If you have been living under a rock for the past month you might not have heard about the Sounders FC: Seattle's UNDEFEATED professional soccer team. Last Saturday, the Sounders became 2-0 with a win over Real Salt Lake (watch the highlights here). They continue their campaign this Saturday in Toronto. Since you are most likely not traveling there, you can watch the game on Fox Soccer Channel at 1:00 PM pacific time.
I strongly recommend that anyone who has yet to attend a game do so in the near future. The MLS isn't considered the highest competition in the world and takes a lot of criticism from soccer fans from all over the world, even stateside. People tend to forget that the league is young (16 years old) while top flight leagues such as the Spanish La Liga and English Football League have been around since 1929 and 1888 respectively (note: the English Premier League was created in 1992 and consisted of the top 22 teams from the Football League).
It takes time to build a competitive sports league yet the Sounders are proving that it is possible for the MLS to compete with both the NBA and NFL by selling out season tickets and consecutive home games, not to mention the excitement and buzz they have created here in Seattle. In 2011, two expansion teams will be added in Portland and Vancouver, BC. This will allow fans to travel to away games to support their teams and it will also reignite the rivalries from the USL days.
This could be the beginning of a very bright future for not only Seattle and its Sounders, but the MLS and soccer as a whole in the United States. Don't you want to be able to tell people in 20 or 30 years that you were in the stands to watch the arrival of the beautiful game up close and personal? I know I do.
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