Let’s remember the first Sounders FC match, on this day in 2009 (March 19)
It wasn’t just the first win for an expansion team, but the Sounders FC match that was 10 years ago today ushered in a new era in Seattle sports, and the people loved it.
According to HistoryLink:
On March 19, 2009, Sounders FC makes its Major League Soccer debut, beating the New York Red Bulls 3–0 before a capacity crowd at Qwest Field. It is a rousing start for an expansion team, and not only because of the outcome. Fans turn out in greater numbers and with a level of enthusiasm new to MLS, which began play in 1996. Their fervor draws comparisons to soccer strongholds in Europe and South America, and announces emphatically that Seattle professional soccer is back.
The last time the city had a top-level pro soccer team was 1983, the final season for the Sounders of the North American Soccer League. That team had been popular, playing first in Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center and then in the Kingdome, but it couldn’t make enough money to cover its costs. The next 25 years were a period of lower-level competition, punctuated by occasional big crowds for visiting international teams. Seattle’s attempts to get a Major League Soccer team were foiled until 2007, when the league awarded an expansion franchise to a group headed by Hollywood movie producer Joe Roth (b. 1948). His partners were Adrian Hanauer (b. 1966), Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen (1953–2018), and Drew Carey (b. 1958). The new team adopted the old Sounders name, built a roster headed by goalkeeper Kasey Keller (b. 1969), and signed two-time and reigning MLS champion Sigi Schmid (1953–2018) as its coach.
The owners had high hopes for the team that included some key foreign imports, veterans from other MLS teams, and several players from Sounders FC’s immediate predecessor and namesake, the Seattle Sounders owned by Hanauer that until 2008 played in a league one step down from MLS, the United Soccer League. Other MLS expansion teams had not fared well in their first seasons, but Roth expected his team to succeed right off: “If we don’t make the playoffs the first year, I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Let’s watch some highlights.
For further reading:
