As we head into the Leagues Cup on the heels of an uninspiring run of form in MLS, maybe we should look back to the best of times?
What are your all-time favorite Sounders moments?
One of mine is from 2015: the Sounders complete a comeback win against CD Olimpia in CCL at CenturyLink after a Brad Evans 90+7 PK (video). Sounders were losing in the 90th minute 1-0 after a goal by Alberth Elis in the 5th minute for the visitors. We had the run of play for the rest of the match - possession, chances, but nothing was finding the back of the net. The Concacaf shithousery started infuriatingly early, with time wasting, fake injuries, etc. from maybe the 60th minute on.
Then, Friberg scored the equalizer in the 90th minute on an unmarked back post header, and the 4th official put up a massive number for stoppage time. You could sense in the building that maybe, this time, the soccer gods were going to mete out justice for the time wasting, giving us enough time to snatch the win.
Then, in the 90+5’, Dylan Remick got taken out at the top corner of the box in a clear penalty. The shenanigans continued as the Olimpia players surrounded the ref, blocked Brad from setting up the penalty, and tried to get in his head. When the players were finally cleared, up stepped The Man Who Never Missed – and he slotted it calmly home, sending the keeper the wrong way. In the celebration, Brad ran towards the keeper and shouted some choice words, drawing a shove and setting off a fracas. Aside from the CCL and MLS cup finals, the roar when he converted the penalty was one of the loudest I’ve heard at CenturyLink/Lumen.
I think that this resonates with me because we had just started attending matches a year or so previously, and it was one of the first big minutes that I got to see live (after the supporters shield clinching game against LAG). It also showed off that resilience / fight and that little bit of an edge / attitude that has defined the Sounders for so long (and maybe seems to have been missing of late).
What are yours?
Nothing basic about that! I remember that we were watching the 2016 MLS Cup at a friend’s house before we were all supposed to go to a Christmas party. When Roman stepped up to take the spot kick, I remember that the camera had inexplicably cut away and then cut back after he had already started his run up, to show the ball heading towards the back of the net. It was almost surreal because it took away the usual few seconds of anticipation from the runup - it was somehow briefly hard to believe that it happened and it was over. There was a pause while everybody tried to process what had happened and then we went nuts. We were celebrating all night, while the other people at the Christmas party were looking at us like we were crazy (they were expecting a more sedate get together, not a post-championship celebration).