Nights like this show soccer can work here

Sixty-four minutes into this game, they gave us a taste of the greatness of the sport.

Diving to his left, D.C. United keeper Troy Perkins made an indescribable stop of Brazilian international Roberto Carlos' lasered free kick.

And in the frenetic next seconds, Ben Olsen cleared the ball off the line. And Real Madrid's Emerson hit the cross bar and the crowd roared as if Matt Hasselbeck had just found Bobby Engram alone in the end zone.

Qwest Field was electric and full Wednesday night, and the Seahawks were 270 miles away. The NFL season still was a month away, yet there were 66,830 people in the stands.

Real Madrid was playing D.C. United in an exhibition soccer match, yeah soccer, and the building was rocking as if this were another wondrous Sunday night in January.

In the second half, D.C.'s Christian Gomez rocketed a free kick that Sergio Ramos deftly headed out of danger. And Madrid kept sailing dangerous crosses at Perkins and he kept snagging them the way Joe Jurevicius snagged balls last fall.

United's midfielder Freddy Adu challenged Carlos, once, twice, over and over again as soccer's future greatness went after its present.

D.C. United tied Real Madrid 1-1 and it was a magical night. The kind of optimistic evening that makes you think soccer has a future in this country.

"This just tells you it can work," said Adu. "[Fans] came because Real Madrid is Real Madrid. They have the world class players. They have the product, the people, and everybody wants to see that. When we have that and really when we start taking advantage of that, this sport is going to be awesome."

In the 22nd minute, Madrid's Antonio Cassano got behind United's defender Bryan Namoff, took Carlos' through ball and blasted it from inside the 18-yard box, near-post, past Perkins.

Three minutes later, United came back on a beautiful one-touch pass from Jaime Moreno to Alecko Eskandarian for the game-tying goal.

This was a game that didn't feel like an exhibition match. A game that didn't disappoint. D.C. United, the best team in the MLS, and Real Madrid, one of the most-storied franchises in the world, played as if this meant something.

Both teams played wide-open, entertaining soccer. The night was ripe with chances. United, in the middle of its season, gave as well as it got from Real Madrid, which still is training for the new season.

"Soccer is getting better," United forward Moreno said. "We're going in the right direction. We wanted to show all these people, they came tonight, and we really have good teams in America. We just need their support.

"I know what kind of players we have. This was one of those games where it is probably not so important for [Real Madrid], but for us, the way we play I think was very important. It gives us more motivation."

It was a well-played game in front of a crowd that was hungry to watch it.

"This sport in America can and is working at the moment," said Adu. "We are making it work. I think it's up to the players. We're all trying to play a part in this. We're all trying to make this sport work in America."

Give Americans quality and they will come.

D.C. United is averaging more than 20,000 per home game.

Two games on Wednesday night, one in Houston with F.C. Barcelona and this one with Real Madrid, drew some 140,000 people on a midweek night in the middle of summer.

"I think the only way for it to work is to put the best product on the field," Adu said. "At the end of the day, it's about having that product on the field. When the game is entertaining, people go to watch. I think our young talent right now, I mean, the players are so much better now than they were five, six years ago, that the league's getting better.

"Right now most of our stadiums are 20-25,000-seaters. They're perfect for soccer. But you know, when time goes on, I can see stadiums getting bigger and bigger, and there's going to be more people going to games."

It doesn't have to be Real Madrid superstar David Beckham and Adu every night.

It doesn't have to be Real Madrid or F.C. Barcelona. But a night this good allows a soccer fan to dream.

"I think the fans are always very excited to watch in America, and I think that showed tonight," Beckham said as he walked briskly to the bus. "They like to see good soccer and that showed tonight. They were incredible. I think they deserved this."

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists