Seattle Sounders Semifinal Game 1 in Seattle

The Best of This Week's Commentary

ESPN Soccernet

Start with the classic ESPN Soccernet format: who's who and why they're going to win and then why they're not. Which is kind of a pansy way to go about your predictions. Everyone wins and no one wins. But it will catch you up on the must know of the MLS playoff contenders:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=689854&sec=mls&root=mls&cc=5901

(LA is favored. The Sounders are the golden boys. Chivas will fold under post season pressure as history illustrates. Etc. Etc.)

Goal.com

A certain Mr. McCarthy over at Goal.com who likes to muse takes a more manly stance with his actual rankings of the playoff hopefuls. He places the Sounders at #2, right after LA (the Yankess of MLS - blech.). And he asks, astutely, "will the pressure of reaching a final on home turf make the task too difficult?"

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2009/10/28/1588779/mls-playoffs-mccarthys-musings-ranking-the-mls-cup

Then Allen Ramsey, also of Goal.com (fast becoming one of my favorite intelligent soccer websites, after Prost Amerika http://www.prostamerika.com/soundersfc/), really touches Soundersboard existential heart with the following "one's to watch" shortlist of unsung potential heros.

Heros. Intensity. Drama. America. Ramsay's speaking my language (well, up 'till the America part, but thanks to MLS in Seattle, I'm beginning to feel better about that too - and also that 4 part series on NPR "Europe and Us" that was on the other week... solar power, bicycles, high speed trains, a package of steaks that comes with a bovine bio...)

Seattle's rising star? None other than Stevie "Jets" Zakuani:

http://goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2009/10/28/1590487/mls-playoffs-the-short-list-making-a-name

It's gonna be a great (rainy) night tomorrow night.

Looking Back on Saturday Night

You don’t need to come here to find out that Houston beat Chivas 3-2 today, which means that Seattle will host Houston at home in the first round of the playoffs. You can go to http://www.prostamerika.com/soundersfc/2009/10/25/houston-lead-chivas-2-0/ to find that out.

You came here to be reminded how much fun it was to see the Sounders win in their final regular season game last night.

How the fans were out in full force in their green and blue on a beautifully cool October night, a night for keeping warm with whiskey, with their number nines and smiles.

And how good it felt to come from behind and score two goals after waiting for oh so long...

Ahh... what a night.

Black and White, and Orange

Was there something a little incongruous about seeing Freddie walking through Home Depot up on North Aurora in the recent video on the Sounders FC homepage? (It's so worth watching - sorry, unembeddable - just be sure to tune out when Matt Gasch starts talking to some kids waiting in the dull line.) Walking down those orange warehouse rows in a svelte white shirt rolled up to the elbows and a very finely fitted black vest? Kasey Keller was a little more incognito in his baseball hat and neutral tones. But Freddie stood out in his black and white style in the place where just last weekend I schelpped in with muddy jeans holes in the knees and dirty fingernails.

Yes, there was, and it was great actually. A perfect juxtaposition. The working man’s world in black and white class. And I love me a working man. But I also love me some class. You can have it all.

Don’t forget folks, it’s good to dress up for an occasion! Make it an occasion!

Freddie’s raising the game in so many ways. The more we see of him the better. He looks great. He talks great. He’s complimentary. He’s humble. He has incredible style. He’s a new kind of very embraceable standard for Seattle, for the U.S. Work hard. Look good. Be kind.

Keep'n the Dream Alive

For those interested in seeing a FA Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield, La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and World Cup champion in a MLS uniform, hold on to that precarious feather in your hat.

Sky Sports is perpetuating the Thierry Henry to MLS rumor yet again. We all know Thierry’s fondness for American sports and the US in general but it seems that his time with FC Barcelona is nearing its end. As Barca has its hooks in Manchester City’s Brazilian international Robinho and attempting to reel him in by offering a heavyweight of their own, Henry, Manchester City head man Mark Hughes had this to say:

“And regarding a swap deal (with Thierry Henry) - no, it's not going to happen either. I've got the impression that Henry is leaving Barcelona at the end of the season.”

“There were meetings last month between his representatives and New York Red Bulls and I've got the impression that after the World Cup he is going to go to the MLS.”

There you go. Most of us thought it might happen by 2011, but with the recent success of our very own Designated Player Freddie Ljungberg, rumors that the MLS is considering throwing a few more beans on the salary cap pile while adding another DP not to count against the cap, and a new stadium in New York, maybe we’ll see Thierry next season.

Needless to say, we’d rather see him team up with his former Arsenal setup man here in Seattle, but either way it’s good news for the MLS... if in fact it is news.

Sky Sports report: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11828_5638642,00.html

Roger Levesque Is So Nickname-able

First it’s Steve Kelly of the Seattle Times christening him “Ever Ready Roger” in this nice (as we come to expect fromt he Seattle Times) article. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2010102162_kelley21.html

Then Don Ruiz of the News Tribune pipes in with “Super Sub.” Ugh.

Soundersboard stands by Roger “Money” Levesque for formal usage, as in, “And starting for the Sounders, Rogerrrr... Moneyyy... LeVESQUE!”

