As you know, Sounder at Heart does not have any official supporters' group affiliation. We do,
however, consider ourselves friends of most of them. If you'd like to know any of them better, we
highly recommend that you attend one of their two end-of-year parties. As it turns out, Kasey
Keller is scheduled to be at both of them.
In a season of excitement, disappointment and passion it is difficult to figure out which moment
is most memorable. For 2009 there was a scene in the early hours when hundreds of fans met the team
to celebrate their first trophy. In 2010 another US Open Cup win was highlighted by Sanna Nyassi's
brace.
There are few things more fun than going on a roadtrip to watch your team play. As you may
remember, I documented my experience going with ECS to Vancouver. Well, if you're looking for
something to do this weekend, ECS wants to make sure you are more than welcome to join them.
From the look of it, there is no organized bus trip, but they are organizing carpools and
helping people finding lodging.
The Sounders had a pretty amazing come from behind victory this weekend against the lowly San
Jose Earthquakes. More important than the 2-1 scoreline was the the righteousness of the send-off
of team captain and USMNT legend Kasey Keller. The C-link was rocking with over 64,000 fans and you
could hear them every time Keller made a save.
Former USL Sounder Presto Burpo Accepts Coaching Job With Montreal Impact
Preston Burpo, who spent nine seasons with the USL Seattle Sounders, will be the goalkeeper's
coach for the Montreal Impact during their inaugural MLS season. After leaving the Sounders in
2006, he played for four different MLS teams before ending his career with the New England
Revolution when a collision with Dane Richards snapped his leg.
The Alliance Council met prior to the match against the Columbus Crew. An update is now posted
over at the SoundersFC.com Alliance Council Blog (which will be getting frontpage attention soon).
The main issues resolved around voting changes, work on the Constitution/ByLaws/Charter (which will
be public for voting in Sept) and the End of Year Meeting.
The Seattle Sounders first made their mark on the U.S. Open Cup as a USL team by pulling some
rather impressive upsets over MLS teams. As a MLS team, they have, of course, made their mark by
becoming the first MLS team to ever repeat as champions.
On Tuesday night, they almost made a mark in an entirely different way.
Need Tickets for Open Cup v Pumas? ECS has them
They have opened up sales to non-members, so if you need a few seats act quickly. The atmosphere
at Starfire is always amazing, and this is a must win game as Seattle goes for the three-peat in
the US Open Cup.
One of the difficult parts of the whole three games in six days is trying to keep up with our
regular features. But, we're on a great network, and in this case The Bent Musket reminded me of
the Sunday 1PM game against the New England Revolution. Let's just ignore the future game for a
moment and pay some attention to the whole issue concerning their supporters' groups battling with
the front office.
The tifo against the Vancouver Whitecaps was maybe not as audacious as the one against the
Portland Timbers, but it was very impressive in its own right. Love that ECS keeps coming up with
awesome displays.
People love rumors. Often times they aren't true, and in the modern era of the internet people
without a source will make claims of offers. But let's just look at Marcus Hahnemann's words to
ESPN over twitter.
"I have to talk to Sigi Schmid and the guys in Seattle to see if they actually want me
first.
Back in 2009 my seatmates and I decided that the four of us would have five seats. We did this
to take girlfriends/wives, but also with the knowledge that we could expose some friends to the
game who had not appreciated it live and local. While none grew into season ticket holders, several
now watch the matches on TV come to a few games a year and generally enjoy the sport.
I hope everyone is dried out from the storms drenching Qwest field this weekend. The 1-1 tie
against the Portland Timbers was a bit of a let-down for sure, but it was a decent result
considering the huge hit injuries have had on the Seattle Sounders. One thing that certainly wasn't
a let down was the massive tifo put together by the ECS for the match.
The ECS put on a tremendous display of support before the Sounders FC played the Portland
Timbers last weekend.
Back in April, Portland had raised the tifo bar in the Cascadia region of North America at their
home opener in Major League Soccer at Jeld-Wen Field:
(Though, honestly, I preferred this Kings of Cascadia display from last year less
self-reverential. And of course, the Space Needle tifo.
If you're in Seattle ahead of Saturday night's big Sounders-Timbers steel-cage death-match, you
should make it a point to stop by Golazo HQ on Friday night. The footie-fixated energy drink
manufacturer are throwing what looks to be a proper party under the moniker of Los Fanaticos
featuring 3v3 soccer, DJ's, FIFA 11 tournaments, and complimentary (read: free for your
broke/cheap/stingy ass) Golazoritas & Brougham Bitter, the bespoke brew of the ECS.
Once again talking beer, wine, food and maybe other beverages. Others will talk coffee - I can't
as it is my full time job.
Let's get a few things out of the way. If you are not of legal
consumption age in your place of residence do not drink alcohol. Do not drink in excess, unless you
are around people you know in a private place.
The Academies played California's Arsenal FC this morning in the cold drizzle at Starfire, and I
thought I'd swing by to catch the U-18 match, which turned out to be a tale of two halves. It was a
good showing from the homem side, with about 20-30 ECS (complete with drum and some flags) and
about 20 other miscellaneous supporters along the sideline.
Today offered us all another insight into the potential of the Seattle Sounders Academy. With a
local "away" game it gave the Sounders crowd the opportunity for a display of passion in late
January, and the ECS the opportunity to taunt some high school kids. The U-18 game wasn't just
marred by the 2-1 result with Seattle's only goal coming from an own goal, but also marred by a
scuffle that resulted in dual Red Cards to players on each team, as well as a Yellow Card to the
Crossfire keeper.
