sounders lose 3-1, knocked from playoffs.
result aside for a second, what a second half. it was as exciting as it gets. i will try to recap from memory, but there was so much that went on, i am sure to miss something.
- montreal put together a great passing play and score to make it 2-2 on agg
- montreal shut off and let in le toux to pass to levesque for a rather easy goal about 4 minutes later. 3-2 seattle on agg
- levesque makes a pretty bad tackle montreal player and is given a straight red, very harsh call, even the montreal biased commentators agreed.
- the resulting free kicked is bounced around in the box, but finds the back of the net. 3-3 on agg and montreal have a man advantage.
- about 2 minutes later le toux is brought down in the box. PENALTY. it results in a second yellow for a montreal player. 10 v 10 again.
- cueller calmly finds the back of the net, 4-3... but wait!!! nyassi was called for entering the box early. need to retake penalty
- cueller goes the same way, easily beats the keeper, but CLANG!!!!! off the post. still 3-3
- right on the edge of regular time, eyelander saves a long range effort, but only as far as an impact player who has an easy tap in. 4-3 to montreal.
- we had another player sent off (can't remember who right now) for being the last man and cynically tripping up a clear goal scoring opportunity as the last man, even though it was on the half way line. it didn't really matter though b/c 2 minutes later, the final whistle
*sigh*
what a heartbreaker. the sounders fans and team will feel like they deserved to win. and to be honest, they should have.
well we have just witnessed the very last USL sounders game to take place. and although the result was not what we wanted... the game was a great one.
thank you sounders!!!!!!!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
first half recap... YAWN, what did i miss?
just watched the first half of the montreal/sounders game and i can say that it was a snooze fest. other than a little bit of handbags at the end, there really wasn't much action to talk about. this should pretty much tell you everything that there is about the first half action...shots on goal - montreal 4, seattle 0.
this is all fine and good for seattle since we hold the one goal lead. i am sure schmetzer wasn't wanting to try and go out and win this game as the first plan. of course a few goals is nice, but not allowing a goal was job one for todays game, and so far, job done.
so i suppose i will take 0-0 for the second half as well, but man, how to keep my eyes open????
it doesn't help that one of the announcers sounds like rick steves. i keep expecting him to say, "and the ball comes accross the half way line, and i recommend a nice hike up along swiss country side while talking to the locals about cheese".
second half, i expect more of the same from seattle, and if no goals come, especially for montreal, i think we will see many yellow cards like we did on friday.
oh, one more thing, the pitch looks likc crap
this is all fine and good for seattle since we hold the one goal lead. i am sure schmetzer wasn't wanting to try and go out and win this game as the first plan. of course a few goals is nice, but not allowing a goal was job one for todays game, and so far, job done.
so i suppose i will take 0-0 for the second half as well, but man, how to keep my eyes open????
it doesn't help that one of the announcers sounds like rick steves. i keep expecting him to say, "and the ball comes accross the half way line, and i recommend a nice hike up along swiss country side while talking to the locals about cheese".
second half, i expect more of the same from seattle, and if no goals come, especially for montreal, i think we will see many yellow cards like we did on friday.
oh, one more thing, the pitch looks likc crap
Saturday, September 27, 2008
good, not great result
as i said yesterday, we need to do our best to go to montreal with a lead... well, we got that taken care off so i can't be too harsh, but i just felt like we could have done JUST a bit more.
i would also like to take credit for the first goal as i had to pee sooooo bad, that i did what you aren't supposed to do, and went to the can. it was as if the crowd had a camera on me in their b/c the second i started to pee, the crowd cheered fantasticly for me. err or for alcarez-cuellar's goal, not sure which. but i do know that i was the reason for the goal, it always works that way.
not long after one of their guys scored off the rebound from a shot that eyelander needs to do better with. he holds on to that ball and we have a great 2 goal lead.
all the scoring finished up in the 41st minute with obrien putting away a penalty from a foul on le toux.
with no goals in the second half, both teams got a little frustrated. monreal b/c they didn't want to go home needing to score, seattle b/c we felt a 2 goal lead may be enough, and we desperatly wanted to get there. so instead of scoring goals, all players started to foul. 7 yellows and 2 reds between the two teams in the last 39 minutes. i am quite pissed a sakuda's red. there was no need for that push and it leaves us without a seasoned player at the back when the defending is the most important player thing for us this sunday. stupid decision by him.
they lost a player with 2 yellows and to be honest, i don't know if he is a key player or not, but i hope he is their leading goalscorer, all time assist leader, keeper, and playmaker, not to mention coach, waterboy and bus driver (so that the team isn't even able to get to the game). crossed fingers eh?
in other news, there was some extra curicular activity by the impact head coach with some fans.... a full recap of thathere
go saturday.
i would also like to take credit for the first goal as i had to pee sooooo bad, that i did what you aren't supposed to do, and went to the can. it was as if the crowd had a camera on me in their b/c the second i started to pee, the crowd cheered fantasticly for me. err or for alcarez-cuellar's goal, not sure which. but i do know that i was the reason for the goal, it always works that way.
not long after one of their guys scored off the rebound from a shot that eyelander needs to do better with. he holds on to that ball and we have a great 2 goal lead.
all the scoring finished up in the 41st minute with obrien putting away a penalty from a foul on le toux.
with no goals in the second half, both teams got a little frustrated. monreal b/c they didn't want to go home needing to score, seattle b/c we felt a 2 goal lead may be enough, and we desperatly wanted to get there. so instead of scoring goals, all players started to foul. 7 yellows and 2 reds between the two teams in the last 39 minutes. i am quite pissed a sakuda's red. there was no need for that push and it leaves us without a seasoned player at the back when the defending is the most important player thing for us this sunday. stupid decision by him.
they lost a player with 2 yellows and to be honest, i don't know if he is a key player or not, but i hope he is their leading goalscorer, all time assist leader, keeper, and playmaker, not to mention coach, waterboy and bus driver (so that the team isn't even able to get to the game). crossed fingers eh?
in other news, there was some extra curicular activity by the impact head coach with some fans.... a full recap of thathere
go saturday.
Friday, September 26, 2008
go for the bobble head, stay for the game
head out tonight to starfire for the sounders playoff game against montreal... but if you do, be sure to be in the first 1,000.
oooooooooh a mystery sounders player. does that mean that we won't know who it is until we see it? or when we see it, it is going to be such a crap job that it is a mystery who they were trying to imitate. i am thinking the latter.
after your bobblehead fever dies down, there is a match to talk about.
i expect tonights match to be a relatively low scoring afair. the 3 previous matches ended in 1-0 Sounders win, 1-1 draw and 2-1 montreal win. so not a ton of goals scored, or let in by either team. i don't need to go into how important it is to win at home. of course it is important to win at home b/c you don't want to be coming from behind on away soil. having said that, i won't be comfortable heading to montreal with anything less than a 2 goal lead.
montreal lost 2 of it's last 3 games so let's hope that we can keep that streak going.
ok, i am off to price how much my mystery bobblehead is likely going to sell for on ebay after the game. early estimates show somewhere between $450 - $8399
cha ching
The first 1,000 fans receive a bobblehead of a mystery Sounders player as they enter the stadium.
oooooooooh a mystery sounders player. does that mean that we won't know who it is until we see it? or when we see it, it is going to be such a crap job that it is a mystery who they were trying to imitate. i am thinking the latter.
after your bobblehead fever dies down, there is a match to talk about.
i expect tonights match to be a relatively low scoring afair. the 3 previous matches ended in 1-0 Sounders win, 1-1 draw and 2-1 montreal win. so not a ton of goals scored, or let in by either team. i don't need to go into how important it is to win at home. of course it is important to win at home b/c you don't want to be coming from behind on away soil. having said that, i won't be comfortable heading to montreal with anything less than a 2 goal lead.
montreal lost 2 of it's last 3 games so let's hope that we can keep that streak going.
ok, i am off to price how much my mystery bobblehead is likely going to sell for on ebay after the game. early estimates show somewhere between $450 - $8399
cha ching
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
how to watch the sounders playoff game on sunday
not able to watch the game on sunday in montreal? most of us can't...
well here is your chance. from the ecs...
The Atlantic Crossing Pub
6508 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 729-6266
well here is your chance. from the ecs...
ECS will be gathering at 2 pm on Sunday September 28th at The Atlantic Crossing pub. Kickoff is at 2:00 pm. Atlantic Crossing Pub is offering happy hour pricing to anyone watching the game. Signup sheets for ECS membership packages (scarf+shirt+members card) will be available. So come and cheer on the USL Sounders, no other pub in town will have this game as it is on USL Live only. The Atlantic Crossing will have it on bigscreen thanks to ECS. Join us!
The Atlantic Crossing Pub
6508 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 729-6266
1 table? 2 or 3
there is a poll on the soundersfc.com website right now which asks,
1404 people had voted at the time of this post and the majority favor either 2 or 3 divisions. compared to only 35% of the people wanting a single table
i am one of the 35% i have to tell you. i am sure it is b/c i grew up on european football that i am biased, but i have never really understood the value of multiple divisions. my biggest beef with the two divisions is that a team could win one division but would have finished mid table in the other. it artificially inflates how good that team is. yes there are ups and downs, and one year it is one division that is stronger than the next...but what does that do for the game? a single table more accurately shows the relative strength of how good each team is.
i am not against change, but if someone can convince me that the multiple divisions have an advantage over the single table, i don't think i am going to agree with the masses on this one.
When Seattle becomes the 15th MLS team in 2009, I’d like to see the league
standings- Change to a single table
- Change to 3 divisions
- Remain with 2 divisions
1404 people had voted at the time of this post and the majority favor either 2 or 3 divisions. compared to only 35% of the people wanting a single table
i am one of the 35% i have to tell you. i am sure it is b/c i grew up on european football that i am biased, but i have never really understood the value of multiple divisions. my biggest beef with the two divisions is that a team could win one division but would have finished mid table in the other. it artificially inflates how good that team is. yes there are ups and downs, and one year it is one division that is stronger than the next...but what does that do for the game? a single table more accurately shows the relative strength of how good each team is.
i am not against change, but if someone can convince me that the multiple divisions have an advantage over the single table, i don't think i am going to agree with the masses on this one.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
ticket referal scheme working
Just came across this on the ECS website and as i posted on their site, i am a little bit surprised, albeit very pleasantly surprised.
As the comment goes on to say, per the scheme payback math, (0.03*288*20) gives the ECS group $172.80 towards the "purchase materials for use on match day"
keep up the good work guys.
just an update, currently 20 season tickets have been referred to as 'ECS'
As the comment goes on to say, per the scheme payback math, (0.03*288*20) gives the ECS group $172.80 towards the "purchase materials for use on match day"
keep up the good work guys.
Monday, September 22, 2008
first playoff game at starfire, this friday
the sounders have announced that the first playoff game will be held in seattle (at starfire) this friday at 7pm.
I like that we are playing them here first with the chance to take a lead into the second leg and putting all the pressure on them.
Tickets are going to sell fast, so get yours as soon as you are able.
I like that we are playing them here first with the chance to take a lead into the second leg and putting all the pressure on them.
Tickets are going to sell fast, so get yours as soon as you are able.
Tickets go on sale Tuesday morning at 10 am through www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the gate. $13 Group tickets are available by calling 425-203-8303.
Reminder! Season Ticket holders who bought their tickets through the early bird special already have a ticket for Friday’s match with the Impact. All other season ticket holders can call 425-203-8303 starting today to order tickets.
a merger of massive proportions
The US has had it's share of huge mergers and acquisitions
Daimler Benz and Chrysler
Chase Manhattan Corp and JP Morgan
AOL and Time Warner
Travelers Group and Citicorp
ATT and BellSouth
But those pale in comparison to the latest news out there.... indroducing:
GoSounders and SoundersFootBlog
*pause, wait for gasps to die down.... just a little bit longer.... ok*
what does this mean to you? well, first of all, you will still be able to go to soundersfootblog.com for my almost daily musings et al, but secondly, you should update your bookmarks for GoSounders to www.gosounders.com
The goal of this is to update the gosounders website with much more informative information (stats, roster, schedule) as well as maintain the aggregation of other news/blog sites out there, while having the content from my site be the daily blog, if you will.
we hope that this change will better the all round experience, but if something is missing? or you don't like some of the changes, please email either gosounders or soundersfootblog to give us your feedback. we want to make these sites as useful as possible to you so have at it.
hope you like the change.
--soundersfootblogger
Daimler Benz and Chrysler
Chase Manhattan Corp and JP Morgan
AOL and Time Warner
Travelers Group and Citicorp
ATT and BellSouth
But those pale in comparison to the latest news out there.... indroducing:
GoSounders and SoundersFootBlog
*pause, wait for gasps to die down.... just a little bit longer.... ok*
what does this mean to you? well, first of all, you will still be able to go to soundersfootblog.com for my almost daily musings et al, but secondly, you should update your bookmarks for GoSounders to www.gosounders.com
The goal of this is to update the gosounders website with much more informative information (stats, roster, schedule) as well as maintain the aggregation of other news/blog sites out there, while having the content from my site be the daily blog, if you will.
we hope that this change will better the all round experience, but if something is missing? or you don't like some of the changes, please email either gosounders or soundersfootblog to give us your feedback. we want to make these sites as useful as possible to you so have at it.
hope you like the change.
--soundersfootblogger
Sunday, September 21, 2008
TIMMMBRRRRRRRRRR
if a tree falls in the woods but nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
who the heck knows, but what we do know is the the sound of a team dropping into last place on the final game of the season, and it sounds like....
TIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
who the heck knows, but what we do know is the the sound of a team dropping into last place on the final game of the season, and it sounds like....
TIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
regular season ends with a loss, huge miss
well all of the cool scenarios of us moving up to 5th, 4th, and 3rd never happened b/c we lost to vancouver last night... and wouldn't you know it, charleston, Rochester and even montreal (with 2 games to get more than 1 point) all dropped the points we needed for us to jump from 6th to 3rd!!!!! can you believe it? ugh. instead we are only 2 points out, but that is the difference between 3rd and 6th.
so that means the following for the playoffs
puerto rico - first round by
Vancouver(2) vs Minnesota (7)
Montreal (3) vs Seattle (6)
Rochester (4) vs Charleston (5)
If we win our match then we either play
Puerto rico (if minnesota lose) or the winner of Rochster and charleston (if minnesota pull the upset over vancouver
you got to say that we would love to avoid PR, but you have to beat everyone to win the championship so why not eh?
but lets focus on the task at hand, montreal. those french canadian seperatist commies. die french canadians die. you are the reason that i looked like a fool in 6th grade. i ordered a mcChicken sandwich at the golden arches in vancouver. and after getting my sandwich in those classic styrofoam box's i read "mcPoulet" and responded, for all those canadians to hear "I didn't order a 'micpoolet' sandwich, where is my chicken". oh how they all lauged at me and i will not soon forget.
so it is not a stretch to say that this game is pretty much to redeem my dignity.
anyway, looks like the game times and schedule for the playoffs will not be announced until tomorrow.
where the hell did that weekend go?
so that means the following for the playoffs
puerto rico - first round by
Vancouver(2) vs Minnesota (7)
Montreal (3) vs Seattle (6)
Rochester (4) vs Charleston (5)
If we win our match then we either play
Puerto rico (if minnesota lose) or the winner of Rochster and charleston (if minnesota pull the upset over vancouver
you got to say that we would love to avoid PR, but you have to beat everyone to win the championship so why not eh?
but lets focus on the task at hand, montreal. those french canadian seperatist commies. die french canadians die. you are the reason that i looked like a fool in 6th grade. i ordered a mcChicken sandwich at the golden arches in vancouver. and after getting my sandwich in those classic styrofoam box's i read "mcPoulet" and responded, for all those canadians to hear "I didn't order a 'micpoolet' sandwich, where is my chicken". oh how they all lauged at me and i will not soon forget.
so it is not a stretch to say that this game is pretty much to redeem my dignity.
anyway, looks like the game times and schedule for the playoffs will not be announced until tomorrow.
where the hell did that weekend go?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
puerto rico clinch 1st place... good news for sounders
let's start off with a little quiz.
footblogger is writing at 5 in the morning on a saturday b/c
a) he is such a dedicated professional journalist, he could not wait to get out his words to the 100's of fans waiting for them
or
b) he was snoring so loud he woke up the pregnant wife who sent him to the couch and now he can't sleep?
why it is A of course, silly people
so with a 1-1 draw against atlanta last night, puerto rico clinched the USL division 1 regular season title and the first round playoff bye that comes with it.
why is that good for seattle? well, now that vancouver can't win the title, i suspect they will sit some key players tonight against seattle giving us a better shot at beating them and possibly moving up a spot or two with a few key loses by other teams.
Also, can i take the time to say how stupid some of the USL scheduling is? Carolina played in charleston last night and then goes home to play another game tonight. montreal plays in minnesota tonight and then plays at home the next night. playing soccer two nights in a row is pretty much unheard of, especially when you throw in travel. but then again, we played 3 games in 5 matches away from home earlier this year so maybe i shouldn't be surprised.
footblogger is writing at 5 in the morning on a saturday b/c
a) he is such a dedicated professional journalist, he could not wait to get out his words to the 100's of fans waiting for them
or
b) he was snoring so loud he woke up the pregnant wife who sent him to the couch and now he can't sleep?
why it is A of course, silly people
so with a 1-1 draw against atlanta last night, puerto rico clinched the USL division 1 regular season title and the first round playoff bye that comes with it.
why is that good for seattle? well, now that vancouver can't win the title, i suspect they will sit some key players tonight against seattle giving us a better shot at beating them and possibly moving up a spot or two with a few key loses by other teams.
Also, can i take the time to say how stupid some of the USL scheduling is? Carolina played in charleston last night and then goes home to play another game tonight. montreal plays in minnesota tonight and then plays at home the next night. playing soccer two nights in a row is pretty much unheard of, especially when you throw in travel. but then again, we played 3 games in 5 matches away from home earlier this year so maybe i shouldn't be surprised.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
all a bit quiet
even though some of my posts lack substance and basically just waste your time, i really do my best to not post unless there is something to talk about. even if it is heresay, speculation and rumour. well, this morning i don't even have any of that.
there just isn't a whole heck of a lot to talk about the last few days. i guess everyone is taking out what cash they have from the bank, filling up their socks and putting it under their mattress. i did that yesterday and i still slept like a baby. i guess 1 crisp $100 bill doesn't change the countor of my mattress much.
anywho, finincial crisis asside, the USL league is preparing to finish up this weekend so most games are not going to happen until sat or sun.
so while i don't normally just aggregate the news, here are a few things for you to read as i clearly haven't given you much.
- from the sounders fc site, 10 questions with craig tomlinson, or "CT" as they note. what a well thought out and original nickname. right up there with bretts boones original masterpiece... "booney". but i digress
- mls seattle has a nice piece on who he thinks the most likely candidates are here.
- and finally, goal seattle put together a great video that helps us remember our roots. this is very much worth a watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laGSiZ4LOss
happy almost friday
there just isn't a whole heck of a lot to talk about the last few days. i guess everyone is taking out what cash they have from the bank, filling up their socks and putting it under their mattress. i did that yesterday and i still slept like a baby. i guess 1 crisp $100 bill doesn't change the countor of my mattress much.
anywho, finincial crisis asside, the USL league is preparing to finish up this weekend so most games are not going to happen until sat or sun.
so while i don't normally just aggregate the news, here are a few things for you to read as i clearly haven't given you much.
- from the sounders fc site, 10 questions with craig tomlinson, or "CT" as they note. what a well thought out and original nickname. right up there with bretts boones original masterpiece... "booney". but i digress
- mls seattle has a nice piece on who he thinks the most likely candidates are here.
- and finally, goal seattle put together a great video that helps us remember our roots. this is very much worth a watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laGSiZ4LOss
happy almost friday
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
3 teams playing for final playoff spot, portland is out.
So the playoff spots are starting to take place. sadly, very sadly, portland won't be one of them. *single tear*
*pause*
*hold yourself together*
ok, i am back. so it looks like we can do no worse than 6th, unless my math blows. but minnesota are below us by 4 points with only one game to play, so there you go. They, along with Atlanta and Carolina are playing for the 7th and final spot. the winner of that race will play vancouver in the playoffs. the chances of who that will be
Minnesota 59.2%
Atlanta 34.9%
Carolina 5.9%
As for our position, there is a small chance that we could move up to 5th, heck even 4th if a few things happen. Well first, we would have to win our final game against vancouver, and then if rochester AND charleston draw or lose, we jump both of them to 4th. if only one of them drops points we move up to 5th. and in a crazy, quite unlikely scenario if the fomer happens and montreal only manage 1 point from their final 2 games, then we move to 3rd. he he he. no, it won't happen, but those are the options.