While Don Ruiz’s Super Sub nickname falls utterly flat (I think I got one of those from Quizno’s last week), I commend him for the philosophical quotes in his article. http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/soccer/story/923609.html

First, Sigi, about his decision to sub Montero in Saturday’s match at Kansas City: “My mother always told me that your first reaction is usually your true reaction, and everything else is a rationalization.”

Pause and reflect.

Then Ruiz ends with a nice little aphorism from Ever Ready Roger, “They say luck is where opportunity meets preparation.”

One more nickname possibility – The Philosopher. He’s our own Emerson: “Patience and patience we shall win at the last!”

Freddie Keeps Talkin'; Dee Feels Full of Love

Did anyone watch the CONCACAF Champions League match tonight between Houston Dynamo and Isidro Metapan? Something about that lonely field down in El Salvador made that game so intimate. It was almost hot for a few minutes there. You could hear every yell on the sideline and from what looked to be no more than 500 fans, maybe.

“C’mon! Punt it!”

“Hey... hey, hey, hey hey!”

An Isidro Metapan player goes down in the 70 somethingth minute, barely, and the full five-person staff of the local medical clinic comes running out on the pitch with their stretchers and spray stuff. The player does his best drama act as he gets on the stretcher and then you’re back to the sounds of grunting and pushing and rushing.

Houston ‘keeper Hall comes out looking wide and strong and scares off a one on one attack. He taps his adversary on the ass friendly and relieved. A Houston player muscles out the opposing man holding the ball under his foot in his own corner in the 80 somethingth minute. The field is only moderately well lit, which gives it a gritty backseat appeal. Maybe the natural light is even better for the players, but it wasn't made for televised coverage. You could almost see the stars for chrissakes!

Ugh. And there was Craig Waibel again. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth about that guy, mostly because of his chorus line of chubby groupies in their stupid orange shirts at the Houston game this summer. The same game that Captain Sherbet, the gangly teenage kid with glasses, an orange cape and sherbet colored face paint was a mere few seats to my left, within sweating distance. I liked him though. That took balls for some acne kid to show up with his orange flag and his solo chants, “We got Onstad!” in the heart of Sounders season ticket holder country.

They lost. Houston. 3-2. I was rooting for them. I was, of course! I’m rooting for the MLS baby! Plus Isidro’s jerseys were way too busy. I never root for bad style.

But then, oh God, then. Talk about style. The AC Milan v. Real Madrid highlights. A thing of beauty. I love the way what’s his name, Max Bretos, says “naughty.” Kaka against his old teammates at AC Milan (we got his jersey on clearance after the trade). Goal after goal. So smooth. AC Milan upsets.

And on and on. The UEFA Champions League highlights. I could keep going, really. And I did, with another beer, and then I moseyed on over to Freddie’s site (we’re on first name basis until I can come up with a nickname), and read about how he says every MLS team needs 2 or 3 International players. http://freddie.speaksup.com/2009/10/21/mls-would-need-players-like/

Yes. Yes! Keep talking, Freddie. He’s rooting for the MLS too. Thierry Henry to New York Red Bulls? www.mls-rumors.net says so among others. New York needs the help, no doubt. I’m even rooting for them. This is how I know the MLS has not come of age yet. The only team I despise is the LA Galaxy.

Portland? Vancouver? I’m gearing up to loathe them.

Soundersboard is back!

Soundersboard is back! I can hardly believe it myself. And right at the end of the regular season, just in time for the playoffs! Well-timed just like the season ticket renewal deadline, you sly bastards.

The truth is I’ve been feeling guilty and now I’m inspired. Here I go and neglect Soundersboard while I’m off having fun all summer, and then Freddie comes out and publishes his own blog! http://freddie.speaksup.com/.


He's brief and to the point. Fantastic! We all deserve a little light blog fun, don't you know?

So you now have the company of Soundersboard for the playoffs all the way through the MLS cup! And I've decided to take it upon myself to entertain us (me and Becksta that is) throughout the long MLS-less winter.

I’ll just start promoting my book when we all get terribly bored. And when all else fails, (semi) naked pictures.

Meanwhile, I have been thinking about soccer, paying attention to the Sounders, watching games (on TV for what seems like forever), and thinking up apropos new nicknames for the guys on the pitch:

Stevie “Jets” Zakuani
Nate “No Moves” Jaqua
Roger “Money” Levesque

I stand by Sebastian “Le Hawk” but I still don’t know Freddie and Kasey well enough. Plus they both deserve the respect of a well-thought out sobriquet. As for Fredy, well, the jury’s out on him yet. But not the rest of y'all. Onward!

Soccer Player to Cut Hair

So I just got three cases of wine in the mail, I found a website that describes itself as “spilling red wine on soccer’s social fabric since 2007” (The Offside Rules), and I learned that Marcelo Balboa is cutting his luxuriant locks for charity (see mls.net article here).

Marcelo Balboa: Hall of Famer, TV analyst (recall from Beijing anyone?), long hair wearer, newsreel favorite. Media (especially low-brow blogs) can’t resist the bicycle kick:




Judging by the number of hair restoration commercials on Fox Soccer Channel, this is a big deal. That hair is a chick-magnet. Judging from the content of this post, those cases of wine are really good. This should last two weeks.

