A club arrives, and a star is born

Talk about making an entrance.

Before a jam-packed park and a national audience, the Seattle Sounders announced their arrival with a band of resounding trumpets and horns, as they simply outshined Red Bull New York to the tune of 3-0.

A result that only the bravest of optimists could have forecasted, the Sounders growing pains last approximately twelve minutes.

Although New Yok initially took the role of aggressor, the home club wasted little time wetting its feel. After a fight for the ball at the top of the area, Sebastien Le Teoux deferred to a forgotten Fredy Montero on the right. The Colombian, calm as ever, took the feed and promptly snuck a shot under the grasp of Danny Cepero for the opening salvo.

It was a preview of coming attractions. For much of the night, the Sounders played above their expansion status. Brad Evans victimized Cepero with a resourceful nutmeg that squeeked though for the second goal of the match, giving Seattle an astounding two-goal lead in the first half.

Goalscoring was only a part of the story. For much of the match, the men in green displayed the acumen of an experienced, battle-tested side.

And the man responsible for that was none other than Sigi Schmid, the very manager who's led two separate clubs to postseason spoils. There was little doubt that the quality of the product on the pitch was due to the Schmid's reputation as a master of preparation.

Though New York barrelled though the Seattle backs on a pair of occasions after the hour, Kasey Keller, the local hero, showed rose to the occasion when needed.

The Red Bull pressure turned out to be a brief hiccup. The Sounders quickly rediscovered their form after Montero, the man of the match, pilfered the ball in the middle, aced toward goal, cooly finished cooly stroked it into the twine for the brace.

For the Seattle faithful, it was an unforgettable night. A comprehensive victory over a defending conference champion, and the birth of MLS's newest star, provided Sounders supporters with a night they'll never forget.

Sleepless in Seattle

You remember that movie Sleepless in Seattle? I kind of do, but only vaguely because I was 11 when it came out on VHS* and was bribed into watching it at my parents' friends' house while they ate dinner at the "Adult Table."

(*VHS...now THAT makes me feel old.)

Now mind you, I was still a couple years from adolescence, which is about the time I started developing an appreciation for the chick flick. So no, I didn't care whether Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks got together or not.

Wait a minute. Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah, so anyway, I think of that movie everytime I hear about Thursday's First Kick matchup at Qwest Field. Which is to say I now have bits and pieces of that movie floating in my mind on a regular basis. It's like mental self-mutilation now that I think about it.

Although I have no connections whatsoever to the city of Seattle, other than my new Facebook friend buddy Dave Clark's from there, I am definitely psyched/pumped/jacked/borderline unstable for it. In fact, I contemplated posting this entirely in CAPS, with lots of !!!!'s, :)'s, :-0's, :-D's, and other crazy emoticons and incoherent symbols. Lucky for you, I'm took the liberty of writing this post with fresh Xanax coursing through my blood.

When we talk about expansion, we often try to gauge how worthy a market. It's often done using such sensible pieces of data like public funding, ownership structure, long-term projections, and the attendance figures from those crazy soccer parties/pep rallies where a bunch of club-less fans all get together and cheer and scream and shout and push all for the possibility of earning an MLS club in their neck of the woods. And that's cool. I don't belittle that kind of stuff. I'm not a hater. I'd do the same. I mean, if I had to.

But that's latter criteria is just a party. How do we know that level of enthusiasm will translate to season tickets, sold out crowds and neon green kits? We don't. We just don't. We have forecast of what may happen based on how deserving a market is for professional soccer. And it helps, yeah. But it's nothing close to certain. Which is why Seattle's successful bid was such a masterstroke for everyone involved - because it seemed like an absolute certainty that Seattle would embrace top-flight soccer.

But is it surprising? Was it surprising that Seattle wooed MLS to it's corner of the country? Not really. What's amazing is that it took this long. I mean, just look at Seattle's history with soccer.

