LISA GANGEL’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF 2009
The KING 5 sports reporter and maven of Sounders pregame analysis rolls her personal highlights package from the club’s inaugural season.
1. A Rave Green wave of support
Who didn’t get chills at the sight of 32,000 soccer crazies raising their Sounders scarves before the team’s first match last March? “Their passion for this game and this team was so raw and natural, I was like, ‘Where is this coming from?’ ” Gangel says.
2. The late-game surge at Starfire
Relegated to Tukwila’s tiny sports complex and trailing 1-0 in its U.S. Open Cup semifinal match against Houston, the club kicked things into gear in the 89th minute for a last-second comeback. “And what’s crazy is that the 5,000 fans who were there almost put together as much energy as you’ll find at Qwest Field.”
3. The friendly clinics in ass-kickery
Gangel didn’t enjoy watching European heavyweights FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC whip up on the Sounders in exhibition matches, but she couldn’t deny that the foreigners had skills. “It just seemed like they always knew, two steps ahead, where they were going to go.”
4. Bombshells from the Beltway
After Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer questioned the legitimacy of the bid process that awarded DC United hosting duties for the U.S. Open Cup final, DC president Kevin Payne got pouty and thumbed his nose at Seattle and its fans in a full-page ad in the Washington Post. “He was like the scorned little brother,” Gangel says of Payne with a laugh. “ ‘You’re not as cool as you think you are. We’re cool, too!’ ”
SCARFIN’ IT UP
The first round is always on Jeff McIntyre and Erin O’Brien. Wise to the good will–generating power of free beer, the founders of SoDo-based RUFFNECK WEAR started stitching together a nationwide following for their soccer scarves in 2007 by dropping into fútbol-friendly bars across the country, buying PBRs for the regulars, and giving away their product. McIntyre had learned the scarf’s significance to soccer crazies from watching fans of Liverpool FC loft the cloth banners over their heads to salute their club. And he knew that the only thing those fans liked more than their scarves was booze. “We’ve got quite the reputation around MLS and USL and even some small college towns,” McIntyre says.
Teetotaling cynics might call that buying brand loyalty, but it worked. In late 2008, Adidas—which had the domestic soccer scarf market sewn up but needed a smaller, more nimble partner for one-off projects—caught a whiff of the suds-soaked Ruffneck buzz and asked McIntyre and O’Brien to whip up 23,000 special edition scarves for 2009 Sounders FC season ticket holders. (They’re producing another one for the Sounders’ first match of 2010, on March 25, but as of press time, the design was still under wraps.) And despite a dustup with the Sound-ers front office last summer—Ruffneck gave supporters blue-and-green scarves emblazoned with the popular soccer chant “Let’s Go Fucking Mental”—the Seattle upstarts inked a deal with Major League Soccer last November to produce licensed pieces for every team in the league. “We’re not hooligans, but we’re edgy,” McIntyre says. “And we do things that most other companies won’t do.”
Not bad for a pair of former Microsoft sales guys who admit they knew nothing about selling scarves before going out on their own. “Yeah, we’re businessmen, but I also DVR every single soccer game that’s on TV,” McIntyre says. “We’re just a couple of fun-loving guys who love the game.”
Published: March 2010
Great job on the article. For once, it feels like someone actually gets what we’re about. You described the supporter culture perfectly. Only thing you left out was the difference between fans and supporters.
Anyone can call themself a fan, only a few can call themselves supporters.
Great article! @Lukasz, they just substituted “Hardcore Fan” for supporter but meant essentially the same thing. Also, they forgot to mention the South Sound Supporters & Doyle’s Public House. Sounders til I die. :D
march 11th, at qwest, the hated portland timbers are in town for a preseason match! tickets are only 10 bucks. a perfect chance for those curious about the sounders to check them out. so be there and be LOUD and send those pissy little meth-heads from portscum back down i-5 south with their tails between their legs!!!!!!!!!
For the North Enders there is the All Nations Soccer Bar 130th & Aurora.
Bets place to catch the games is on the big screens at SPORT Restaurant & Bar at 4th Avenue No. (by Seattle Center). Great food & drinks and devoted fans…