Why I'm a fan of Seattle Sounders FC.
As it has been said here before, being a Sounder is not something you do. My favorite signature I've seen on this blog says it well and many of you will recognize it: "I am not a Supporter, I am not a Fan, I am a Sounder". We wear jerseys, t-shirts, and scarves. We march to the match and sing our songs. We boom-boom-clap. Doing these things will not make you a Sounder, but we do them because we are Sounders. I thought I would share with you how I became a Sounder.
Growing up a child of two states.
I was born in Yakima, Washington. My parents were separated and I lived with my mother while my dad lived in Tacoma. I can vividly recall passing through Ellensburg and traversing Snoqualmie Pass several times a year throughout my childhood. Whenever I went to visit my dad it was something special. He shared with me the wonders of Seattle: The Pacific Science Center, go karts, Point Defiance Zoo, the Fremont troll, Kerry Park, Ballard locks, the Space Needle, Mount Rainier National Park. One of the most memorable experiences was sitting behind Jay Buhner's spot of outfield at a Mariners game in the King Dome.
At around age 10 I moved to Anchorage, Alaska. Once a year I would take the three and a half hour flight to Sea-Tac so I could visit my dad. We had a difficult falling out in my middle school years and our relationship wasn’t reconciled until I reached out to him when I became engaged. I brought my fiancé to Seattle and got to share a few things I love about the emerald city. Trips to Seattle continued through my adult years, if not visiting family then just my wife and I taking a break from Alaska. Seattle always remained a special piece of me.
Shortly after our son was born I made a career change. It was a big step and involved being away from home for 15 weeks of training. It would be a demanding yet enjoyable challenge, and it was within the first month of this I learned my dad had gone missing. About a year after that, his remains were found in the Cascade Mountains. Despite the complications in our relationship and the grief tied to my father, he irreversibly connected me to what I feel is the most beautiful city in America; a place I consider my second home. Seattle.
Where does soccer come into this?
Alaska is a difficult place to live any way you look at it. The winters are painfully long and cold with the sun becoming a forgotten stranger, and the summer is juxtaposed with glaring daylight that won't give you a break to sleep. Living here you put up with things most people don't have to worry about. The population dynamics and environment don't lend opportunity for a sports scene up here, especially at a professional level.
If anyone's a sports fan in Alaska it comes down to Hockey or American Football. Several of my friends are NFL fans but I never could get into the game. I wasn’t much of a sports fan except having a remote fondness for the Mariners. Begin World Cup 2014! Soccer is being televised like I’ve never noticed before. I watched the first USMNT group stage match at my in-laws’ and loved it. A tactical game with flashes of skill and bursts of excitement, everything about the beautiful game connected with me. I recall playing soccer in Yakima as a child and the World Cup broadcasts awoke the realization that this is my game. In those broadcasts I was introduced to Clint Dempsey and went on to discover the Sounders.
When I watched my first Sounders match something happened. I didn’t become a fan, I realized that I’ve been a Sounder all along and just didn't know it. My love for the club grew at an exponential rate. My son and I flew down for our first match at C-Link in 2015 and the march down Occidental was like a homecoming. The first game I brought my wife to was Nico and Schmets’ debut. Needless to say, now my whole family loves the Sounders.
We bleed Rave Green!
Although my connection to the Sounders doesn’t go back nearly as far as others, my connection to Seattle does, and my knowledge of the team has become intimate. I’ve had wonderful interactions with Sounders staff and fellow ‘supporters’. The community of S@H gives me something wonderful that’s impossible to find in Alaska: It’s the only website I visit daily. What makes this team so great is the character of everyone involved.
I love soccer. I love Puget Sound. From our various backgrounds it brings us together.
We are Sounders!