Seattle Sounders FC

[Frank The Bunny]

Hey, all you on the other side of the planet -

Does our little soccer team get any press in your neck of the woods?

Seattle Sounders FC, in its second year, is arguably the most successful launch of a U.S. sports franchise - in any sport - EVER.

Attendance numbers speak volumes:

1 Seattle Sounders FC 36,173
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 21,182
3 Toronto FC 20,453
4 Philadelphia Union 19,254
5 New York Red Bulls 18,625
6 Real Salt Lake 17,095
7 Houston Dynamo 16,832
8 Chicago Fire 15,814
9 Chivas USA 14,557
10 Columbus Crew 14,330
11 D.C. United 14,279
12 Colorado Rapids 13,014
13 New England Revolution 12,986
14 FC Dallas 10,815
15 Kansas City Wizards 10,199
16 San Jose Earthquakes 9,660
MLS average attendance 16,579

FRANCE (20)
1. Marseille 54,677
2. Seattle Sounders FC 36,173

SPAIN (20)
1. Barcelona 73,000
2. Real Madrid 70,000
3. Atletico Madrid 45,000
4. Valencia 40,798
5. Seattle Sounders FC 36,173

ITALY (20)
1. Inter Milan 53,333
2. AC Milan 40,078
3. Seattle Sounders FC 36,173

ENGLAND (20 teams)
1. Manchester United 75,191
2. Arsenal 60,000
3. Manchester City 46,150
4. Newcastle United 44,868
5. Liverpool 43,174
6. Chelsea 41,527
7. Sunderland 39,414
8. Everton 38,003
9. Aston Villa 36,526
10. Seattle Sounders FC 36,173

GERMANY (18)
1. Borussia Dortmund 74,855
2. Bayern Munich 69,000
3. Schalke 04 60,853
4. Hamburg SV 54,582
5. FC Cologne 48,550
6. Kaiserslautern 45,983
7. Eintracht Frankfurt 45,066
8. Hannover 96 42,547
9. Borussia
Monchengladbach 42,235
10. Nurnberg 40,706
11. VfB Stuttgart 39,625
12. Seattle Sounders FC 36,173

[fat cherry]

is that normalised for local population - catchment area and size of stadium? Have they won anything? Though said a launch so maybe not yet. Have some foreign blokes bought it then mortgaged it t the hilt? I jest, naturally.

looks impressive but 'round here teams in the next town dont get press unless they've lost. Thats probably just us miserable brits hating success, especially in near neighbours, but thats how it seems to go. Teams from the other side of the world, nay, the other side of the english channel (sorry frogy bunnyman, la manche) dont get much of a say unless they are playing one of ourt lot or sniffing round some striker. Hows that compare with the other sort of 'football' you play? What's Jack's take on this?

[fat cherry]

San Jose Earthquakes

a name like that puts our humble leeds 'united' into perspective certainly. Mind you, rugby's gone a bit like that so I cant say too much. there agin, leeds rhinos vs the earthquakes. good call.

[Frank The Bunny]

is that normalised for local population - catchment area and size of stadium? Have they won anything? Though said a launch so maybe not yet. Have some foreign blokes bought it then mortgaged it t the hilt? I jest, naturally.

looks impressive but 'round here teams in the next town dont get press unless they've lost. Thats probably just us miserable brits hating success, especially in near neighbours, but thats how it seems to go. Teams from the other side of the world, nay, the other side of the english channel (sorry frogy bunnyman, la manche) dont get much of a say unless they are playing one of ourt lot or sniffing round some striker. Hows that compare with the other sort of 'football' you play? What's Jack's take on this?

Normalised? dunno what you mean, but turnout numbers are actual attendance... and we're kicking LA's ass... and they're a much larger city.

We won the Open Cup last year and this year both - a trophy in existence since 1914.
We will be in the playoffs this year, but teams like the Galaxy are tough to beat.

Ownership includes Hollywood producer Paul Roth, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and comedian Drew Carey. When approached to be a co-owner, Carey said "only if we have a marching band"... so we have a marching band. Our goalkeeper has been on the US national team twice, and has been a regular in the Premier League, Italy's league as well...

Co-owner Paul Allen also owns the Seattle Seahawks (American Football) team. They usually suck mightily. Our baseball team, the Mariners, also suck (though they're very popular in Japan) and basketball? The Storm (Women's NBA) are national champions... and our men's team moved to Oklahoma

[the ghost of guitarplayer]

Does our little soccer team get any press in your neck of the woods?

No is the answer to that.

I notice that Seattle Sounders has one former English premiership player - "goaltender" Kasey Keller. US soccer though... nothing. Obviously, there was media coverage over here when Beckham moved to LA Galaxy and briefly when Thierry Henry went to the New York Red Bulls, but "soccer" is not really of any interest to UK footie fans or the media - we/they are too busy worrying about Wayne Rooney's private life and big pound sterling wages. I bet no gooners (Arsenal fans) really give a shit about Freddie Ljungberg's career anymore, despite being considered an Arsenal legend. Nobody probably gives a shit about American players in the premiership either. Tim Howard I know of. Are there any others????

[Voodoo Billy]

Are you sure the commas in the US attendance figures aren't supposed to be decimal points?

[Frank The Bunny]

Are you sure the commas in the US attendance figures aren't supposed to be decimal points?

funny. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but it seems to me Seattle's always been a soccer town. Prior to our Major League Soccer entry, we'd had pro teams in a couple other leagues... and world cup has always drawn big crowds to local watering holes. I've been to a number of Sounders matches this season, and league matches have always drawn crowds, as have friendly matches against european teams

[Mr. Brian]

There are no riots at US soccer games. That makes us irrelevant in the eyes of the world. To be fair, sometimes parents get into fist fights at the grade school level games so there is hope.

[fat cherry]

riots? That makes sound a bit undigified. Football violence is a highly organised industry you know.

[Voodoo Billy]

Not to mention the not insignificant contribution it makes to the UK Stanley knife retail sector.

[Mr. Brian]

riots? That makes sound a bit undigified. Football violence is a highly organised industry you know.

I'm sorry for being vulgar. Is there British slang like "chippie row" or something and are nachos served?

[fat cherry]

i've no idea. pies are readily available. and some grounds have experimented with cuisine of a more sophisticated nature with mixed results. Not sure about natchos. Some are proud that football violence is conducted (we are led to believe) away from the ground so that 'civilians' aren't harmed. Not sure how true that is though. I think there is more than one film starring danny dyer on the subject. top geezer.