How Sounders FC turned 2009 into Seattle soccer celebration

From that first fan parade, led by part-owner Drew Carey, through Occidental Square and into Qwest Field, the new team in town, Sounders FC, made its fans feel as if they were part of the show.

From that first game against the Red Bulls of New York, when nobody was quite sure what this team would look like, Sounders FC gave the city a sense of ownership.

They turned every home game into a celebration of the sport. The parade, complete with drums and chants and impromptu dancing became a staple of every pregame.

Sounders FC stayed away from the canned, electronic cheerleading that has become the tasteless model for all stadiums and arenas, and created a genuine, European atmosphere inside Qwest.

They let the fans initiate the cheers. And, if some of those cheers were a little bit off-color, well, that's part of the flavor of the game. This is sports, after all, not opera.

The truth is, Sounders FC became much more of a family-friendly sport than the NFL ever could be. And Qwest Field was loud and electric every time the team took the field.

As a lifelong soccer fan, I've waited for a season like this, when quality soccer would become a part of Seattle's sports culture.

Think about it. Already this year FC Barcelona and Chelsea have played here. Soccer fans have been able to watch Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Michael Ballack, Landon Donovan and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

With the L.A. Galaxy still alive in the playoffs, there is an excellent possibility that David Beckham could play his second game at Qwest in the MLS Cup later this month. Imagine a Galaxy final against the Chicago Fire — Beckham against Blanco.

A group of people who cared about soccer — from owner Joe Roth and coach Sigi Schmid, to Adrian Hanauer, Tod Leiweke to Gary Wright — made this possible. This group gave Seattle's soccer fans the kind of team and experience they wanted.

The Sounders made the community a part of the team, by listening to what the fans had to say. In the beginning, the league and the franchise were adamantly opposed to calling this team the Sounders, even though that had been the name of both the North American Soccer League and United Soccer League franchises. The league wanted a fresh start.

But in a vote to name the team, "Sounders" won in a landslide and the history of soccer in this city seamlessly was maintained.

This is a great soccer town. Truth is, it should have had an MLS team years before this. The soccer pubs regularly are crowded for English Premiership, World Cup qualifying and Champions League games.

People here understand the game and the Sounders understand that.

From that first parade in March, from that first goal by Fredy Montero and that overwhelming 3-0 opening-night win over the Red Bulls, the Sounders touched something in the soul of many Seattle sports fans.

They helped fill the void left by the Sonics' clumsy exit to Oklahoma City. But more than filling a void, they created something new, something lasting.

This franchise isn't a meteor. It isn't some short-term phenomenon that eventually will become more fizzle than sizzle. In one season, Sounders FC has become a part of the big league landscape of this region.

This season the franchise sold 22,000 season tickets. Already more than 90 percent of those ticket holders have renewed for next season. There is a waiting list of 8,300 and a legitimate expectation that the Sounders will sell 30,000 season tickets next season.

On the field, it was an expansion team that rarely played like one.

Schmid likes to say that the Sounders "checked all the boxes" when they put together both the franchise and the playing roster. They chose wisely from the expansion draft. They found players with specific skill sets they believed could blend together.

In their first season, they made the playoffs, something an MLS franchise hasn't done since Chicago won it all in 1998. The league, however, was much different then. It was younger and the talent level wasn't nearly as deep as it is now.

The Sounders were willing to spend money on high-profile international players, midfielder Freddie Ljungberg from Arsenal and keeper Kasey Keller, a hometown favorite.

Not only were those players great stories all season, they were the anchors of this new franchise that won the U.S. Open Cup, the franchise's first trophy.

In the end, only a few more goals kept this season from continuing. The Sounders couldn't score in 210 minutes in the playoffs against Houston. Not including its two friendlies with Chelsea and Barcelona, it was shut out six times at home.

Montero faded the last half of the season, and this young franchise couldn't find enough finishers. It didn't have a Blanco, or a Donovan or a Brian Ching from Houston.

Wait 'till next year.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com