Growing up a fan of all things Seattle, my sense is that we tend to settle. As if that term is just an ‘a’ away from who we are. There’s rarely an outcry if sports team is stopped short of the summit.
Unlike some fan bases which shall remain nameless, web-footed western Washington supporters seem to have a comfort zone that begins with playing in bowl games your daddy watched and advancing beyond the first round of any particular playoff.
Oh, sure, we lament underachievement, and we have piques of frustration. But by and large we are OK with, say, winning 116 games but falling short of the World Series. Our passive/aggressive MO merely manifests itself in a faint cry of ‘We’ll get ‘em, next year!’
So what’s U.S. Soccer got to do to get Joe Fan interested in the Open Cup?
That remains the question as the tournament begins its second hundred years tonight with the Philadelphia-Seattle final at PPL Park. It seems that despite significant changes in the format this historic knockout competition is plagued by apathy and a general lack of appreciation, awareness and, consequently, attendance.
It seems that if the Lamar Hunt Open Cup is to survive the next century, it must aspire to do more than just slog along. There must be an intentional effort to reinvigorate this event. Failing that, it will remain just a niche attraction, valued by pockets here and there who respect it for either history’s sake or the least path of resistance to a CCL berth.
When Seattle pulled 31,311 in 2010, the 1929 Open Cup final attendance record was shattered. The next year’s crowd was 35,615
As it is, only about 60,000 folks are interested in tonight’s outcome. Thirty-five thousand of them live in the Puget Sound region. Another 15,000 will venture to Chester. Judging from the obscure broadcast provider, GolTV, the rest are scattered about in soccer pubs around the country, or wherever else that elusive signal rebounds to earth.
If only a suitable Seattle venue had existed in 1996. That void proved the major obstacle preventing the Sounders from becoming a charter member of Major League Soccer.
Unanimous selection Marcus Hahnemann backstopped the Sounders’ two A-League championships before moving on to MLS and England (Frank MacDonald Collection)
Before MLS opened its doors, Seattle reigned as America’s best by virtue of winning the 1995 A-League title (and repeating the following year), and did so with virtually a homegrown side. Imagine if Hinton had taken them en masse to the next level.
Eight players from the ’95 squad are listed on either the first of second XI below, and were MLS caliber. In fact, of the first team, eight went on to play MLS while two others had already made the NASL grade. Of course, Hahnemann–the only unanimous choice–went on to play the majority of his career in England.
Leighton O’Brien, league MVP in 2002, accumulated 36 goals and 28 assists.
The A-League in 1994 and ’95 was the U.S. de facto Division I, with a high concentration of domestic talent. The voting reflects that; six players from ’94-95 made the first team, effectively bumping latter day MVPs Baena and Le Toux to the second XI. Le Toux is one of nine on the first and second teams to have played on either the ’05 or ’07 USL-1 champions.
It was termed The Grand Experiment. Initially it involved putting out a team of almost exclusively young, local players against the best in the business. More than anything, however, FC Seattle simply kept hope alive.
By and large this generation of local players had dreams of playing for the NASL Sounders, only to have the club go out of business in 1983 and the league the following year. Plan B was to go indoors with Tacoma and MISL, then spend summers with FC Seattle. At first the schedule consisted of challenge matches, with league play evolving out of necessity midway through the second season.
Chance Fry scored over 70 goals for FC Seattle and both NASL and USL Sounders (photo by Joanie Komura/Frank MacDonald Collection)
Goulet first joined the Storm as a guest player for the ’87 postseason tour of Britain, and used it to earn a contract with Bournemouth, then managed by former Sounder Harry Redknapp. Goulet was also named US Soccer Player of the Year. Both Goulet and Fry proved prolific scorers, each with a 57 percent strike rate.
Of the 22 players, 19 were raised in the Puget Sound area. Three–Crook, Fry and James–played for both the NASL and A-League Sounders as well. Willoughby, from Beaverton, Ore., attended UW and Soriano, raised in Miami, attended SPU. O’Brien, a former Ireland international, is the only selection not to have been a local youth or college product.
Chris Henderson’s storied club and international career includes only one local stop: FC Seattle in 1989 (photo by Joanie Komura/Frank MacDonald Collection)
It’s not surprising that England and Hudson were unanimous choices. England set the standard by which all center-halves have been measured to this day, tower of strength in the air and uncompromising on the ground.
Mike England was a 4-time NASL Best XI who came to Seattle from Spurs, where he’s a hall of fame member. (Frank MacDonald Collection)
Seattle opted for the direct approach at Memorial Stadium, then began to play through midfield upon opening the Kingdome. Hudson’s arrival cemented that ball-control style.
Traditionally strong at the back, Seattle selections reflect that as coaches arranged lineups to get added defensive personnel (Rioch, Webster, Gabriel) in midfield. There’s also a proclivity for wingers. Robertson and Hutchison, both flying Scotsmen, are in the first XII, Redknapp in the 2nd and Crossley honorable mention. Those moves made it difficult for strikers to break in, consequently Ward (a league MVP) and Peterson (all-time scoring leader) pushed to second XIV.
Alan Hudson averaged 10 assists in his four full seasons. Earlier he starred for Chelsea and Stoke, and for England vs Germany (Frank MacDonald Collection)
While many would say talent level climbed through ’82, four members of the ’74 originals made first and second teams. Hutchison is the only 1-year player in first XII; he made quite an impression.
The giants of Europe and South America have been around seemingly forever. Man United turned 136 years old this year, Real Madrid is 106 and Argentina’s River Plate is 113.
The tendency of these ancient institutions is to celebrate their centennials and major anniversaries with some all-time selections. Take England’s Derby County, for instance. A few years back the Rams marked 125 years by honoring Alan Hinton and 10 other greats.
That’s great for our Alan, of course. He got a trip home to hear the applause. One of the other chaps, however, couldn’t make it; he’d passed on four years before Alan was born.
It seems a shame to wait and extol the virtues of people. Instead, how about paying tribute sooner rather than later?
Collegiate soccer in Washington has come a long, long way in the last 50 years. Just ask a pair of the founding fathers.
Ed Robinson of Seattle University rounds the Shoreline College defense in 1967 (Courtesy The Spectator)
When the state’s first varsity programs were established back in the Sixties, all of what we see today was a pipe dream. And if you thought a player’s love for the game could only be illustrated by what they do between the white lines, then you’ve never heard the story of Ron Jepson and Joe Zavaglia.
If ever there was a Dawgfather of Husky soccer, it’s Jepson. While still an engineering grad student, he was tapped to be the first UW coach in 1962.
“We were very limited in the schools we could play: UVic (Victoria) and UBC were stalwarts and had been playing soccer for quite a while,” recalls Jepson, who grew up near Manchester before coming to Seattle with his family as a teen. It might seem remarkable today, but also played for the Huskies, along with a smorgasbord of other international students. The only American was the goalkeeper, a former army brat.
In the moments before kickoff, as I peak over my outstretched scarf and survey the throbbing mass at the CLink, I sometimes close my eyes for a moment and give thanks. I’m thankful to be there with family or friends and forty-thousand like-minded disciples. And I’m thankful for all those who made this scene possible.
To be honest, there are probably hundreds of people deserving of a shout out. Make that thousands. Because what makes Sounders FC world class is the sheer size and fervor of their support. In time the play will climb to that elite level; your voice and your passion is already legend.
Black Diamond’s vaunted miners, circa 1916–some 30 years after their elders first brought a ball to the region (Courtesy Pep Peery Collection)
Ah, but you are not the first throng to throw yourselves behind this great game.
Oh, sure, we lament underachievement, and we have piques of frustration. But by and large we are OK with, say, winning 116 games but falling short of the World Series. Our passive/aggressive MO merely manifests itself in a faint cry of ‘We’ll get ‘em, next year!’
