We don't need no stinkin' Sonics!

Anyone that knows me knows that I love sports. I will try pretty much anything and can sit and watch almost everything....golf, NASCAR, beach volleyball, you name it. If there is competition involved, I'm there! Those people that know me also know that I LOVE SOCCER! Aside from a time called "college", I've played the game since I was about 5 years old. None of the twenty-some odd years I have played soccer, nor the thousands of games that I have watched prepared me for the experience I had on March 19th......the first ever Seattle Sounders FC game.

I was lucky enough to be on the presale email list the team sent out and scored two tickets for the inaugural game. I decided to take my brother to the game, knowing his love of the game rivaled mine. After procuring the required Sounders FC gear, it was on!

My brother and I decided to grab a beer or two at a local pub before gametime and it was a good value. $5/beer outside vs. $7.50 inside. It doesn't take an AIG accountant to do that math. Now that we had the prerequisites down, we were headed to the game.

The scene outside Qwest field was festive, but also borderline hyper. There was a tangible excitement to the event and we weren't even inside yet. Once we entered the stadium on the north end, we ascended the stairs that gave way to an unreal sight....soccer in Qwest field. Luckily, our stop for the brews (and my initial forgetting of the tickets at home) didn't mean we missed out on the opening ceremonies.

We finally made our way to our seats and my most unbelievable sports moment began. The opening ceremonies left a little to be desired on the field, but the crowd made up for that. I have never been to a game of any kind where everyone....and I mean EVERYONE, was decked out in the home gear. When Drew Carey told everyone to raise their Sounders scarves, it appeared as though EVERYONE had one. It was quite a site.

Before I get to the game, I must say that the sight of a yellow-clad linesman sprinting is one of the funniest things that I have seen in a long time. The guy had to run from the center circle to one end and check the net in the goal. Funny stuff!

There really isn't much to say about the game....not because nothing happened, rather my vocabulary is missing the approriate words. We (Sounders) scored fairly early and the stadium erupted. From that point on, the crowd was chanting, singing, and cheering more than I have ever witnessed at a sporting event. We scored twice more and with each goal went a little more of my voice. My brother and I were high-fiving people near us that we had never met.

As we approached full time, the energy was unbelievable. In the end, we won, but we had also shut out a team that was in the league finals the previous year. There was confetti everywhere and the sight of it falling all around was unreal.

I'm mixed as to whether I will attend another Sounders FC game. I just don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't top what is the best game ever. But then again, each game will bring back memories of that night. A night that will be remembered by all that were there. It was great to experience it with the guy I grew up playing with...and in some cases against.