Soccer is an actual sport in Seattle
I finally went to a Seattle Sounders game this past week with a couple of friends. I’ve been a big soccer fan most of my life. I played all up until college and I still obsessively watch highlights and games from the European leagues, but I will admit I’ve sort of turned up my nose at the MLS until now. The few games I’ve seen on TV looked pretty pitiful. The level of play wasn’t all that great and the crowds were pretty weak. In Europe (actually most of the rest of the world – though Europe is where I’ve been to games), people dance, sing and chant the whole time and the party atmosphere is a huge part of the appeal. In the U.S. most people are accustomed to baseball and football, where spectator participation is pretty meager and usually that translates to soccer as well.
Not in Seattle though! The Sounders game was awesome. Seattle consistently gets something like twice the average attendance to their games (35,000 this week) and the crowd was great. There was a supporters section on the far end of the field that really never stopped singing or chanting and the whole stadium was pretty engaged. I was (’sniff’) just so proud of my city. We turn out a kick-ass crowd.
The game itself was decent. There were some good periods of play and even though it was a 0-0 tie, it was a good hard fought game. It was nice having my friends Kate and Steve there who actually knew a little bit about the players. I might have to actually start following the team now.
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