The NASL Sounders often drew close to 25,000 back in the day, even without a Pele, Beckenbauer or Cruyff to brag about. They had a pretty good team that even went toe-to-toe with the Cosmos and their aforementioned stars during the 1977 Soccer Bowl. Even after the NASL club folded, attempts to revive it always remained. The club, not the NASL, although if it took reviving the NASL to bring back the Sounders, I'm sure Seattle would have found a way.

Although my history may not be precise, I believe there were other incarnations in the 80s and early 90s before Wikipedia acknowledges that the USL version started up in 1994. Even though there were different owners, players and coaches, the Sounders name pretty much remained.

And it's the power of that name that I think just sets the table for everything else. When Seattle was finally granted a franchise, it HAD to be the Sounders. It wasn't even a question. It's the tie that binds the rich past, exciting present, and promising future of soccer in Seattle.

The volume of kids and adults, men and women all rallying feverishly behind a soccer club in the United States is a momentous step forward for MLS, and for U.S. Soccer. The club has seduced more than 20,000 into season tickets, and many thousands more to single-matches. And MLS has responded, not only awarding Starbucksland it's 2009 premiere showcase, but the MLS Cup Championship match as well.

And you know what? It's deserved for everyone. The fans, the players, the front office, the League, but not necessarily Meg Ryan. Or Tom Hanks. Poseurs.

A look at Seattle's slew

I feel kind of sorry for the Seattle Sounders.

I know, I know. They've sold like 8,456,981 season tickets already. They signed one of the best American goalkeepers in Kasey Keller over the summer. For sex appeal, and maybe a few goals, they brought in Freddie Ljungberg. The Price is Right pimp/Whose Line? attention whore/comedian Drew Carey is a minority owner.

Okay, so maybe I don't feel that badly for them.

But I did cringe a bit when viewed their expansion selections. I know that each club's unprotected lists has about as much collective talent as a dead ferret, so the Sounders' potential pickings were pretty slim.

I mean Jeff Parke? Really? Maybe a memo was mishandled, but the Sounders knew that he was suspended for taking performance enhancers. Right? And even if you bought the whole "I didn't know what was in them" defense, why would a club want to welcome the kind of negative attention Parke will surely bring with him when his suspension expires next spring?*

(*I'm stopping the tangent right there. I could go on. I WANT to go on. No. Deep breath. Must...fight...the...urge..!)

Anyway, those silly Sounders also picked up former Revolution M/D James Riley. I'm not criticisizing the selection, but rather, must make mention of it because this is the second consecutive expansion draft that Riley's been picked. Doesn't anybody want James Riley?

Among the other notables is former Toronto forward Jarrod Smith, who had the uncanny distinction of scoring in his MLS debut earlier this year, then closing the account immediately thereafter. Way to keep that "potential" tag hanging over your head, Jarrod!

Of course, the selections weren't all of the dubious nature. The addition of veteran Peter Vagenas was a shrewd selection. Given his adept play in L.A.'s central midfield for the past nine seasons, he'll likely be called to steer the ship in Seattle. Plus, he's won a pair of championships (in 2002 and 2005), which only furthers his resume on what will likely be a fairly young club.

The addition of Nate Jacqua is intriguing. Okay, maybe not Twilight* intrigiuing, but, you know...intriguing. The recent MLS vagabond has scored goals wherever he's gone. Should he remain with the Sounders for - gasp! - an MLS entire season, he'll likely give them solid play at striker. Plus, he and Vagenas were briefly teammates in early-2007. This will, on paper, aid the Sounders on the attack early on. Should this translate to the FieldTurf at Qwest Field, the Sounders may look pretty good before we know it.

(*Am I like one of maybe seven people who haven't either seen the movie, read the book, or know what the heck it's about? Whatever the exact number is, I just know I'm in the minority. All I know is that it's about vampires. But that's it. I attribute this deficit of pop culture knowledge to a perpetual cycle of homework. That, and I'm FINALLY finishing off "The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer" - a book I actually planned to finish before the summer. Yeah, not so much. I'm on page 781...of 992.)

