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Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that participates in Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was established in November 2007 as an MLS expansion team. The following year fans chose the Sounders name for the team through an online poll. They are the third Seattle soccer team to share the heritage of the Sounders name. The Sounders FC majority owner is Hollywood producer Joe Roth, and minority owners are Adrian Hanauer, Paul Allen, and comedian Drew Carey. Two time MLS Cup winner Sigi Schmid is the team's head coach. Sounders FC home matches are played at Qwest Field. Along with many organized supporter groups, a 52-member marching band called the Sound Wave supports the team at each home game. Seattle Sounders FC played their first game on March 19, 2009, to a sold out crowd of 32,523, defeating the New York Red Bulls 3–0. They won their first trophy on September 2, 2009, after defeating D.C. United 2-1 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.
[edit] HistoryBefore the first cities to host Major League Soccer teams were even chosen, Seattle was considered a viable location that could support a professional soccer team at the highest level in the United States.[1] In 1994, as the United States was in the final preparations to host the FIFA World Cup, Seattle was one of more than 30 cities that expressed interest in acquiring an MLS team.[2] However, even in 1994, the absence of a soccer-only stadium was recognized as a key factor that would keep the MLS away from the strong soccer fan base in the Seattle area.[3] Another criterion needed for considering a city for getting an inaugural MLS team was to secure 10,000 deposits for season tickets.[4] By the June 3, 1994 deadline for MLS team bids, Seattle organizers had only exceeded 1,300 total deposits.[5] This was because at the same time that the season ticket campaign for the MLS team was taking place, a competing season ticket effort was happening for the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) Sounders expansion team.[4] In a June 14, 1994 announcement, Seattle was not included among the first 7 cities to receive MLS teams, though 5 more cities would be announced later that year.[1] In an effort to improve their chances, Seattle MLS organizers began working with the University of Washington to use Husky Stadium as an interim stadium while they pursued the construction of a permanent soccer-specific facility.[6] In November 1994, as the start of the first MLS season was postponed another year (from 1995 to 1996) it was noted that the absence of an adequate grass-field facility in the area and the presence of the new APSL Seattle Sounders team had hurt momentum for Seattle's MLS bid.[7] Seattle was not among the cities to have a team play in the inaugural MLS season.[8] In 1996, as Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen worked with the city to build a new football stadium for his team, the potential of an MLS expansion team that could be a co-tenant helped drive public support for the effort.[9] Indeed many of the state's voters passed the stadium referendum that resulted in the construction of Seahawk Stadium because it was promoted as a venue for professional soccer.[10] Unfortunately, as the stadium problem in Seattle was resolved, a new problem emerged. By 2000, the MLS was moving away from league-operated teams, so in order for Seattle to get an MLS expansion team, an investor would need to step forward.[10] In 2002, as the ten-team MLS announced plans to expand into two new markets in the next few seasons, Seattle was again listed as a possibility.[11] However, when the second of these two expansion teams was awarded to Salt Lake in 2004, MLS commissioner Don Garber indicated that Seattle had been "very close"[12] to getting that expansion. Adrian Hanauer, then owner of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Sounders (formerly the APSL Sounders), was working with MLS discussing an estimated payment of $1 million to secure rights to a Seattle franchise for 2006.[12] When Seattle was passed over again in the expansion for the 2006 season (it went to Houston), Hanauer announced that he would not be able to secure an expansion team without the help of more investors willing to help cover the increasing MLS franchise fees which at the time had grown beyond $10 M.[13] [edit] MLS expansion arrivesFinally, in 2007, Hanauer worked with Hollywood producer Joe Roth to make another bid for MLS expansion into Seattle at an estimated cost of $30 – $35 million.[14] That same year, Paul Allen, whose First and Goal company operated Qwest Field (formerly Seahawks Stadium), joined the ownership group making this bid for expansion the most promising yet.[15] During the first week of November 2007, rumors began to build that the MLS would be announcing the expansion into Seattle the following week and that the ownership group had taken on a fourth member: comedian Drew Carey.[16] In a press conference on November 13, 2007, it was announced that the city of Seattle was awarded an expansion team.[17] The announcement meant that the Seattle Sounders of the USL First Division would disband, and that a new franchise would be formed. Nonetheless, the announcement provided a return of top-level soccer to Seattle for the first time since the dissolution of its North American Soccer League (NASL) team in 1983.[18] [edit] Team name, badge and colors unveiledSeattle Sounders FC was announced as the team name on April 7, 2008, along with the team logo, colors and badge design in a presentation held at the Space Needle.