Seattle Sounders FC Tail Gate Party Original Video

Check back later this week to see fan photos and hope you're enjoying the Seattle sun!

Sounders FC vs. Crew Pre-Match Entertainment

Samba y Sabor (which describes itself as the “premier series of pre-game parties for the Seattle Sounders FC” and also features the lovely ladies shimmying and shaking in feather headdresses and pasties during the pregame marches) is featuring Fernando Pitt, the Brazilian Freestyle Soccer player, at the Starbar (309 1st Avenue S) at 5pm.

Check out his impressive moves below and feel free to bring the kids – it’s an all ages events. (Hey Becksta – check out the short shorts and no shirt on the beach! Nice!)






And if you are traveling without young’ens and love beer, specifically the pride of the Northwest – IPAs, then stop by the Bookstore Bar at the Alexis Hotel on 1st and Madison. It won’t be rollicking with raucous fans, but they have some Sounders specials, the waiter is very nice, and they have the Ninkasi Total Domination IPA ON TAP. Yum! And an appropriate beer for what we expect from the Sounders tomorrow night… Total Domination.

Steve Zakuani

I know you have all been waiting to see which Sounder I would fall in love with....it was a tough choice at first with so many fine specimens around. First, my true love was Fredy Montero- the very first goal of the team. Fan-fuckingtastic. But, truth be told, he's a little young for me and I worry that the language barrier would get in the way. We all saw how great it went when he had a translator the first time (think false sexual allegations-OUCH) and I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize the team.

I won't lie, Ljungberg was also testing me- but seriously, could I really compete with a Swedish girl? Not in this in lifetime, I'm afraid. And, then, I really, really noticed Steve Zakuani. The name, at first, was the main attraction because it sounds so melodious off of my tongue, but then I started to appreciate how fricking fast he is on the field. And, come on, let's be honest, his passes are beautiful. And, while I will more than likely never score with my new true love, I am happy to watch him score any time.

American Idol Bikini Girl and the Seattle Sounders

OK, I know that I've said it before, Dawn's said it before, and Eli Sanders of the Stranger Slog perhaps said it the best, but MLS players, especially the Sounders, need to wear some shorter shorts. Seriously. Last night, I accidentally on purpose watched the American Idol finale (please don't tell Dawn-it will ruin my reputation as a learned person of the world) and there were contestants- 2 in fact, performing in bikinis. One had a bikini and the other flashed by opening up her dress. If this is permissible, for the love of God, why do our boys (men) have to be covered up like teen-aged skaters?

On Vacation...

Be back soon!

FC Dallas and The Rainbow Connection

Should you tire of my style of in-depth soccer analysis, may I recommend, officially now, Prost Amerika’s Sounders FC blog. Start here for their FC Dallas Match Preview where you can learn that FC Dallas is known as “Hoops” to the fans and media. Then when you wonder what the Kermit reference is in the article subtitle, flip back over here for the connection.

It refers to no less than one of the best names I have encountered since I was enthralled with all fourteen letters of “Saltalamacchia” squeezed across the shoulders of an MLB jersey. That would be one of this weekend’s referees, Kermit Quisenberry.

Why aren’t more mothers naming their boys Kermit these days? Look what futures they might have: professional soccer referee or singing partner to Debbie Harry:



There’s more, thankfully, on this weekend’s match at MLS.net and really anywhere else but here. Finally for you gay men who visited with the search-word promise of “Rainbow Connection,” well, this won’t let you down, will it?

Big Dogs Love the Sounders

What one does after an afternoon game...

Hours, um, minutes, er, seconds (?) of fun!

Tickets! Get Your Tickets!

Barcelona, Baby! Is anyone getting tired of that yet? Oh, good. Cause I'm not!

Ticket info for the Sounders - Barcelona is in: Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 15th at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at www.SoundersFC.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

But... I bet if you register at SoundersFC.com you may get a handy dandy presale notification email. Since I didn’t buy my season tickets in my name and registered at that link and still got the Chelsea presale info, I’m thinking that is true.