I tell you what, 4th or even 5th may end up being quite an important move. i am not assuming we will win our first round, but of course we need to think like we will. if that happens, then we really want to avoid puerto rico (most likely). they have just been so solid lately. being 4th or 5th does not gaurentee that (3rd would) but there is a better chance of a lower seeded team still being around to play PR in the semi's.
anywho, i am starting to get too far ahead now. this will all be sorted out by the end of the weekend.
I will tell you one thing though. route for PR on friday over atlanta. if they win, then they lock the #1 spot, and then vancouver has nothing to play for against us on saturday and will maybe rest key players.... giving us a better chance to win and move up the table.
crap, i did it again...
let's just leave it with this... GO MATH
*pause*
*hold yourself together*
ok, i am back. so it looks like we can do no worse than 6th, unless my math blows. but minnesota are below us by 4 points with only one game to play, so there you go. They, along with Atlanta and Carolina are playing for the 7th and final spot. the winner of that race will play vancouver in the playoffs. the chances of who that will be
Minnesota 59.2%
Atlanta 34.9%
Carolina 5.9%
As for our position, there is a small chance that we could move up to 5th, heck even 4th if a few things happen. Well first, we would have to win our final game against vancouver, and then if rochester AND charleston draw or lose, we jump both of them to 4th. if only one of them drops points we move up to 5th. and in a crazy, quite unlikely scenario if the fomer happens and montreal only manage 1 point from their final 2 games, then we move to 3rd. he he he. no, it won't happen, but those are the options.
I tell you what, 4th or even 5th may end up being quite an important move. i am not assuming we will win our first round, but of course we need to think like we will. if that happens, then we really want to avoid puerto rico (most likely). they have just been so solid lately. being 4th or 5th does not gaurentee that (3rd would) but there is a better chance of a lower seeded team still being around to play PR in the semi's.
anywho, i am starting to get too far ahead now. this will all be sorted out by the end of the weekend.
I will tell you one thing though. route for PR on friday over atlanta. if they win, then they lock the #1 spot, and then vancouver has nothing to play for against us on saturday and will maybe rest key players.... giving us a better chance to win and move up the table.
crap, i did it again...
let's just leave it with this... GO MATH
Sunday, September 14, 2008
the only thing worse than getting caught looking at scores on 'date night'
is not being able to find a score at all.
date night went well, thanks for asking, but on more than one occasion i was caught trying to find the sounders score on my phone. anyone have a good website for that? i could not find one. to top it off, my computer was in our bedroom, and my wife, who got home before me (i stayed out for a few extra beers with the guys... always a good idea) was already asleep. dare i get my computer and wake up a pregnant woman? HELL NO.
so it wasn't until this morning that i FINALLY got the score. to get into the playoffs is nice, but we are starting to slip down the playoff spot. i think we sit 6th and to be honest, 7th is quite possible. oh well, you have to beat everyone to win the championshipt right?
well this is a late update, so no doubt you know more about the game than i do, but here is the link to the official sites review. nice to see le toux get his 13th. 13 next year would do quite nicely as well monsier le toux
here is to the end of a nice weekend (great weather eh?) and bring on monday.... booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
date night went well, thanks for asking, but on more than one occasion i was caught trying to find the sounders score on my phone. anyone have a good website for that? i could not find one. to top it off, my computer was in our bedroom, and my wife, who got home before me (i stayed out for a few extra beers with the guys... always a good idea) was already asleep. dare i get my computer and wake up a pregnant woman? HELL NO.
so it wasn't until this morning that i FINALLY got the score. to get into the playoffs is nice, but we are starting to slip down the playoff spot. i think we sit 6th and to be honest, 7th is quite possible. oh well, you have to beat everyone to win the championshipt right?
well this is a late update, so no doubt you know more about the game than i do, but here is the link to the official sites review. nice to see le toux get his 13th. 13 next year would do quite nicely as well monsier le toux
here is to the end of a nice weekend (great weather eh?) and bring on monday.... booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Saturday, September 13, 2008
rochester loss rubs salt into the wounds. new away jersey
rochester lost to what looks to be the USL1 table topping islanders last night. that loss stings b/c if we had managed a draw against montreal we would be 4th but only one point behind them, and a win would have us 3rd, one point ahead. yes they have a game in hand, but 3rd would have been 3rd ;-)
anyway, can't live in the past. well other than to point out that portland lost on thursday which puts them down to a 2.1% chance of making the playoffs now. tee hee.
i have also sparked a bit of a debate on seattlesoccertalk.com about the color of the new away jersey. bart mentioned in the supporters group meeting last thursday that they just say the away kit. my understanding is that it is not white, like some would think, but it is "sounders blue". i had been calling it 'light blue' b/c i tend to not get caught up in brand names of colors, but looking at the difference, here you can see it isn't really a light blue at all.
anyway, let's wait and see if i am correct
anyway, can't live in the past. well other than to point out that portland lost on thursday which puts them down to a 2.1% chance of making the playoffs now. tee hee.
i have also sparked a bit of a debate on seattlesoccertalk.com about the color of the new away jersey. bart mentioned in the supporters group meeting last thursday that they just say the away kit. my understanding is that it is not white, like some would think, but it is "sounders blue". i had been calling it 'light blue' b/c i tend to not get caught up in brand names of colors, but looking at the difference, here you can see it isn't really a light blue at all.
anyway, let's wait and see if i am correct
Friday, September 12, 2008
the SSFC supporters group recap. WARNING, it is long.
well, i went to the SSFC supporters group last night and it was a pretty good time. there was a lot talked about, and as i am going to try to detail everything that was talked about, please excuse the length.
i am pretty much going to give you the play by play (with a few of my own thoughts in parenthesis) but i will wrap up with my general comments at the end. sorry if it is a little bit "bullet point"ish. i am no journalist so summarizing and getting just the key points isn't my strongest skill, and i tried to get everything down, so there you have it. oh, and things in quotes are either direct quotes or typed directly of the powerpoint they had projected
-------------------------------------------
bart wiley kicked things off giving basically a state of the state.
- just over 16,500 tickets sold (hasn't it been this number for quite some time now?)
- kasey keller
- xbox
- we are the best
- etc etc
the agenda for the meeting is shown.
- what a supporter group is
- goals for the groups.