[19] The badge design, loosely resembling a heraldic shield, consists of two layers representing the partnership between the ownership, the community, the players, and the fans. The logo incorporates the Space Needle, an internationally recognized Seattle landmark. The official team colors are Sounder Blue, representing the waters of the Puget Sound; Rave Green, representing the forests of the Pacific Northwest; and Cascade Shale, representing the Cascade Range to the east of Seattle.[20] Fans were able to choose a new name for the team in an online poll held between March 27 and March 31, 2008. When the possible names to be selected from were initially announced, only three names were to be included on the poll: Seattle FC, Seattle Republic and Seattle Alliance, with the Seattle Sounders name being left off to provide a "fresh start."[21] Despite the names having been selected by fan focus groups, internal committees, and fan suggestions, the lack of an option to continue the Seattle Sounders moniker was an unpopular decision.[22] In response to the reaction by the fans, the team added a fourth "write-in" option for the team name, leaving the door open to any suggestion.[23] Of the 14,500 votes received for the new team name, 49% of the votes were a derivative of the name Sounders.[24] Upon announcing the name, Hanauer acknowledged the significance of keeping with tradition: “The team playing at the highest level in our region has always been called Sounders. Starting with the NASL and then the USL 1st Division, we now have the chance to create a separate and distinct identity with the new MLS team.”[25] Team ownership revealed the first Sounders jersey on May 28, 2008, and announced Microsoft and Xbox 360 as the team's sponsor in a 5 year deal worth $20 M.[26] As part of the agreement, the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live brands are featured prominently on the front of the jersey and throughout the stadium.[27] [edit] Inaugural seasonMain article: 2009 Seattle Sounders FC season  Seattle Sounders FC began play in the 2009 season and is the league's 15th team. All 22,000 season ticket packages offered by Sounders FC for their inaugural season were sold,[28] giving them the most season ticket holders in MLS.[29] Sounders FC played their inaugural home match on March 19, 2009, to a sold-out crowd of 32,523, defeating the New York Red Bulls 3-0.[30] Seattle was the first MLS expansion team to win their first three games, and they did so with a clean sheet in each.[31] On September 2, 2009, Sounders FC became the second MLS expansion team in league history (Chicago being the first) to win the U.S. Open Cup tournament in their first season.[32] They did so by defeating D.C. United 2-1 on the road at RFK Stadium.[33] In winning the US Open Cup tournament, Sounders FC qualified for participation in the preliminary round of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.[34] On October 17, 2009, Sounders FC became the second MLS expansion team in league history (Chicago again was the first) to qualify for the MLS playoffs in their first season.[35] They clinched a playoff berth by coming from behind to defeat the Kansas City Wizards 3-2 at Kansas City.[36] Seattle finished the regular season with a record of 12 wins, 7 losses, and 11 ties and set a new MLS record for average attendance of 30,943 fans per game.[37] [edit] Golden ScarfSee also: List of Golden Scarf recipients During the pregame ceremonies of the Sounders FC inaugural home match a Golden Scarf, emblazoned with the Sounders name, was awarded to MLS Commissioner Don Garber.[38] This began a tradition where, before each home game, the club honors a member of the community with the presentation of the Golden Scarf, symbolizing the game of soccer. The honored recipient raises the scarf over their heads, signaling to the fans to do the same. Because of the arrangement of the ceremony, the club has the opportunity to honor a presenter as well.
[edit] StadiumMain article: Qwest Field  Seattle Sounders FC plays home games at Qwest Field in Seattle, also home to the Seattle Seahawks.[40] The pitch is entitled "The Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field" as part of the sponsorship deal with Microsoft.[41] Qwest Field is a 67,000 seat stadium designed for both American football and soccer.[42] When the expansion team was originally announced it was also announced that the upper bowl of the stadium and some of the lower bowl would be tarped off leaving the seating capacity at 24,400 seats to provide a more intimate feel.[43] On very successful season ticket sales and after selling out the home opener with a one time expanded capacity of 32,400 the seating configuration for regular season matches was increased to 27,700.[29] After repeated sold out crowds to begin the season, it was announced that additional seating in the south end of Qwest Field would be made available starting with the June 28, 2009 match against the Colorado Rapids, increasing the capacity to 32,400.[44] For the 2009 international friendlies against Chelsea and Barcelona the entire stadium of 67,000 seats was made available for sale.[44] Prior to the start of their inaugural season, Seattle Sounders FC created a web site identifying seating arrangements for season ticket holders based on personal interests including preferred method for watching a game and foreign team preference.[45] The team's training facilities and offices are located at the Starfire Sports Complex, in nearby Tukwila.[46] While Seattle Sounders FC plays on FieldTurf currently,[47] Qwest Field has previously had a temporary natural grass surface installed for international soccer events.[48] If an MLS rule change requires natural grass playing surfaces, the field will be permanently replaced with natural grass.[49] For Seattle's international friendly against Chelsea on July 18, 2009, a temporary natural grass pitch was placed in Qwest Field.