As a woman who follows soccer, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to correct Simon Borg, so when one of my friends posted a link to his blog defending Seattle’s US Soccer ticket sales, I had to comment. We can agree on one thing: it ain’t over til it’s over, and people need to see what Seattle pulls off Tuesday night before passing judgement. But that’s where it ends.
Here in Seattle, the biggest reasons I’ve heard about why people aren’t going to the game are 1. It’s a Tuesday night, and 2. The $50 ticket is too expensive. I’d like to reframe these: What else do you have going on on a Tuesday that’s more important than the first qualifier to come to Seattle since the 1970s? It’s not like you have a big weekend full of things…it’s a Tuesday, and it’s early enough you won’t even need an extra cup of coffee to get through work the next day…and if you did, it’s Seattle, I’m sure you can find one. $50 may seem like a bunch of money, but the $25 nosebleeds for Sounders are so high even I spent $32 to see the Sounders play last night, and I don’t even LIKE Seattle. In fact, I’m a Timbers fan, but I still coughed it up to see the Sounders play because if you love Soccer, you should WANT to see a game like Seattle vs Whitecaps, just because it’s the Cascadia Cup. $50 buys a supporter level ticket to US Soccer’s match, so yes, you’ll pay more, but this is your ONE CHANCE to see US Soccer play in your home city. It SHOULD be worth a little more to you. Many of us spent hundreds flying in for this match, because Panama is one of the contenders in this year’s qualifying, for $50 and an under $3.00 light rail, you can be there too, Seattle! To us out-of-towners, that’s a bargain!
Then there’s the whole club vs country thing. Why do we do this to ourselves? I know, I do it too…I dropped Chicago Fire like a hot potato when they brought in Blanco, and I hate him when he plays for Mexico. I get it. HOWEVER… I encourage you to do as I did last night: instead of looking for reasons to not go to a soccer game (club>country), find reasons to watch your country FOR your club. Brad Evans scored a thriller of a game winner just days ago in Jamaica. Do you really want to miss your hometown hero if he repeats that performance on Tuesday? A huge part of the reason I went to see the Sounders game last night was to watch Lamar Neagle, 2007-08 player for my hometown Des Moines Menace play in the big leagues. How devastated would I have been, had I opted to be a Timbers snob, and missed Neagle’s assist, PK draw, and game winning goal? Do you really want to take the chance that you’ll miss Brad Evan’s _______ Tuesday night? Watching your hometown hero live is not at all the same as sitting in front of a TV, Mr. Borg, particularly if you’re simultaneously making the argument that Seattle has one of the best soccer supporter cultures in the US.
Something like this, only in red, white, and blue, please. Thanks!
Borg writes that we need to look at what’s happening around the world. Sorry, but if we’re not trying to raise the level of soccer, then what are we doing? In a town like Seattle, (I would assume) they’d want to be able to say they do it better than anywhere else in the world. So Tuesday night, bring it, Seattle soccer fans. Turn out in droves for this match, and prove that you’re more than a Sounders city, you’re a soccer city. Let’s sell this sucker out! C’mon US!!
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Soccer....Family Style 
Amen to all of this! I hate how Borg is constantly making excuses for Seattle. The Northwest is one of the BIGGEST soccer areas in our countries. If they can’t pull off big numbers for an anticipated World Cup qualifier, that says a lot about our soccer culture. I think the excuses are weak; man up Seattle! One of the biggest soccer cities in our nation should be showing the others how it’s done!
Comment by Trista Lutgring June 10, 2013 @ 2:42 pmYou are completely right about all of this. I hate how Borg defends the lack of numbers in Seattle. Are you kidding me? The northwest is the biggest soccer area in our country right now. I don’t care what the excuses are; if we want to continue to grow our culture, games like this need to be played to packed houses. Borg wants to talk ticket prices and Tuesday nights. Barf. I dropped $50 on ticket for a Sunday game in DC, plus airfare, car rental and hotel. Why? Well, it was the closest game to me this year so far but more importantly, it’s our boys! Was it worth it? Hell yes!
Comment by Trista Lutgring June 10, 2013 @ 2:54 pmYour point about Evans playing in the home crowd is by far the best argument against Borg. I can’t believe Seattle wouldn’t want to pack that place for Brad, especially after this call up and ESPECIALLY after Friday’s game. He’s been boss for the team during this camp.
Bottom line, in the grand scheme of soccer cities in the US, I think Seattle is one of the big boys. Not to hate on the Seattle fan base, because I think it’s one of the greatest in the US. But they should be showing everyone else how a soccer city comes out to support the national team. They should set the mark high for everyone else.
Reblogged this on Artistic Anarchy.
Comment by johndsykes86 June 10, 2013 @ 11:50 pm