It would be 90 miles each way and I was a year away from a driver’s license. Tickets were student-priced at $2.50 but the seats were view obstructed. Yet I was determined to finally see with my eyes what I had only imagined in my mind.

As it turns out, Sunday, June 29, marks 50 years since I first saw a Seattle Sounders game firsthand. Officially, it was sold-out, except for these seats whose vantage point continually had spectators straining to see around the substantial concrete pillars. I paid cash from my lawn mowing earnings and convinced my sister to make the long drive from Centralia to Seattle to see our first professional soccer contest at Memorial Stadium.

If there was any question whether I would be consumed by this game, it was answered in those first minutes after taking our seats. One by one, the Sounders starters were announced over the loudspeaker and the crowd stood and roared.

The atmosphere in Memorial on a summer evening was magical. Between the steep rake of the permanent stands, the twin concrete roofs of the two sideline stands and the extra 6,000 bleachers filling every bit of spare space, the feeling was intimate and the noise incredible. As it turned out, I was hooked. For life.

A Beautiful Backdrop

At its best, Memorial was a big city cracker box where the sport could shine. Fifty years ago from next Saturday came the first nationally televised Sounders game, against Pelé and the Cosmos. It had the look and feel of a Soccer Specific Stadium because, in those early days, it was compact and a scarcity of tickets; the final 17 home games were all filled to capacity.

Continue reading Thanks for the Memories, Memorial →