Speaking of ticket sales, 60,000 tickets have been sold for the Sounders – Chelsea game on July 18. With only 7,000 left that makes a total of 67,000 seats. (me=smart) That’s max capacity at Qwest Field. I can hear the roar of the crowd now...

And if you’re dying for just a little more ticket trivia tonight, please note that the Sounders FC home supporters will be increasing by 4000. The remaining seats in the lower bowl above the south end will be sold for games June 28 and thereafter.

Go Sounders!

Galaxy Recap: Sober Version

Round 2 of the Galaxy match lookback. I wish that I wasn’t going to talk about the referees, but I must. This article on MLS.net demonstrated that I was far from alone in waking up thinking not only whether sushi at 9pm was a good idea but also what the hell the referees were thinking.


Conversation post-game over beers:
Unnamed Blogger: “I’m going to start a referee review with ratings and rants!” (bonus points for consanancy)

Best Friend: “No, don’t do it. Those guys don’t get paid enough to be called out.”

“But they deserve to be held accountable!”

Other friend: “Yeah, think about it. In such a low-scoring game, the referees exercise huge control over the outcome of the game. One call or lack of call can have a huge impact when you only score one or two goals during the entire match. It’s not like basketball or even American football. Each call matters.”

“Besidess, they’re not minor league umpires, for god’s sake, laboring about the country on a paltry per diem and working at Home Depot in the off-season. If they suck, they should lose their gig, just like anyone.”

“Some of those players are only making $30K – if that. Waitress!”

Right. That’s where I stand today, sober even. The referees deserve to be called out like anyone else on the pitch. I will therefore proclaim Tim Wyland, Sunday’s referee, to officially suck.

Sigi and I are not alone in our criticism. John Carver, Toronoto FC’s former coach, complained about Tim Weyland's abysmal performance not long before he resigned from the MLS. Hmmm...

Galaxy Post-Game

"Disappointed in the Refereeing”

Said Sigi. Said many thousands of fans. But my throat is hoarse, and I can say it no more. (Sorry to the preteens sitting in the row in front of me). Besides this picture speaks louder than my words.

Beautiful Day, Beautiful Fans

Oh to not be layered! Noon felt a little early. But the afternoon sun was a treat, and the 28,000+ fans were amazing as usual.

About Passion and Control

The Sounders had passion. The referee had no control. One fed the other until the yellow shirt started flashing cards like my mother playing poker. I was proud to see the Sounders keeping each others backs like a team should. I was especially warm and fuzzy to see Freddie Ljungberg waving his finger in the face of the referees and getting right into the mix during the James Riley situation. Passion and physicality... I’ve said it before. It’s what I like to see out there.

Man of the Match?

The man of the match is the opposing goalkeeper?! The one who kicked the ball out of play in the 88th minute and flopped on to the ground the burn the clock? Weak. Totally weak.

The Shirts Come Off

Thank you! Are you guys reading this? Or are we just putting out the right vibe? Either way, keep those shirts coming off. As it should be!

Sounders - Galaxy Highlights

Even if you don't understand Spanish, these highlights are worth watching for the exuberant exclamation of "Goooaaallll!" Two times over, unfortunately.

Maximum Capacity at Qwest Field?

If any of you are wondering whether the upper level at Qwest will be opened for the Chelsea and Barcelona friendlies against Sounders FC this summer, MLS.net holds the likely answer: yes.

Back in 2006, the first year Barcelona FC came to play a US tour (they came back in 2007 and 2008 too), they had the highest average attendance for any club tour in U.S. history: 80,734 fans on average in three matches.

That included three sold-out crowds: at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (vs. CD Guadalajara, 1-1 on Aug. 6 in front of 92,650), at Houston's Reliant Stadium (vs. Club America, 3-3 on Aug. 9, with a crowd of 70,550), and at Giants Stadium in E. Rutherford, NJ (vs. NY Red Bulls, 4-1 on Aug. 12, in front of 79,002).