[50] [edit] Supporters The Seattle FC Alliance was established at the request of minority owner Drew Carey. Based on the fan association at Barcelona, members of the Alliance will have the ability to vote on the removal of the General Manager and on other team decisions. Season ticket holders become automatic members while non-season ticket holders may buy into the Association for a fee. Membership grants the members voting privileges, invitation to an annual meeting and other team perks. Members can be nominated and selected to the Sounders FC Association Council on a yearly basis. The first vote on the General Manager is scheduled to be held November 2012 following that season.[51] Another of Carey's requests prior to his involvement with the team was that the team would have a marching band, which would make it the only professional soccer franchise in America with one.[52] This led to the creation of the Sound Wave, a 52-member marching band consisting of brass and marching percussion.[53] In a meeting on December 5, 2008, the Members Alliance voted on the official name of the band.[54] The band plays music from multiple genres such as Latin, funk, big band, pop and rock, and sits with the supporters in the north end of Qwest Field.[53] The March to the Match, in which fans march from Occidental Park to Qwest before each home game, is led by the Sound Wave.[55] Besides the team-supported Alliance, there are currently five recognized independent supporter groups for Sounders FC. Emerald City Supporters (ECS), who formed in 2005 to support the USL Sounders, is the largest supporter group and sits in the south end of the stadium in sections 121–123.[56] SoCal Sound is an off-shoot of ECS based in Southern California that attends Sounders FC games played in The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.[57] Gorilla FC was formed as the reincarnation of a local politically liberal group to support Sounders FC.[58] The North End Supporters sit in the north end of the stadium beneath the "Hawks Nest" in the all-inclusive sections 100 and 144–152.[59] Immortal Fury was formed in the fashion of South American torcidas.[60] [edit] RivalriesThe Seattle-Portland and Seattle-Vancouver rivalries were established in the years that the NASL Sounders and USL Sounders were playing in Seattle. These geographic rivalries are expected to continue into MLS with MLS awarding teams to both Portland and Vancouver for the 2011 season.[61] All three teams are able to trace their roots to the NASL, but these rivalries were only formalized in 2004 with the creation of the fan based Cascadia Cup, which is played for each season by the Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver teams.[62] Also, the fan based Heritage Cup derby with the San Jose Earthquakes was begun in the 2009 MLS season. It is contested among present and future MLS teams that carry on the names of their NASL predecessors.[63] [edit] Ownership and team managementThe team ownership is split among several investors. The majority owner is Hollywood producer Joe Roth, with minority owners Adrian Hanauer, former owner of the now defunct USL-1 team Seattle Sounders; Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder and owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers; and Drew Carey, comedian and game show host.[52] The Seattle franchise is believed to have paid a $30 M expansion fee—$10 M more than the last expansion fee paid by the San Jose Earthquakes team.[64] Seattle Sounders FC reportedly offered a coaching contract to Sigi Schmid in early December, who led the Los Angeles Galaxy to a MLS Cup in 2002 and the Columbus Crew to a MLS Cup in 2008, but before Schmid could respond to the contract offer, the ownership of the Columbus Crew filed a tampering complaint with the MLS that put the offer on hold. The Crew's ownership believed that Schmid had contact with Sounders FC despite being denied permission to talk to other teams during the season and that he shared confidential information with Sounders FC after his contract with the Crew ended.[65] The MLS ruled that no tampering occurred, but ordered Sounders FC to financially compensate the Crew before signing Schmid.[66] Sounders FC officially introduced Schmid as their first coach on December 16, 2008.[67] Brian Schmetzer was later announced as the top assistant coach and Tom Dutra as the goalkeeper coach.[68][69] Retired Major League Soccer veteran defender Ezra Hendrickson joined the Sounders as an assistant coach in January, 2009.[70] Former MLS player and Everett, Washington, native Chris Henderson was named technical director on January 24, 2008.[71] Joining Henderson in the front office is longtime Seattle Seahawks VP Gary Wright as the senior vice president of business operations.[72] Drew Carey was named the chairman of the Membership Association.[73] [edit] BroadcastingSeattle Sounders FC matches are televised locally by either KING or KONG (exceptions being nationally telecast matches on Fox Soccer Channel or ESPN2/ABC). Former Seattle SuperSonics announcer Kevin Calabro calls the play-by-play while former U.S. soccer star Greg Vanney does the color commentary for the televised matches.[74][75] Sounders matches on radio are aired on KIRO-FM. A weekly wrap up show for Sounders FC and MLS news known as Sounders FC Weekly began airing March 22, 2009.[76] The show airs Sunday evenings on KONG and is hosted by Lisa Gangel, weekend sports anchor for KING 5 News.[77][78] [edit] Honors
[edit] PlayersSee also: All-time Seattle Sounders FC roster The first player signed by the Sounders was 2007 USL First Division Most Valuable Player (MVP) and former USL Sounder Sébastien Le Toux,[79] with University of Akron forward Steve Zakuani being the team's first draft pick.[80] [edit] Current rosterAs of August 15, 2009.[81]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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