- Stadium allowances/code of conduct - Darryl Niles, head of security
- ticket referral program
- Wrap up and Q&A
onto each topic.
what a supporter group is
gary wright got up and spoke (forgot to write down his job, but vp of business development sounds correct). He talked about how he is
"passionate about the game b/c of that intense feeling and love affair between the fans, players, the entire community falls in love with the game". he then proceeded to talk about the amazing commitment of roth, hanauer, allen, drew. (all good stuff, but if you have been to any other sounders fc 'unveiling' this year, it was a little repetitive. good stuff though).
he then went on to talk about the current seahawk fans and how much home field advantage the seahawks have and that the fans are pretty much the sole reason behind home field advantage and he wants nothing less for the sounders.
finally, he talked about the future, about how he is expecting to be playing the boca jr's, AC milans and Real Madrids of the world... This received a lot of hoots and hollers from the crowd. (i hope you are right gary, but me thinks that is many many years from now)
...
next up james kramen spoke. he is the event manager for qwest field and event center
james gave a short but pretty dang good speech about how SSFC is fulfillment of the destiny of qwest. About how the stadium was sold in to the public as a venue to host both football and soccer. everything that they have done to date has been in preparation for next march. all the hosted games from manu, celtic, chelsea, real madrid, brazil amount others help them prep for this.... but wrapped it up nicely about how this is our team. these aren't going to be "events". Hosting the cougars and ManU are "events", but this is our team.
Bart then continued to speak about the following.
Member vs supporter
- "all season ticket holders are members, supporters do not necessarily have to be members
- Supporters are passionate, add to atmosphere and are the die-hard fans
- Supporters normally stand, sing, chant, drum, wave flags, banners and signs
- Supporters take pride in providing a safe, dynamic, energetic atmosphere
- e.g. ECS are the Supporters Group fo the USL Sounders
- South end zone of qwest field has been identified as a supporters area - GA Seating
- Supporter groups in other sections are encouraged
- WE NEED THESE GROUPS. "
then
"Goals for the groups
- to have fun- be safe
- to have the largest such groups in the league
- to have a dynamic Atmosphere most electric in the league
- to serve as emotional lift to our players
- to be the lifeblood of of qwest field match days
- to be a good example
- to sing and chant
- to work with SFC Band
- to foster continued growth in the multiple sections"
Stadium allowances/code of conduct - Darryl Niles, head of security
(honestly, i thought that his was going to be the bad cop 'lame' part of the night, but it probably turned into the best part from my point of view. will put more thoughts below)
Streamers are Allowed!!!!!!!!!!!! only after goals though
Prohibited items...
animals - sorry luis! har har
beachballs/frisbee
bottles
cans
coolers
drugs
fireworks
flammable liquids
flasks
laser pens
pepper spray
weapons
whistles
Guests using offensive language or engaging in disorderly conduct may be ejected from the stadium and may be subject to arrest.
then he talked about some of the 'experiments' if you will.
- the GA section in the South end Zone. it is there b/c it was asked for
- Probable security/police presence in and out section. same police in each section for each game so get to know your law enforcement officer.
- Storage of supporter items at qwest field, flags, drums, signs
- Ability to hang signs/banners
he expects
- Respect for the security, stadium staff, front office
- Continue to build relationship with front office staff
- Constant communication and openness with front office staff
Ticket Referral Program
Bart then talked about the Ticket Referral Program (For more details on this, expect to see an email from SSFC sometime today talking about this very topic)
- Top seller (minimum of 10 season tickets sold) will receive a pair of season tickets plus an authentic jersey
- Each member who sells a minimum of 10 season tickets will receive a replica jersey
- if a group sells 100 season tickets, they will receive 10 supporters tickets to a mutually agreed upon regular season match
- for every referred season ticket, 3% will be returned to the group(s) in order to purchase materials for use on match day.
free sounders ticket
Bart then invited everyone in attendance to show up to the game tomorrow night at starfire. everyone that showed up got a free ticket which was nice gesture. (i, however, will not be there as there is/was a preplanned date night with pregnant wife. that, my friends, is something that even Houdini could not get out of).
Q&A
(i wasn't able to get all questions b/c i couldn't type that fast. so i am doing my best to give you all that i can.)
q- what is the capacity
a- 25,000 seats
q-if someone calls to get a ticket.... how do we get the referral
a- you are going to get an email tomorrow and it will tell you all about it.
q- what do you need to do to create your own supporters group
a- talk to ECS for ideas, talk to the management
q- can you get in to GA if you have another ticket in another section
a- not sure. tbd
q- when we bought tickets, there was a system asking us if we like to sing/chant etc. how do we find out who around me is in a like minded fashion
a- not sure. we are figuring out how to use that information
q- are there any events planned to get to know each other
a- not yet but there will be.
q- what is the future of seeing real grass
a- pretty much nil, international game will be done on a game by game basis.
q- what does the preseason look like
a- team will be complete and training early to mid feb. likely travel to a warmer climate to play and train preseason. possibly the home depot center
The final wrap up
"we are committed to supports groups. ownership wants nothing more than the fans to help us do what we are going to do. we want to help grow this into something special"
and then the ECS ended with a planned/impromptu song ;-) "seattle"
--------------------------
so my thoughts.
unfortunately, the thing that sticks in my my head was the poor attendance. as was noted by bart, more than 400 people responded as a yes, but unfortunately we only had about 100 - 150 people show up. yes, it was a nice night, a little late for some, and downtown, so maye i shouldn't really be surprised, but given how hard it is to create a stong atmosphere, having 400-500 show up for this meeting would have gone a long way. maybe i shouldn't read too much into this. however, the rest of the meeting was pretty good i think. not a lot of new information or groundbreaking ideas, but a consistent message from the FO on what they expect from the fans, and what the fans will get in return.
so what do we get in return? well this really goes into much of what Daryl Niles, the head security guy was talking about. he mentioned that they totally understand and appreciate that soccer is a different sport, with different fans and with that goes different rules and responsibilities. they (security) would never consider allowing flags and having a GA section (for example) for the seahawks, but that this is different. they are willing to experiment, and let different ideas get put into practice, as long as it still maintains a fun and safe atmosphere.... and i say well done to that. i was quite pleased to hear them thinking about this as a distinct game, and not try to pigeon hole american football conduct standards on a different game and a different fanbase (for the most part). but they did stress, if this "leniency" is abused, the leash will be pulled back quite hard and very quickly. so the respect and communication needs to go both ways. in return for you not bringing your shiv, you can throw a streamer. sounds fair to me ;-)
my last thought is more of a props to the ECS for singing that "seattle" song by perry como at the end.
