WOW....You people are amazing. I could go on and on about all of the entries I received. Beautiful tributes one and all and this contest was extremely difficult.

So much so, that I am going to save all of these to post at the end of the season on the blog, unless anyone who submitted an entry would not like his or her name attached to the essay. PLEASE LET ME KNOW if you do not want your essay and name (no contact info revealed, I swear) published on the blog.

Also, I am so impressed with what was written that I am going to choose another winner out of these entries, perhaps next week, for another prize to be determined. So keep checking back. It won't be tickets, but it will be something.

A lot of Le Toux fans. A lot of Levesque fans. A lot of Keller, Montero, Zakuani and Ljungberg fans. Even a couple of Nate Jaqua and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado fans. But I had to pick one, and this is the one that I chose.

Congratulations to Andrea Mendoza. Come on down to the paper today or early tomorrow and claim your two tickets.

"Call it Revolutionary"

I was eating breakfast one morning in August when a certain article caught my attention. While I always love reading the latest Sounders' news, this particular article concerning James Riley and his involvement with the community struck a personally sensitive chord.

Between 2008 and 2009, I spent 10 months volunteering in the Bronx. Although slightly saddened that this meant missing out on the Sounders' opening match at Qwest, the lessons I learned are some that I will take with me for life. The program I went through gave me three amazing young women as roommates and continually reiterated that community was the most important aspect of our year.

Riley is not merely my favorite player for the way he plays as part of a team on the field. Rather, it is the fact that he carries this same mindset with him everywhere that is both inspiring and humbling. As an attractive young athlete he may easily live selfishly, yet the fact that he chooses to make service an integral part of his life reveals his true character.

Riley proves that wherever life may lead, one always has the opportunity to give back. In our "me first" society, he is revolutionary.