Apparently, Balboa hasn’t cut his hair since 1994. Back when dudes had bangs. Oh, and also, The Offside Rules reports that Fijian Soccer Players Beleive That Weed Will Improve Their Game.

That is all.

FC Barcelona Tickets Presale Info

While the presale started yesterday morning at 9am, you'll still be ahead of the public sales that begin Monday, June 15th at 10am.

Buy your tickets here right now with the presale code: 3BARCA

Get Your Girls Out!

This is my little version of Girls Gone Wild, right on here on your very own Soundersboard. If you've got body parts you would like to show the world (or a very small portion of it) on our blog, send some pics on over!

I Scored with Freddie- Psyche!

The Sounders are getting ready to play four out of the next five games at home, and I'm thinking that it is time for five out of five wins. I'm also thinking that the time is high for instituting Dawn's Referee Rating Systems after each game because I am tired of seeing WAY too much red at the games. I know that they make jack-all, but come on, so do a lot of people in this economy and people all across the board are being rated on their performances- players included.

To get myself ready for the home game stretch, I economized and instead of a jersey, got an I scored with Freddie t-shirt. I want you to know that this is only meant to support him as a player and does not mean that I intend to score with him, just that I want to be watching when he scores....oops, that didn't sound much better, did it?

I'm planning on being there at halftime and post and pre-game to interview festive and interesting fans, so please be ready with your commentary.

Drew Carey, my very favorite owner of the Sounders

Don't worry Stevie (as in Zakuani, not Wonder), I am in no, way, shape, or form shifting my allegiance to Drew Carey over you. I mean come on, as the LA Times said, Drew is a little schlumpy and Drew is not exactly my type of guy (although I do dig the hot glasses). However, the man sings, was in a marching band in high school, shot pics professionally (how i love the sound of that word) and gave us, the Seattle Sounders fans, the right to fire the GM. Fan-fuckingtastic for sure. Plus, he shouts out, ""Chackalackalacka!" during games, perhaps in a flashback to a previous life before he was part owner of MLS soccer's most-hated franchise.

So this is how I am tallying things up, just in case you were wondering and even if you are not.

Steve Zakuani is my true love and not necessarily my favorite player. It's only June, so I've yet to sort that out.

The Gorilla is absolutely the hottest fan because who wouldn't be in that costume? Seriously.

And last but certainly not least, Drew Carey is my fave owner of the team. Not because he is famous, but because he insisted that all the season ticket holders should have scarves. This does not mean, however, that I am at all interested in scoring with Drew. Again, just in case you were curious.......

Please Bring Your Sweet Segway to the Next Home Game!

Spend a little time with this photo. Observe the Ferrari branded Segway extended-cab of your dreams. Fresh rims in the back! An automated, reclined ride for two. The dude looked all secret service with a Bluetooth headset too.

The custom Segway
rollin’ fans up vendor row to the Mariner’s game.

And seriously, look how happy they are to be riding in it!

That is probably because he was also BLASTING “We Will Rock You” out of the many speakers. You could hear it twenty yards away plain as day.

Whether his outstretched two fingers are flashing the peace sign or indicating two people for two bucks, I am hopeful that he will come down for the next Sounder FC home game.

Seattle Sounders FC Fans- Original Slideshow

I want to thank everybody who let me take their pictures and hope you get to see your faces on the blog. OK, admittedly, I may have gotten a little carried away with the special effects, but you can't blame a girl for trying, can you? As it stands, I am pretty fricking impressed with the quality of the fans at the Sounders games-everyone is still standing, still friendly, and cheering like mad when the ball comes anywhere near the goal.

As for my thoughts on the game, they are somewhat muddled from perhaps one too many PBR's beforehand, but I am thinking that there are WAY too many ties in the MLS. It's really hard to know how to feel after a game that ends in a tie. I mean, I guess, I'm happy when we tie instead of lose, but it lacks a certain kind of resolution that you get from other sports. (I was reminded earlier that I should be happy I'm not watching 5-day cricket games that end up in ties, but I don't really think my liver could take that kind of sport-watching.)I also think the refs need to lay off the red-cards. It's a little much to take.

Le Toux Gives Up Red Shoe

I’m not so bold as my blogging colleague to offer up my “favorite” player, but observant eyes will notice that “Le Hawk” is rising to the top of my attentions. He’s the only player whom I’ve christened with a nickname after all. And there is a lot to like about him: the fact that he was the first player signed to the MLS Sounders, his thick French accent, that he runs like hell and misses French bakeries.

That was all good enough, but after seeing Le Hawk take off his red boot and offer it up to a kid in the stands after last Saturday’s match, I’m now officially gushing.



Should you momentarily guffaw at the idea of him missing French bakeries (which you can reference here), you might be won over by the following information about Le Hawk’s international aspirations. Speaking about playing for the French National Team, he said:

"I would like to play for the U.S.," said Le Toux, who remains a French citizen. "I would want to play for the country that gave me a chance, and I really love it here. It would be an honor if I received the opportunity to play for them."

Class, baby. That’s class.

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?