Let's max out Qwest Field at 72K and bring the crowd that these matches deserve.

Barcelona FC for Friendly "B" on August 5

It’s official: "B" is for Barcelona!

Barcelona FC is coming to Qwest Field on Wednesday, August 5! That is Un-Be-Liev-Able.

Check out SoundersFC.com if you don’t believe me or you want to see what Sounders fans are saying about the news.

Tickets will go on sale in a few weeks: find complete info here. Now go run and jump for joy…

Rumors... Aggregated

More Seats at Qwest?
MLS-Rumors.net is “for the time in between games.” Since we are not baseball, there is a lot of that. And with a Sunday match this week, there’s a whole extra day to fill! Egads! Fortunately there are plenty of rumors and general complaints in the Soundersphere to occupy our time.

So the Soundwave Band is confirmed to move from the South End to the North End, and 50 more 13-game ticket packages were offered for sale and snapped up faster than Dani Alves fakes his first dive. But MLS-rumors.net reports that Sounders FC have been interviewing for additional concession and security jobs at Qwest Field. Are there even more seats on the way? Stay tuned...

Season Ticket “B” for Barcelona FC?
GoSounders.com reports my favorite rumor of the day. Will those bland looking tickets labeled Seattle Sounders versus team "B" and "C" become tickets of gold? If they turn out to be tickets for a Sounders FC-Barcelona FC friendly, then yes!!!

Sunday Kickoff at Noon
Not a rumor - Just a reminder friends! Get up and get your game on, after you tell Mom you love her, of course. It’s a whole new take on “soccer mom.” In this case, probably mom first, soccer second.

The Secret behind Fredy’s Slump

There’s been a lot of speculation this week about what it’s going to take to get Fredy Montero back on track. It’s made me wonder what it was that got him off track in the first place. And I think I’ve figured it out. It’s quite obvious, in fact.

It’s the shoes. Yep, those red boots that he’s been sporting lately.

In the beginning we had this:


Lovely goal scoring feet shod in plain ol’ neutral-toned shoes. The kind that left defenders standing with their jaws dropped open. Then, around the time of the Kansas City game, those shoes came off, literally:


And things changed. Next thing I knew, Fredy came out with red boots on. Sure, they catch the eye. And red symbolizes all kinds of sexy things like lust, courage, danger even. But it also represents sin and guilt and volatility. After all, red cars are statistically more likely to be involved in accidents. And it sure seems like Fredy’s crashed recently.

What happened? Why the change? Don’t soccer players have the same superstitions as the rest of professional athletes? I see enough players crossing themselves as they run onto the pitch or step up to a corner kick to think that’s true. Don’t mess with a good thing, Fredy! Go back to the old shoes and leave the red boots to Le Hawk:

Chelsea Tickets Presale Info

I'm sure that most of y'all are season ticket holders and therefore have a death-grip on your Chelsea-Sounders tickets. But... if you gave your tickets away to your friend whose wedding you were unable to make at the last minute or to your best friend as a (successful) pacifier after you slept with his girlfriend or some other CRAZY reason, you do have a chance to recoup them:

Presale began TODAY at 10am so GET ON IT. The presale password is 3BLUES (as in you will have the triple blues if you don't get these tix).

Public sales begin Monday, May 11th at 10am.

Seattle Sounders Fans Rule- But what about the MLS?

We Seattle Sounders fans tend to be a little over the top when it comes to talking about how great not only our team is, but how great we are. We sing, we cheer, we all wear scarves, we stand the entire match, and sometimes we dress up like gorillas. We gloat about the envy other cities and their teams must feel for our tremendous fan-dome. And, rightly so, as our season tickets sold out quickly and every home game has been sold out.