I have been following the message boards and this has been a popular topic. what should be "our" song, a la "you'll never walk alone" is to liverpool. this is a tough one. get it right and it is pretty awesome. get it wrong and well, you get 100 people singing a bad song and it just falls flat. while it has been debated over the last few months (longer?) people's personal music tastes tend to influence their opinion and thoughts on the matter so you get a lot of heated opinions. but credit to those that realized that the song doesn't have to be a amazing, or popular, or in the same style you would normally prefer, to be effective. but it does need to be unique with good words and relevant - that is what 'in seattle" has. and listening to them chant that at the end, without sounding too dramatic, it was awesome. i can TOTALLY picture 17,000+ fans singing that at the end of each game a few times over and it will be great.
my ONLY comment to the ECS crew, since you are going to be helping get this kicked of the game... sing it just a little slower. it makes it WAY more powerful i think. nice work though. i can't see anything but that song getting adopted
did you really read this far? good on you.
must go stretch my fingers, that was a lot to type, sheesh.
i am pretty much going to give you the play by play (with a few of my own thoughts in parenthesis) but i will wrap up with my general comments at the end. sorry if it is a little bit "bullet point"ish. i am no journalist so summarizing and getting just the key points isn't my strongest skill, and i tried to get everything down, so there you have it. oh, and things in quotes are either direct quotes or typed directly of the powerpoint they had projected
-------------------------------------------
bart wiley kicked things off giving basically a state of the state.
- just over 16,500 tickets sold (hasn't it been this number for quite some time now?)
- kasey keller
- xbox
- we are the best
- etc etc
the agenda for the meeting is shown.
- what a supporter group is
- goals for the groups.
- Stadium allowances/code of conduct - Darryl Niles, head of security
- ticket referral program
- Wrap up and Q&A
onto each topic.
what a supporter group is
gary wright got up and spoke (forgot to write down his job, but vp of business development sounds correct). He talked about how he is
"passionate about the game b/c of that intense feeling and love affair between the fans, players, the entire community falls in love with the game". he then proceeded to talk about the amazing commitment of roth, hanauer, allen, drew. (all good stuff, but if you have been to any other sounders fc 'unveiling' this year, it was a little repetitive. good stuff though).
he then went on to talk about the current seahawk fans and how much home field advantage the seahawks have and that the fans are pretty much the sole reason behind home field advantage and he wants nothing less for the sounders.
finally, he talked about the future, about how he is expecting to be playing the boca jr's, AC milans and Real Madrids of the world... This received a lot of hoots and hollers from the crowd. (i hope you are right gary, but me thinks that is many many years from now)
...
next up james kramen spoke. he is the event manager for qwest field and event center
james gave a short but pretty dang good speech about how SSFC is fulfillment of the destiny of qwest. About how the stadium was sold in to the public as a venue to host both football and soccer. everything that they have done to date has been in preparation for next march. all the hosted games from manu, celtic, chelsea, real madrid, brazil amount others help them prep for this.... but wrapped it up nicely about how this is our team. these aren't going to be "events". Hosting the cougars and ManU are "events", but this is our team.
Bart then continued to speak about the following.
Member vs supporter
- "all season ticket holders are members, supporters do not necessarily have to be members
- Supporters are passionate, add to atmosphere and are the die-hard fans
- Supporters normally stand, sing, chant, drum, wave flags, banners and signs
- Supporters take pride in providing a safe, dynamic, energetic atmosphere
- e.g. ECS are the Supporters Group fo the USL Sounders
- South end zone of qwest field has been identified as a supporters area - GA Seating
- Supporter groups in other sections are encouraged
- WE NEED THESE GROUPS. "
then
"Goals for the groups
- to have fun- be safe
- to have the largest such groups in the league
- to have a dynamic Atmosphere most electric in the league
- to serve as emotional lift to our players
- to be the lifeblood of of qwest field match days
- to be a good example
- to sing and chant
- to work with SFC Band
- to foster continued growth in the multiple sections"
Stadium allowances/code of conduct - Darryl Niles, head of security
(honestly, i thought that his was going to be the bad cop 'lame' part of the night, but it probably turned into the best part from my point of view. will put more thoughts below)
Streamers are Allowed!!!!!!!!!!!! only after goals though
Prohibited items...
animals - sorry luis! har har
beachballs/frisbee
bottles
cans
coolers
drugs
fireworks
flammable liquids
flasks
laser pens
pepper spray
weapons
whistles
Guests using offensive language or engaging in disorderly conduct may be ejected from the stadium and may be subject to arrest.
then he talked about some of the 'experiments' if you will.
- the GA section in the South end Zone. it is there b/c it was asked for
- Probable security/police presence in and out section. same police in each section for each game so get to know your law enforcement officer.
- Storage of supporter items at qwest field, flags, drums, signs
- Ability to hang signs/banners
he expects
- Respect for the security, stadium staff, front office
- Continue to build relationship with front office staff
- Constant communication and openness with front office staff
Ticket Referral Program
Bart then talked about the Ticket Referral Program (For more details on this, expect to see an email from SSFC sometime today talking about this very topic)
- Top seller (minimum of 10 season tickets sold) will receive a pair of season tickets plus an authentic jersey
- Each member who sells a minimum of 10 season tickets will receive a replica jersey
- if a group sells 100 season tickets, they will receive 10 supporters tickets to a mutually agreed upon regular season match
- for every referred season ticket, 3% will be returned to the group(s) in order to purchase materials for use on match day.
free sounders ticket
Bart then invited everyone in attendance to show up to the game tomorrow night at starfire. everyone that showed up got a free ticket which was nice gesture. (i, however, will not be there as there is/was a preplanned date night with pregnant wife. that, my friends, is something that even Houdini could not get out of).
Q&A
(i wasn't able to get all questions b/c i couldn't type that fast. so i am doing my best to give you all that i can.)
q- what is the capacity
a- 25,000 seats
q-if someone calls to get a ticket.... how do we get the referral
a- you are going to get an email tomorrow and it will tell you all about it.
q- what do you need to do to create your own supporters group
a- talk to ECS for ideas, talk to the management
q- can you get in to GA if you have another ticket in another section
a- not sure. tbd
q- when we bought tickets, there was a system asking us if we like to sing/chant etc. how do we find out who around me is in a like minded fashion
a- not sure. we are figuring out how to use that information
q- are there any events planned to get to know each other
a- not yet but there will be.
q- what is the future of seeing real grass
a- pretty much nil, international game will be done on a game by game basis.
q- what does the preseason look like
a- team will be complete and training early to mid feb. likely travel to a warmer climate to play and train preseason. possibly the home depot center
The final wrap up
"we are committed to supports groups. ownership wants nothing more than the fans to help us do what we are going to do. we want to help grow this into something special"
and then the ECS ended with a planned/impromptu song ;-) "seattle"
--------------------------
so my thoughts.
unfortunately, the thing that sticks in my my head was the poor attendance. as was noted by bart, more than 400 people responded as a yes, but unfortunately we only had about 100 - 150 people show up. yes, it was a nice night, a little late for some, and downtown, so maye i shouldn't really be surprised, but given how hard it is to create a stong atmosphere, having 400-500 show up for this meeting would have gone a long way. maybe i shouldn't read too much into this. however, the rest of the meeting was pretty good i think. not a lot of new information or groundbreaking ideas, but a consistent message from the FO on what they expect from the fans, and what the fans will get in return.
so what do we get in return? well this really goes into much of what Daryl Niles, the head security guy was talking about. he mentioned that they totally understand and appreciate that soccer is a different sport, with different fans and with that goes different rules and responsibilities. they (security) would never consider allowing flags and having a GA section (for example) for the seahawks, but that this is different. they are willing to experiment, and let different ideas get put into practice, as long as it still maintains a fun and safe atmosphere.... and i say well done to that. i was quite pleased to hear them thinking about this as a distinct game, and not try to pigeon hole american football conduct standards on a different game and a different fanbase (for the most part). but they did stress, if this "leniency" is abused, the leash will be pulled back quite hard and very quickly. so the respect and communication needs to go both ways. in return for you not bringing your shiv, you can throw a streamer. sounds fair to me ;-)
my last thought is more of a props to the ECS for singing that "seattle" song by perry como at the end.
