- November 23, 2024
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More than 67,000 people chant through the streets. An army of men, women and children, all in green. At the frontline, the soldiers push forward with a barricade. With bandannas covering their faces, only they know who they are. Rave green- and blue-colored smoke bombs are set off, making it seem even more like a war zone than it already does.
All this for soccer? In the U.S.?
That might not be the scene in every soccer city in America, but it downtown Seattle, it is when the Sounders are playing. And it's especially the case when rival Portland Timbers come to town.
The two squared off Aug. 25, in what has become one of the most intense rivalries in American sports — and the largest rivalry in Major League Soccer. Although the two teams are fairly new, the dedication among the fan bases represents a glimmer of hope for a sport that has seen much darker days here.
After the March to the Match, the crowd of 67,000 packed into Century Link Field. Supporters of both teams held scarves above their heads, chanted at the top of their lungs and drank beer. This was soccer, not football, and if you had no concept of geography, you probably wouldn’t know you were in America.
Seattle won the match, 1-0, keeping their playoff chances alive and the Sounders faithful content for another night. Flagler County's own Eddie Johnson netted the game-winning goal when he used his noggin to flick the ball past Portland keeper Donovan Rickets off a set piece in the 60th minute, sending Seattle fans into a frenzy.
It wasn't long ago that MLS lost its two Florida-based teams — a state considered by many as a soccer hotbed — and teetered with going out of existence.
Now, 19 teams compete in two conferences. Five more teams have been promised by 2020.
Soccer might never be considered one of the Big Four sports here in the U.S. But supporters of the game are rallying together to make it relevant. And whether they are supporters for the Sounders, the New York Red Bulls — or any team in between — they are coming together as an army. And they are marching together. Much like the army marching through Seattle’s streets.
Chants and all.
