Observations on a Sounders Game From a Novice Fan
Yesterday, the Sounders broke out of a month-long funk with a 3-0 spanking of the Colorado Rapids. Nate Jaqua and Freddy Montero teamed up for all three goals, and Jaqua narrowly missed a fourth near the end of the game. Having been to only one Sounders game previously—their last match with the Portland Timbers in the USL—the experience was new to me. Here are my thoughts:
Here's looking at you, Kasey Keller
-$16 season tickets may be the best deal in Seattle professional sports (though I imagine the Storm could make a strong case)
-Organic crowd noise is soooo much better than song snippets and fake organs and handclaps.
-That said, for most fans, it's better to sit a distance from those creating the majority of said organic fan noise. They are way intense.
-On a similar note, streamers and glitter are terrific ways to celebrate goals, even if players can get tied up in the streamers and, apparently, balloons could be problematic. They make the game feel like a party.
-This was the only sporting event I've attended in which American flags were handed out to patrons. I don't think even Nascar does that.
-The flags, of course, were for the US game against Brazil—a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in the Confederations Cup title game that provided perhaps the only context in which it is mildly amusing to watch a bunch of drunk 20-something Americans in a beer garden sing "Fuck [insert name of newly industrialized country]" repeatedly.
-Xbox 360 scored themselves some pretty awesome product placement. Probably close to a quarter of the fans were wearing jerseys.
-The departure of Lou Piniella was a great loss to Seattle tantrum connoisseurs, but Kasey Keller is formidable in his own right.
-Early in the game, my friend Sunil noted that the Sounders' short corners never work, and usually end in a counterattack. He was right.
-Luna the dog has some serious soccer skills. Video forthcoming.
-Nate Jaqua is huge.
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