I have been following the message boards and this has been a popular topic. what should be "our" song, a la "you'll never walk alone" is to liverpool. this is a tough one. get it right and it is pretty awesome. get it wrong and well, you get 100 people singing a bad song and it just falls flat. while it has been debated over the last few months (longer?) people's personal music tastes tend to influence their opinion and thoughts on the matter so you get a lot of heated opinions. but credit to those that realized that the song doesn't have to be a amazing, or popular, or in the same style you would normally prefer, to be effective. but it does need to be unique with good words and relevant - that is what 'in seattle" has. and listening to them chant that at the end, without sounding too dramatic, it was awesome. i can TOTALLY picture 17,000+ fans singing that at the end of each game a few times over and it will be great.
my ONLY comment to the ECS crew, since you are going to be helping get this kicked of the game... sing it just a little slower. it makes it WAY more powerful i think. nice work though. i can't see anything but that song getting adopted
did you really read this far? good on you.
must go stretch my fingers, that was a lot to type, sheesh.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
there is this thing called karma. i don't really believe in it, but
maybe i should. i spend extra time laughing at portlands loss to montreal, and it came to bite me in the ASSSH tonight.
we lost 2-1 to montreal... not the end of the world, and yes, we still have a decent shot at winnning 4th place, but 5th wouldn't be too bad either given that we would still play the same exact teams if we kept winning through the playoffs.
anywho... sorry mr karma.
i will play nice for a while so not to jinx us ;-)
gnight
we lost 2-1 to montreal... not the end of the world, and yes, we still have a decent shot at winnning 4th place, but 5th wouldn't be too bad either given that we would still play the same exact teams if we kept winning through the playoffs.
anywho... sorry mr karma.
i will play nice for a while so not to jinx us ;-)
gnight
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
what are the two things that portland can boast in 09, that seattle can not
answer: an NBA team and a USL team. he he he.
ok this is a sounders (USL) and soon to be a sounders FC only blog, but every once in a while you have to stop what you are doing and laugh at your biggest rivals.
yesterdays loss for the timbers put them from a 28% chance of progressing into the playoffs (love that site) to a 11.6% chance, he he. oh... sigh. ha ha ha
i suppose i should say here that montreal did them in last night, and we have them tomorrow, so clearly we need to do better, but at the same time, taking the time to wave with a few fingers as possible to our neighbors to the south is a fun thing to do.
a win tomorrow gives us 4th place to lose. not a lock, but ours to lose. and i suppose the difference between 4th and 5th really isn't much given that you would still play the same team as you are in the dead middle of the playoff table, it is still a mentally nice place to finish.
ok this is a sounders (USL) and soon to be a sounders FC only blog, but every once in a while you have to stop what you are doing and laugh at your biggest rivals.
yesterdays loss for the timbers put them from a 28% chance of progressing into the playoffs (love that site) to a 11.6% chance, he he. oh... sigh. ha ha ha
i suppose i should say here that montreal did them in last night, and we have them tomorrow, so clearly we need to do better, but at the same time, taking the time to wave with a few fingers as possible to our neighbors to the south is a fun thing to do.
a win tomorrow gives us 4th place to lose. not a lock, but ours to lose. and i suppose the difference between 4th and 5th really isn't much given that you would still play the same team as you are in the dead middle of the playoff table, it is still a mentally nice place to finish.
Monday, September 8, 2008
thanks indirect for this great site
i knew if someone had the time to run the numbers it would show that we had clinched the playoff spot... but i didn't have that time.
Indirect Kick found a site that does have the time. and when you calculate all the permutations, we are techenically 99.99% in the playoffs.
woo hoo
the timbers? 28% chance of making them...
boo hoo
here is the site
Indirect Kick found a site that does have the time. and when you calculate all the permutations, we are techenically 99.99% in the playoffs.
woo hoo
the timbers? 28% chance of making them...
boo hoo
here is the site
still time to sign up for thursdays meeting.
most of you probably got the email, but in case someone else is the account holder for your season ticket, the sounders just sent out the following email.
see you there
Support = to endure bravely, to promote the interests or cause of, to uphold or defend as valid or right, to keep (something) going.
Sounders FC Supporters Group(s) = passionate groups of people with common match-day goals who provide emotional and moral support for the Sounders FC team.
A reminder there will be an informative meeting on supporters groups where we'll go over goals and expectations, discuss stadium behavior, take Q&A and lay the groundwork for establishing the most dynamic match day atmosphere in the league.
Thursday, September 11th
West Club Lounge at Qwest Field
7:00pm
Park in the North Lot at Qwest Field for only $5 when you print this email.
Seating is limited and space is filling up quickly - please RSVP to customerservice@mlsinseattle.com with name, number of people attending and email address. RSVP by September 8, 2008 to ensure your spot at this meeting.
Those attending will receive a complimentary ticket to the current Seattle Sounders September 13th match where you're invited to sit with the current supporters group.
see you there
Sunday, September 7, 2008
back from camping, much to talk about
leaving on a friday and coming back on sunday isn't really a long time, but it is scary how much one becomes used to instant/constant internet access to the news, emails and friends.
i came home today to a nice sunday to pleasantly read that we are pretty much locked into the playoffs, and we have our 3rd sounders fc player signed.
with a nice 3-0 win over miami last night, more here, we have only 3 games left to play. and while i have not looked at all the permutations of what is possible, i think nothing short of use losing our last 3, and 2-3 other teams out of a group of atlanta, portland, minnesota and even carolina winning all of their games, would we NOT make the playoffs. while not lookint at those other teams schedule, surely some of them play each other so i am going to say... with this blog today, we are in the playoffs for sure.
it really would have been a shame to not make them in the final year of playing USL1 ball. and how funny would it be for portland to not make it. he he he
and moving onto SSFC, we signed our 3rd player last friday in 19 year old Sanna Nyassi. Sanna is a u20 gambian international. i don't think that many people know much about him, well i am willing to say that i don't, but one thing that we do know of late is that the emergence of many african national teams has unearthed many fantastic players over the last 8-12 years. their athletic ability and endless motors is the majority of the reason why, but much of them have sublime skill as well. i submit, essien, cisse (yes he is an ass, but he is good), drogba, toure, and kanu. let's hope that sanna is of such mold. official announcement here.
