62,000 and Counting!

Move over New York Cosmos, There's a new home for NFL stadium soccer: Seattle, aka soccer city!  I was at the Machester United-Sounders game in July, and that was 66,000+ attendence, but that is expected when our lovely little MLS squad gets to face one of the premier clubs in all of the world.  But 62,000+ for a regular season, non international club friendly, non international cup match, non playoff, non domestic cup match against San Jose in unheard of!  Yes, we all know it's Keller's last regular season match, but come on now, the US hasn't seen this kind of support since the days of Pele at the Meadowlands.  I have always been proud of the city of Seattle for their unquestioned faith in their home teams.  As a child who grew up with season tickets to the Seahawks, I have seen first hand how much support we can give.  Even in defeat, like game 6 of the '95 ALCS, which I was in attendence, we stood and cheered for over an hour after the last out was made.  My seats were 6 rows back from the Indians bullpen, and I will never in my lifetime forget the joy the players had as they jumped up to rush the mound in celebration.  At the same time though, I will also never forget the sheer feeling of pride that I had, as I tried to shield the tears running down my face from my Dad, as my Mariners finally ran out of gas on the wild ride we fans called "Refuse to Lose."  I have since moved away from the great state of Washington, and have only managed to attend 3 M's games, and 1 Sounders game.  The Kingdome was imploded on my birthday, which was fitting as most of my favorite memories as a child came in that building.  It's true that the Supes move didn't affect me probably as much as it would have had I still lived up there, but at the same time, I have adopted the Sounders as my own in place of the Sonics.  I love the game of football, and am proud to include myself with the world class fan base that is Emerald City Supporters.  No where in America can you witness the game with the passion of an English crowd like in Seattle.  So farewell Kasey, you will surely be missed.  A great send off for a world class footballer.