It’s official, the Major League Soccer season has started, and the Seattle Sounders are bringing life back to Seattle sports fans.
With their 3-0 win in their home opener last week, the Sounders showed they mean business this season. After winning their fourth U.S. Open Cup title and their first Supporters’ Shield (best regular season record) last season, the Sounders are hungry for their first MLS Cup this year.
Not that into soccer? Not a big Sounders fan? Well you should be!
Here’s why fans of other local teams (and people who dislike sports altogether) should get on the Sounders bandwagon:
Seahawks Fans:
- Fill the void – February was a rough month for all of us. Seattle is still in mourning after the Seahawks devastating loss in the Super Bowl. Let the Sounders fill the blue and green void in your heart. With 11 players on the field, you can still be a “12” watching soccer.
- Get the Century Link experience for a fraction of the price – Sounders fans share the same kind of passion and energy that ‘Hawks fans do. Players from around the world often comment how Sounders games have the best atmosphere for soccer in U.S. But getting into the stadium won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
- Winning is fun – The Seahawks aren’t the only Seattle team that had a great season in 2014. This year, the Sounders will be looking to add an MLS Cup, which is the Super Bowl of the MLS, to their list of achievements. Wouldn’t it be fun to be a part of that journey?
Mariners Fans:
- A low scoring game can still be exciting – Soccer and baseball final scores look very similar. In both sports the score can be 0-0 and you can feel like you’ve watched a great game. A diving save by a goalie is just as exciting as a center-fielder’s leaping catch to steal a homerun.
- Have a laid-back game experience that doesn’t take all day – Baseball games are a little more casual experience than football games — you can grab a beer, a hot dog, and enjoy a little chat with your friends. Same thing at a Sounders game (just be ready to stand up when Clint Dempsey scores). But while nine innings could take as long as three hours, a soccer match is a curt 90 minutes plus another 15 for halftime.
- Seattle sports double-header – If you do want an all-day experience, there are multiple days this year when the Sounders and the Mariners play back-to-back. With neighboring stadiums, it’s easy to plan ahead and go to both.
- Sunday April, 26 – Mariners vs. Minnesota Twins (1:10pm) & Sounders vs. Portland Timbers (6:30pm)
- Saturday May, 16 – Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (4:00pm) & Mariners vs. Boston Red Sox (6:10pm)
- Saturday June, 20 – Sounders vs. San Jose Earthquakes (1:00pm) & Mariners vs. Astros (7:10pm)
- Sunday October, 4 – Mariners vs. Oakland A’s (12:10pm) & Sounders vs. LA Galaxy (6:30pm)
Non-Sport fans:
- The world’s game with a Seattle flare – The most popular sport in the world never quite took off in the U.S. But now Seattle is leading a surge in Soccer popularity. Last year the Sounders had an average home crowd of almost 44,000, nearly double that of the next most popular team, Toronto FC. Many of those fellow fans are smart, well-travelled, globally-oriented people just like you.
- Active in the community – Director of Community Outreach Roger Levesque says the Sounders have always done a lot of community events, but that their separation from Seahawks on the business end means they’ll actually be able to expand those efforts even more. Levesque will be unveiling the new community initiatives at an event on March 19.
- It’s more than just soccer – Why does the world love soccer? Maybe because it’s so inclusive. People of all ages can play it with almost no equipment, and even total newbies enjoy watching it. The people at Sounders matches are friendly, diverse, and are always willing to help if you don’t really understand the game. It’s a community experience just as much as it is an athletic event. Just try it, I promise you won’t regret it.
