Note: This was first published in December 2008 at SoundersFC.com. Sometimes the gift of experience can be everlasting.
My mind has been revving round and round these past few weeks. Thoughts flash by from holidays past, and one memory simply begs for attention.
The year was 1979. It was my final Christmas as a teenager. That translates to fewer toys of any sort. At 19, you are on the threshold of adulthood, at least according to the date on the driver’s license. From then on, practicality prevails.
The trappings of an incredible season: trophies, fans filling the upper deck and smiles all around (Frank MacDonald Collection)
On that particular Christmas morning, I remember two things rather vividly. First, Dad deposited a box of barbell weights on my lap. But it was a featherweight gift, a simple slip of paper, which has left the far more lasting impression.
To this very day, I wonder what possessed my parents to choose such an unlikely present and, if they hadn’t, exactly where I would be today?
Looking back, those first impressions of Marcus Hahnemann were the most telling. That last 24 years have only served up reinforcements.
He arrived at Whidbey Island’s Camp Casey as the third- or fourth-choice goalkeeper. A week later Hahnemann was Number 2 and by late September the starter for Seattle Pacific. It was not only his ability, but his drive that made the difference.
That winter, prior to an intramural basketball game featuring a team of SPU soccer players, Hahnemann capped the pregame huddle by barking, “Kyle on three. One-two-three: Kyle!” Our first child had been born the previous morning. His name: Kyle. More than just a colorful character, this young man was not only very much aware but thoughtful of others.
Wherever he played over 20-plus years, Hahnemann was a crowd pleaser (Courtesy Sounders FC)
That’s what made it so easy to root for him all these years, knowing that he was earnest and talented and caring and so full of life. The fact that he started and finished his body of work in his hometown merely made it better. Best of all, however, is knowing he traveled the world and represented himself and Seattle with an honesty and transparency that is refreshing and also emblematic of what we desire of our ambassadors.
The closest thing to collegiate soccer dynasty setting its roots in Washington came in the early Eighties, to a place once known as the Little School by the Canal.
Seattle Pacific University has long been synonymous with soccer. Six NCAA championships (five men’s, one women’s) will do that. But it was a remarkable run from 1983-86 that may never be matched around these parts.
Capping a run of four straight trips to the final, in 1986 Seattle Pacific became the first D2 repeat champion.
During those four seasons, SPU won three Division II national championships and nearly a fourth. The Falcons, despite playing the most grueling schedule in D2, averaged 18 wins per year and became the first 20-win program in the state.
Coming soon is the outcome of the MLS balloting for MVP, and for the first time a Sounders FC players is a finalist.
In his first full season with Seattle, Obafemi Martins set club records for goals and total points (Courtesy Sounders FC)
Obafemi Martins made the final cut, along with Robbie Keane of the Galaxy and New England’s Lee Nguyen. Since everyone has their own subjective reasons for voting, and since we peons have no say, very few words will be devoted to pleading a case. However, this is the time and space to examine the numbers and how Oba’s fare when compared to Sounders legends who did claim their league’s top individual honor.
It’s the latest Sounders home match in terms of the calendar, and Sunday’s forecast indicates it shall rate as far and away the coldest.
By the time Seattle and L.A. kickoff at the CLink, temperatures will drop to freezing, with a wind chill driving it down to feel like the mid-20s. Better bring an extra scarf or two, if not for yourself then for those in need of winter wear.
Weather.com Sunday forecast for Seattle’s Boeing Field
For as long as there’s been footy on this side the world, Thanksgiving has held special significance on the American soccer calendar. The fourth Thursday in November has long served as a demarcation, sometimes the starting line, sometimes the finish., but always something special.
There was once a time when the U.S. rotated on the same axis as the rest of the world, when football was played here in the worst of conditions, from late fall through early spring.
For sure, our forefathers were hearty souls. In the days of 10-hour shifts and 6-day work weeks, they pressed on; they persevered. For the miners who first brought the grand game from the Old World to these environs, the labor was extremely difficult and dangerous.
Going back more than a century Thanksgiving has provided an extra playdate for the area’s soccer pioneers.
This time of year, in Newcastle and Black Diamond, they would rarely see the light of day, sinking into the earth before sunrise and not emerging from coal shafts until after nightfall. They had but 1.8 hours of leisure time. Continue reading A thanksgiving for soccer→
It’s about 15 miles from East L.A. College to StubHub Center. Fifteen miles and just over 40 years.
It’s been a long, circuitous journey from the Sounders’ inaugural match to their most important to date, Sunday against the Galaxy.
Seattle does not need to win. A draw is sufficient. A draw with an away goal is gargantuan, as we experienced earlier this month. Of course, though, a win would be positively epic.
Anyone associated with the Sounders knows the history. The Rave have come here before, to this place–StubHub–and this time–the playoffs.
So exactly when did DeAndre Yedlin become an old man? Answer: The moment this list of of the youngest capped homegrown Washingtonians was compiled.
Tuesday night in Dublin, Mercer Island native Jordan Morris became the ninth Evergreen State native to play for the US Men’s National Team while under the age of 21. In fact, at only 23 days past his 20th birthday, Morris is the second-youngest on the list, behind Everett native Chris Henderson. Now Sounders FC sporting director, Henderson (19 years, 119 days) is the only teen on the list.