He is officially on loan to the USL sounders until next year and subbed in on saturday for the last 10 minutes or so quickly impressint the boss who said “I think I was telling you he was quick. But he’s lightning quick,”
so that is your lot.
i am old and camping, although still a lot of fun, now gaurantees a sore back the next day.
sad sad sad
i came home today to a nice sunday to pleasantly read that we are pretty much locked into the playoffs, and we have our 3rd sounders fc player signed.
with a nice 3-0 win over miami last night, more here, we have only 3 games left to play. and while i have not looked at all the permutations of what is possible, i think nothing short of use losing our last 3, and 2-3 other teams out of a group of atlanta, portland, minnesota and even carolina winning all of their games, would we NOT make the playoffs. while not lookint at those other teams schedule, surely some of them play each other so i am going to say... with this blog today, we are in the playoffs for sure.
it really would have been a shame to not make them in the final year of playing USL1 ball. and how funny would it be for portland to not make it. he he he
and moving onto SSFC, we signed our 3rd player last friday in 19 year old Sanna Nyassi. Sanna is a u20 gambian international. i don't think that many people know much about him, well i am willing to say that i don't, but one thing that we do know of late is that the emergence of many african national teams has unearthed many fantastic players over the last 8-12 years. their athletic ability and endless motors is the majority of the reason why, but much of them have sublime skill as well. i submit, essien, cisse (yes he is an ass, but he is good), drogba, toure, and kanu. let's hope that sanna is of such mold. official announcement here.
He is officially on loan to the USL sounders until next year and subbed in on saturday for the last 10 minutes or so quickly impressint the boss who said “I think I was telling you he was quick. But he’s lightning quick,”
so that is your lot.
i am old and camping, although still a lot of fun, now gaurantees a sore back the next day.
sad sad sad
Friday, September 5, 2008
schmetzer makes Sounders FC short list for coaches
Although the article referenced by the PI is not yet up on the sounders official website, it looks as though adrian and chris have decided on a short list of candidates for the head coach position. on that list will be brian schmetzer.
Times article here.
i have said this before so no need to beat a dead horse, but i would be surprised if brian gets the job. but not at all surprised if he is the next guy in charge as an assistant coach. more than any other sport, launching soccer into a city like seattle, it is so important to get it as 'right' as you can the first time. my gut is that the 17,000 tickets sold will get cut in half the following year if the sounders don't produce wins and/or some seriously sexy entertaining footy. BUT, if they do that... and make the playoff no less, i predict the next season will come close to selling out all the games.
some people have called me a pessimist. i am not a pessimist, but i really think that people need to see good soccer. not b/c they demand it, but b/c they don't know what it is and don't "get it". so many people in the US and seattle want to like the game, but then they end up watching liverpool and aston villa and witnessing what can be the boringest of nil nil's. but if only they had tuned in to turkey v czech republic and seen the amazingness that this game can be, well, then they will get it.
i just want the first year to make believers out of the people that 'want' to be believers, b/c clearly they are a ton of them.
anywho, can you say tangent? well that is my reason why the sounders will likely get a seasoned MLS coach, or dare i say a seasoned coach from europe? who knows.
to extremely paraphrase joe roth, the sounders have dreamt big so far b/c they didn't know any better. maybe they will do the same on this one.
in any case, we should know within a few months. hanauer said "We should have a coach in place, anywhere from the middle of October until the day after MLS Cup (Nov. 23).”
how much would you pay to see that list then?
Times article here.
i have said this before so no need to beat a dead horse, but i would be surprised if brian gets the job. but not at all surprised if he is the next guy in charge as an assistant coach. more than any other sport, launching soccer into a city like seattle, it is so important to get it as 'right' as you can the first time. my gut is that the 17,000 tickets sold will get cut in half the following year if the sounders don't produce wins and/or some seriously sexy entertaining footy. BUT, if they do that... and make the playoff no less, i predict the next season will come close to selling out all the games.
some people have called me a pessimist. i am not a pessimist, but i really think that people need to see good soccer. not b/c they demand it, but b/c they don't know what it is and don't "get it". so many people in the US and seattle want to like the game, but then they end up watching liverpool and aston villa and witnessing what can be the boringest of nil nil's. but if only they had tuned in to turkey v czech republic and seen the amazingness that this game can be, well, then they will get it.
i just want the first year to make believers out of the people that 'want' to be believers, b/c clearly they are a ton of them.
anywho, can you say tangent? well that is my reason why the sounders will likely get a seasoned MLS coach, or dare i say a seasoned coach from europe? who knows.
to extremely paraphrase joe roth, the sounders have dreamt big so far b/c they didn't know any better. maybe they will do the same on this one.
in any case, we should know within a few months. hanauer said "We should have a coach in place, anywhere from the middle of October until the day after MLS Cup (Nov. 23).”
how much would you pay to see that list then?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
win last night was really nothing more than a good run around
"USL team seattle sounders beat MLS team San Jose, to give the earthquakes their first loss since july 5th."
sounds nice doesn't it?
well, not that nice. the earthquakes didn't play a single starter and even gave their assistant couches a start. so it is fair to say that this was nothing more than a run around for both teams.
still, a win is a win and it is confidence going into the final games of the season.
there has been quite a lot of nothing to talk about lately. looking forward to getting back in action on the 6th.
sounds nice doesn't it?
well, not that nice. the earthquakes didn't play a single starter and even gave their assistant couches a start. so it is fair to say that this was nothing more than a run around for both teams.
still, a win is a win and it is confidence going into the final games of the season.
there has been quite a lot of nothing to talk about lately. looking forward to getting back in action on the 6th.
Monday, September 1, 2008
miami and minnesota help seattle cause
it would have taken a lot for either team to challange for seattles spot in the playoffs, but miami and minnesota drew last night to really hinder either teams chances to start challanging for a solid playoff spot. sure, either one of them could sneak into spot 6 or 7, but that surely isn't their goal. puerto rico and vancouver also drew 1-1 but it really looks like they are too far ahead for anyone to challange either of them for the title.
so as it stands, it is really looking like:
PR and Vancouver for spots 1 and 2
charelston, rochester, seattle and montreal for spots 3-6
atlanta, with two games in hand should grab a playoff spot
and then, while minnesota is ahead of the rest of the pack, any of the bottom four, minnesota, portland, miami or carolina, really could pick up the last spot with a strong finish.
hope your long weekend was a good one.
so as it stands, it is really looking like:
PR and Vancouver for spots 1 and 2
charelston, rochester, seattle and montreal for spots 3-6
atlanta, with two games in hand should grab a playoff spot
and then, while minnesota is ahead of the rest of the pack, any of the bottom four, minnesota, portland, miami or carolina, really could pick up the last spot with a strong finish.
hope your long weekend was a good one.
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