I admit. The selections aren't all bad. I suppose they made due with the resources available to them.

Of course, some of the players picked may not make it beyond the winter. Some may find themselves traded away for SuperDraft selections. Others may simply know the role of preseason fodder, take the training per diem, then carry on to another club before the start of the season.

But on the whole, the truth of the matter is that Sounders now have a roster, however small, to tinker with. And right now, that's alot better than what they had last Tuesday.

***

Because this is only the second time I've mentioned the Sounders, I think it's best to also speak on how DOPE BOY FRESH those neon green kits are. Neon green. In MLS. They must have also missed the memo that all MLS teams shall wear either blue, dark blue, and/or red.

For the past two years, I've wondered aloud why more teams don't break the red and blue mold and go for a more unique scheme. The pre-Beckham Galaxy had a great combo of forest green and gold. The Rapids have a nice purple and gray strip. Real Salt Lake has infused gold into their otherwise drab blue and red scheme.

I hope that the shock of neon green carries over to future expansion clubs. Because I swear if Philadelphia comes out in bland navy or red (or both) come 2010, I will be forced to wish myself permanently colorblind.

Do the right thing, Philly. Don't make me a casualty.

Goodbye, Krazy Khano - Smith heads to Starbucks Central

Of the dozens of Revolution players I've watched over the years, Khano Smith has been the one of the most entertaining. Whenever Krazy Khano was on the pitch, he made his mark. For reasons good, bad, and sometimes downright hysterical.

First, the good. There were times when the tall Bermudan would race down the left like a thoroughbred, knocking over defenders and innocent teammates alike when cutting inside. He'd a whip a hard shot right on goal once every thirty times, or something like that. And when he was accurate - the oooooh's spewed out in tidal waves. It was a glimmer of what Steve Nicol hoped for when he originally scouted the lanky left mid during a preseason trip to the island nearly years ago.

But for all the promise he showed, there was the bad. For stretches longer than Amy Winehouse's rehab stints, he looked confused. Awkward. Like a man-child playing a game of kickabout for the first time. The crosses ended up in the stands. Shots landed somewhere in Attleboro or Norton, depending upon which end of the pitch the club was attacking. He was solved by a salient Los Angeles defense. Defenders half his size poached the ball away from him like Winona Ryder. And for all his efforts, you wished that the poor guy, who often looked like a giant kid lost at Six Flags, could just figure it out. He was Britney Spears-inconsistent.*

(*Has there been a more inconistent 365 days than Brit's? Wasn't it like earlier this year that she appeared to have a one-way ticket to the trailer park on the Bayou? Cigarette in one hand, a toddler in the other. Then, this video for "Womanizer" comes out, and she's hot again. Seriously Brit...WTF?)

Then, of course, there was the comedy of errors that often trailed the man whom I eventually came to call Krazy Khano. Who could forget that loopy free kick he took against Kansas City back in May 2007? I think he channeled Adam Vinatieri circa 2001 and booted a ball that reportedly clipped the tail rudder of a passing commercial flight.* Seriously. I think three home matches passed before that ball crashed down to earth.

(*Sadly, the video of this ROTFLOL moment was removed by YouTube shortly after the match.)

Lastly, there's a play that, in my mind, best sums up Khano's tenure in Foxboro. It was a late-September match vs. FC Dallas. The Revs, already up 3-2 late, penetrated the Dallas end, when, like blur, Khano came through and rifled a shot past Dario Sala. Caught up in the heat of celebration, he jumped the endline signage and nearly took out a warming-up Jay Heaps before leaping into the Fort. It was classic Khano in a ten-second nutshell.*

(*That match also happened to be one of his best matches in navy and red. Not only did he score the insurance goal, but suddenly seemed to morph into Steve Ralston with a PAIR of assists on Pat Noonan goals earlier.)

Despite the valleys and peaks, Khano Smith must be appreciated for the player he was: a playfully unpredictable performer who occasionally teased you with glimpses of his full potential.