This is a picture kindly sent to me by Loretta Pirozzi of the Sounders mailing list (join the list here!).
Left to right, we have: Ron Stickney, James Geluso, Loretta, Alan Whitney and Roberto Alvarez.
Of the photograph, Ron Stickney explained:"The five of us flew to Denver, Colorado for a double header. The opening match was a friendly, USA national team vs. Derby County Rams. Derby had the 1-0 halftime lead, but USA came back in the second half to win 2-1. The second match was a US Open Cup match, Colorado Rapids (MLS) vs. our Seattle Sounders. Colorado won 1-0 from a 40-yard rocket that squeezed tightly between the goalkeeper's fingertips, the crossbar and the right post.
The picture is from the "tailgate" party in the parking lot in advance of the matches. An impressive spread of food was laid out and we brought our own favorite beverages. Sam's Army is a supporters group for the USA national teams. Sam's Army traditionally wears red.
DID YOU KNOW
In December 1973, the club had a "Name the Team" contest. Six finalists were announced on 13 January 1974. These were: Cascades, Evergreens, Mariners (now pro baseball), Schooners, Sockeyes and Sounders. These were selected from over 300 different suggestions. In the finals, in which 3,735 soccer followers cast their ballots, 32% selected "Sounders" as Seattle's new NASL entry.
LOCATION HISTORY OF THE SOUNDERS
1974-75 Memorial Stadium (Seattle)
1976-83 Kingdome
(The Kingdome was imploded in a cloud of dust on Sunday March 26th 2000. Remnants of the stadium were later auctioned off - including the concrete!! This (you must click!) is meant to be a film (mpeg 6MB) of the implosion - but it's not! Although I suppose you can see the cracking - and it was the last shots of the Dome.)
1984-93 Did not play. (Why not?)
1994 Memorial Stadium, Tacoma Dome
1995-98 Memorial Stadium
1999 Renton Memorial Stadium
2000 Memorial Stadium (Seattle)
Renton Memorial Stadium is owned by Renton School District and a lease has been agreed for two years, with an option for a third year in 2001. Renton School District spent 2.5 million dollars to renovate the stadium in 1998. Improvements include a new artificial surface. The capacity is approximately 6,500.
2003? A new stadium is being built.
It's a FIFA-size, real grass, 72,000 seat stadium, being built for the NFL Seattle Seahawks. Sounders have been promised they can use it when the Seahawks aren't!
(Note: The first all-soccer stadium in the US was opened
in Columbus, Ohio in May '99 (Columbus Crew))
Seattle Memorial Stadium
(ahem, during a concert, not a Sounder's match
- it's the only pic I could find!)
Two big "yucks" regarding the stadium though. The soccer players have to play on American Football markings, which is very offputting and confusing. Worse then this though is the fact that music is played over the PA throughout the game! That is just awful - but normal in the US I gather.
EXCITING NEWS! Plans to build a GRASS stadium for the Sounders have been unveiled. Looka HERE!
The Sounder fans call themselves "the Pod" (as in "a group of whales or more generically a group of like-minded folks (eg: two peas in a ...) - thanks Loretta!)"
Mission Statement
To instigate organized cheering at Sounder matches.
"In the spirit of Sam's Army, we want people who will stand and sing at the matches, show their colors, bring flags, horns, drums, etc. Fans that will truly give the Sounders home field advantage. Ideally our antics will be contagious and energize the rest of the crowd. We want to make the Sounders matches as fun as possible for everyone.
Our most immediate job is to spread the news about the club. That means non-internet soccer fans."
 | Sammy the mascot is a whale! Children aged 4-14 can join the Sammy's Kickin' Kids Club. I've already asked this to a couple of people, but nobody has been able (willing) to answer me: How does Sammy walk?? However, I liked the story I heard about the "family friendly" members of the crowd objecting to the Pod's directing "show us your blow-hole" at Sammy! The thing is, the kids probably hear this in a purely innocent way; it's their parents who have the problem with their minds! |
Loretta:
Yes he's got legs/feet - and the shoes are new, just a few weeks. A few years back we had a more realistic looking orca suit on the mascot but it was changed to this mutant form of fish/mammal that resembles a whale only slightly and mostly from his markings and dorsal fin. However, the dorsal fin is definitely not masculine - so, although we strongly suspect that Sammy is a "he" underneath it all, we know that on the surface she's very female.
Ahem!