On Tuesday, Sounders FC Academy product Jordan Morris became the second-youngest Washington native to earn a full cap for the USMNT (Courtesy Sounders FC)
Morris is currently a Stanford sophomore and product of the Sounders FC Academy. In the U.S. loss to Ireland (4:1) he came on in the 76th minute for Timmy Chandler.
It’s nice to know that in this fast-paced, plugged-in, caffeinated world in which we live, there’s still a collective that believes in savoring every moment and taking its own sweet time.
That collective is known as Major League Soccer. In takes nearly eight months to complete a regular season. Now comes the 38 drawn-out days of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
MLS Cup is held aloft as the domestic game’s ultimate prize. Purists may say that’s debatable. However, if we want to grow the game, if we want to reel-in everyone even remotely interested in soccer (including the World Cup bandwagon types), we want them watching the MLS Cup Final. Only now, they need to arrange their own wake-up call.
MLS Cup 1996 was played on October 20, some 7 weeks earlier than 2014
The pace of the MLS playoffs is glacial. Big Island lava moves faster. Not only is it like watching paint dry, it’s like watching it get scraped off and painted again.
Keep in mind this is a Sounders fan writing. Our Rave are very much alive and kicking and out to accomplish the unprecedented Treble. We want folks to join us on this magic bus. Only problem is the driver keeps stripping the gears and lurching forward without releasing the parking brake. It’s the never-ending season.
There must be a better way. There must be a means to infuse some energy into the postseason, to attract new viewers rather than losing even your loyalists. The MLS Cup Playoffs cry out for some momentum.
There are mitigating factors, of course, FIFA dates chief among them. But international interruptions are not the problem. Those breaks occur every year and either the playoffs can conclude beforehand or that pause can provide an interlude prior to the final.
Neither is the preliminary knockout round nor the two-leg format that follows. No, the root cause of this lethargic, late autumn shuffle is leadership’s aversion to playing midweek matches.
Wednesday night was once the staple of North American soccer summer. Once the NASL expanded beyond 20-22 matches, it was necessary to play multiple games each week in order to fit all the fixtures between April and August.
Originally, MLS did likewise. During their inaugural season, the Galaxy played 10 midweek matches. This past regular season, Sounders FC played four. L.A. began the playoffs on September 25 (it was a 32-match schedule), Seattle started the postseason five weeks later, on November 2.
Now, a word about midweek games: Owners, by and large, loathe them. People work until 5 or 6 o’clock, fight traffic to get home, then perhaps again approaching the stadium. Result: Smaller crowds, they say. But as MLS matures, as struggling markets make gains, and when New England finds an urban home as opposed to the hinterlands, maybe it’s time to take another look. Or not.
Part of World Cup appeal is frenetic calendar with teams playing every 4-5 days
Perhaps the choice is not so much Wednesday versus Saturday, but Wednesday on warm summer evenings versus Saturdays in October when the kids are now playing and the weather has turned wet and windy. Saturdays in summer might be just as problematic as work nights: How many want to cut short their time at the beach to get back for the game?
Even if we agree to set aside the reluctance to play midweek games during the regular season, there is the issue of a postseason stuck in neutral.
In a perfect world, no futbol fan has time to write stuff like this. But in MLS we …have…lots…of…time…to…write…or worse…drift toward other interests. Like basketball, hockey, college football, NFL football, Thanksgiving football and conference championship football.
When positioned and played out in proper fashion, league playoffs should build to a crescendo. More and more fans pile on. Suddenly MLS starts gaining in stature as the season culminates.
That’s part of the World Cup attraction; there are matches every day at the outset. The entire tournament takes 31 days. Remember those two rest days prior to the quarterfinals and your withdrawal symptoms?
Promotion playoff legs in England are played three days apart.
The players can handle it. There’s no physical reason the playoffs can’t push on with similar pace.
The old NASL put the pedal to the metal, and so did MLS initially.
In 1977 the NASL playoffs last 18 days with Seattle and other cities swept up in pace and passion.
In 1977 the original Sounders played six playoff games, including Soccer Bowl, in a span of 18 days. That was pre-online ticketing, obviously. Still teams were selling tickets at a rapid clip: 35,000 for Minnesota, 77,000 in New York. The Sounders sold 56,000 on six days notice. Even when Seattle struggled in attendance, in 1982, playoff fever took hold; 29,000 seats sold in two days for the semifinal deciding leg.
MLS played twice weekly playoff games in the first few seasons to mixed results. Over the past 10 years they are spacing matches a week apart. While crowds are generally up. Columbus, with a week to prepare for New England, sold 9,000 tickets. Rising to the occasion, Dallas, on four days notice, pulled over 16,000 for Seattle. It looked good on TV and, furthermore, it’s encouraging for both the club and the league’s long run.
It also sufficient encouragement for MLS to take another look at putting the playoffs back on the fast track.
Gain a few more midweek games during the summer and suddenly the playoffs are starting in early to mid-October. By making Wednesdays part of postseason, it generates excitement and that, in turn generates crowds and ratings. It can capture the attention not only of the qualifying teams’ fans, but those on the fringe.
No more slow-motion postseason. Playoff fever should be contagious. MLS Cup should be a frenzied sprint to the finish.
