Sounders FC is here!

Seattle bleeds a new blue and green, as shown by the thousands of fans who packed into Quest Stadium last night to welcome the Seattle Sounders, the newest expansion team of Major League Soccer. Mark and I weren’t as lucky as those attendees, so we took ourselves to The George and the Dragon, a popular Ballard pub that usually shows British Premier League games, and was dedicating at least two of its screens to the Sounders’ home opener. We arrived a mere 30 minutes before the start of the match, and all available chairs and benches were already taken. We were lucky enough to acquire a couple of bar stools, which we parked in front of one of the main screens. Front row seats!

You would’ve thought we were actually at Quest Field by the roar of the crowd in the pub. I could barely hear myself! The mood was rewardingly optimistic, as the Sounders soundly defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-1. Here’s to a new season that we’re looking forward to supporting! We even jumped on the bandwagon and bought partial season tickets. Soon enough we’ll be joining the fans at Quest Field wearing blue and green and waving Sounders scarves!

And congratulations to our neighbors to the north and to the south, Vancouver BC and Portland, who were both awarded MLS teams! The Vancouver team name will be up for debate, but Portland's team name will remain the Portland Timbers, the same name as their USL franchise. Move over, land-locked America... the Pacific Northwest is on its way.

Photo credit by Mark Harrison of The Seattle Times