An Open Letter to the Sounders FC Front Office, Alliance Council, and Supporters Groups

I have a harder and harder time justifying my sports fandom as the years go by. In fact, the reasons to not really care about professional or big-time sports severely outweigh the reasons to care, or at least it often seems that way. I have many friends who couldn't care less and I find myself almost wishing I could join them.

A big part of sports fandom is nostalgia, at least to most of those who have a genuine passion for their teams. In many cases, it is the team they grew up pulling for, for whatever reason, and they still do so today. It is a mistake to think of nostalgia as "good memories;" it would be more accurate to understand them as powerful memories, good or bad. Watching and enjoying sports provides many of us with a plethora of these powerful emotional memories, which in turn feed the nostalgia that keeps it all coming.

The Sounders, although claiming a history back to 1974 through various iterations, are in reality a brand spanking new sports entity. Sounders FC have been fortunate to connect immediately with many supporters in the region. The chord has been struck, for a variety of reasons that have been explored at length over the last year.

What we have here and now in this city, with the Sounders and their supporters, is a unique opportunity to get things right. Sports fans and supporters are consumers of big-time and professional sports, yet they are the most abused and overlooked party in the equation. Owners, commissioners, and players have been all too willing to abuse this largely unrequited love for their own personal gain. Fans and supporters have played their part in allowing this to happen.

In the American soccer community, there is a stated resistance to repeat these old habits, and at the forefront of this movement is Sounders FC and its supporters. We have the opportunity to create a community in which the supporters matter, and the club’s entire organization listens—really listens—rather than just pretend to listen. Thanks in large part to Drew Carey’s ownership, the apparatuses have been put into place for an ownership-fan relationship unique in American sports. The Alliance Council, the active and vibrant supporters groups, and a front office that purports to want to listen to the supporters are working together to see Carey’s vision through to reality.

Like Carey, I have long envisioned the "club membership" model in American professional sports. (I would like to see public ownership, but that may be a pipe dream, so this is certainly the next best thing.) I would like to see "club members," or season ticket holders, be treated as true shareholders in the interest of the club. Again, the nominal apparatuses are in place for this to happen with the Sounders, so let's continue to make this happen! Let's not put up with the same old excuses, the tired obfuscation from alleged "businessmen" who tend to hold too much sway within sporting organizations.

I am encouraged by what I have seen in my first year as a Sounders FC supporter but I am also struck that we are only partway there. This process may take a few years. In fact, in my efforts during the inaugural season, I always had it in my head that this is all "Project 2011" giving us all 2 solid years to really get our stuff together and become one of the great sporting clubs on the planet. Coincidentally enough, 2011 will be rocking when Vancouver and Portland join in. Let's give them something the really be jealous of!

Seattle is a town of innovators and has been for an entire century. We revolutionized air travel, computers, and coffee, just to name a few. Now, let’s revolutionize sports fandom in America!

Jake Reeder

Ken Wyatt for Sounders FC Alliance Council

Ken Wyatt is gathering votes to be on the Sounders FC Alliance Council and is hoping to be the first person to represent the North End of Qwest on the council.

Ken played soccer as a youth in Yakima and has been a supporter of the sport his whole life. He is a season ticket holder with his fiancée and, early in the 2009 season, joined the leadership council of the newly formed North End Supporters. You may have seen Ken sporting his green devil horns, banging a drum in the March to the Match, and chanting at the top of his lungs in the north end of Qwest.

Season ticket holders get one vote per account. If you held season tickets in 2009, your vote from last year carries over to this season's tally, but you also get a vote for 2010!

It’s time to add a north ender to the Alliance Council. Please vote for Ken Wyatt!

Thank you!

Please cast your vote at https://eballot.votenet.com/SeattleSoccer/login.cfm.

Haiti Needs Our Help!

With the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, Sounder’s Steve Zakuani and James Riley, George & Dragon and Gorilla FC are hosting a benefit for the Port-au-Prince victims at the classic football pub located in Fremont on Saturday, January 23 from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. The earthquake has hit our neighborly nation that is already fighting economic instability and political chaos for decades. Generation Adidas star, Sounders FC midfielder and MLS 2009 1st round draft pick Steve Zakuani and defensive star James Riley, will be signing autographs and taking pictures to raise money for Haiti. There is a suggested donation of $5 for autographs and pictures with Steve and James. The Seattle Sounders FC have donated 100 8X10's of each player that will go to the first 100 $5 donations. George & Dragon will also be collecting a $5 suggested door fee. Gorilla FC will be raffling autographed Sounders FC gear, used Zakuani shoes, gift certificates and more items. Raffle tickets are $5 per ticket with all money going to Haiti. All proceeds will benefit the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. For more information on the Haiti earthquake please visit online at www.yele.org. George & Dragon will be showing the USA vs Honduras game starting at 6pm. Saturday, January 23, 20105:30 – 8:30 pmThis is a 21+ event.George & Dragon206 N. 36th StreetSeattle, WA 98103P 206.545.6864

Say Goodbye to Seba!

Our pals at ECS are throwing a nice send off for Seba at Elysian Fields at 3pm this Sat! Come show your support and share well-wishes to one of our beloved Sounders as he moves on to Philly in 2010.

Le Toux to Philadelphia

Goodbye Seba! We'll miss you and you will always be a true Sounder at heart. We can't wait to welcome you home when the Union opens the season here in Seattle.

MLS Cup Weekend Events

Please see all the fun activities planned for the MLS Summit weekend at www.sounderscouncil.com/summit. NES will be involved in the pub crawl Sat night (11/21) and will have a spaghetti dinner at Swannies starting at 2pm on Sun (11/22). Come be part of a great MLS weekend!

SSFC vs Houston Away Game Viewing Party

NES will be at The Ballard Loft this Sunday to watch our boys take on Houston in this critical playoff match.

5105 Ballard Ave. NW
Seattle, WA 98107
206-420-2737
www.ballardloft.com
(all ages welcome)