Watching the game against the Fire the other day on the high-def tv, I saw things from a little different perspective, however. The stadium looked empty. n fact, from a certain vantage point, there seemed to be more people in the band than fans in the stadium. If these other cities don't get up to par, I don't think it bodes well for the future of the MLS. The still "undefeated" Fire have averaged a measly 10,900 over their last few games. Oh, excuse me 10,901. Some people are speculating that the Chicago-ites "don't know where Toyota Park (their home stadium) is". What up with that Chicago? (If Obama is really promoting the World Cup, I think he should also be pushing for the MLS! He's gone to at least one basketball game as president, why not a MLS game? I Obama, just like many other people, but I'm just saying...)

Look at him here at the Wizards Game- he's drinking a beer, hanging out, relaxing....for the love of God, will someone PLEASE give him a free ticket to an MLS game?

MLS Players Have to Start Taking Their Shirts Off

It's such a tradition to exchange jerseys that Addidas officially made it a part of their ad campaign. If men get to look at the cheerleaders, women and gay men should get to look at someone in an equal level of body fitness and shape, namely the players. Check out McBride below:

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Not so bad is what I'm thinking. Not so bad at all.

Chicago Fire: The Day After

Set Play Sigh of Relief:
Although I’ve tried to ignore it up until now, negative incidents early in the game bode poorly for the Sounders. Keller’s red card in the 29th minute against Kansas City. Montero’s wide open chip shot sent wide in the early minutes at Chivas. And now a yellow card in the first minute at Chicago. Ouch.

Tyrone Marshall didn’t let it get him down though. His toe poke into the back of the net off of Freddie Ljungberg’s corner kick in the 74th minute caused five adults to simultaneously leap off the edge of their seats, throw their arms in the air, and breathe a collective sigh of relief. Whew. Thank you, Tyrone (and Freddie for the nice corner kick and Le Hawk for earning it)!

Montero and Patience:
My compadres and I were guessing about a lineup change for the second period during halftime last night. I put my vote in for Le Hawk coming on for Montero. I was wrong... until the latter’s red card. A gift perhaps? I thought so.

David Falk over at the Seattle Soccer Examiner has a great poll running asking what it will take to turn things around for Montero. You can probably guess how I voted. Check it out here and have your say!

The “Undefeated” Fire

I’ll take a draw any day over a loss, but I wonder how Fire fans are feeling about five draws in the last seven games. The descriptor “undefeated” seems a bit out of place to me. Yes, I know it’s technically correct, but a record of 2-0-5 can’t feel that great. It probably feels a little flat. Just coasting along in neutral. Not really bad. Not really good either. Kinda like abstinence.

McBride gets it. Back in the days of straight win-or-lose, things were more like this:

Obama Makes US World Cup Bid Personal

If Obama is personally writing letters in support of the US bid to host the World Cup in 2018 as reported on ESPN, then this young man has a lot to cheer about. And so do I and maybe you too... if you like the idea of getting decked in red, white, and blue at Xbox Pitch newly refurbished with natural grass.

Rabbit Portends Hat Trick Against Chicago

“Here we go with your weekly chance to be the most boring person in your bar or family.”

It’s official. After two trial runs of Prost Amerika Soccer’s Meaningless Statistical Guide to the Game, I am fully prepared to designate them Genius Soccer Blogger Extraordinaire.

And while you’re pondering the number of left foot, right foot, and header goals Sounders FC and the Fire have tallied up so far, might I suggest that you brush up on your definition of Hat Trick and add a few more meaningless statistics to your pregame repertoire?

While I’m sure you discerning soccer enthusiasts know that a hat trick refers to a single player scoring three goals in a single game, did you know that a player achieves a “Perfect Hat Trick” when the three goals scored are from his right foot, left foot, and head? Moreover you can accomplish a hat trick of hat tricks by scoring hat tricks in three consecutive matches.

So here's hoping for a Sounders FC hat trick tomorrow night in Chicago!

PS – Huge bonus points to any Superfan who makes this their regular Sounders FC home game costume (buy here for a mere $700!). An esoteric costume is an especially bold one, and I guarantee you will not be thought “boring.”