After the Sounders were thoroughly outplayed in the first half Sunday, yet dodged and ducked to a scoreless draw, general manager Garth Lagerway looked over at his boss. Club owner Adrian Hanauer, a kid from Mercer Island who came to wealth and then to Major League Soccer with a passion to create a team with a global brand in a global sport, was tighter than yoga pants on Santa.
“I saw it in his face,” he said. “You walk into this stadium and see all these people, especially for Adrian and (coach Brian Schmetzer), who are Seattle lifers . . . you blow this in front of everybody you grew up with?”
Fortunately for the health of Hanauer, Schmetzer and 69,247 fans, the largest, loudest, lustiest sports crowd in CenturyLink Field’s history, matters turned in the second half. Second-half goals by Kevin Leerdam and Victor Rodriguez, the first a re-direction off a defender and the second a laser from a substitute, gobsmacked Toronto FC.
The release of tension quickly turned into an exultation of success, the 3-1 triumph securing the Sounders not only as 2019 MLS Cup champions but as a player on the world scene after three Cup appearances in four years and a second title.
Once the fireworks, confetti and trophy walkabouts by players in front of delirious fans, who saw no reason not to linger for the party on a rainless November afternoon, finally abated, I caught up with Hanauer, walking alone in the stadium hallway between locker rooms silent and celebratory.
I asked him to describe this pinnacle moment for a kid who attended his first game as an eight-year-old and never gave up on a sport that many Americans had derided.
“After the second goal (71 minutes), I checked on the time left,” Hanauer said, grinning. “I felt peace.”
For the longest-tenured owner in Seattle pro sports, especially one who over he last year talked a group of 13 wealthy families that included Russell Wilson and Macklemore into buying out the shares of Hollywood producer Joe Roth, the absence of tension was more profound than joy.
“After the game, he says to me, ‘Can you believe we did this?’ It was a relief,” said Lagerway, whom Hanauer hired four years ago. “You know Adrian. He worries about everything, he anticipates everything, he looks around every corner. He’s a guy always thinking about his next move.”
The relentless drive has helped produced the winningest team in MLS during Seattle’s 11-year tenure, which has included playoffs each season, an ongoing league record. This season, the Sounders lost only twice in their final 12 contests, a run that included four in the playoffs: 4-3 over Dallas, 2-0 over Real Salt Lake and 3-1 on the road against Los Angeles FC, then the championship Sunday.
All three Cup appearances were against the Reds, the previous two in Toronto. Seattle now has won two, this one in a venue more spectacular than BMO Field, a tidy, 25,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium. The large stage and deeply passionate Seattle fans made an impression.
Lagerwey recalled a pre-game conversation with a senior MLS executive: “He said Seattle was the most authentic, loudest place they’ve seen. From a third party, that says something.”
Sounders technical director Chris Henderson is another Seattle lifer, from Cascade High School in Everett. In the beer- and champagne-soaked locker room after the game, he talked about the power of the moment after decades of helping to grow the game on a community level as well as professional.
“There were times during the game when I looked up and was thinking, ‘This is my hometown!'” he said. “I got goosebumps looking at a completely full stadium where everyone’s having a blast. This was the time for our club to show the city, show the world, who we are.”
Everyone understands soccer is not yet on the level with the longer-tenured American pro sports, although exactly zero evidence for that claim was visible Sunday. The idea is to be patient and look beyond the U.S. borders.
“We can be a global club that strives for excellence every single year,” he said. “Lots of people take great pride in building this club over the years. Adrian’s strength was to be able to connect the Sounders of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and today, to who we are as a club. People know we want to win championships.
“The league has moved leaps and bounds from where we were in 2009. I think today was one of those moments where everyone in the soccer world knows the Sounders are one of the top teams ever in this league.”
For recruitable European, Latin American and Asian players who pay attention to American soccer, they know the Seattle Sounders. Because they are winners. They can win a championship game despite possessing the ball just 35 percent of the time.
Watching the game from the pressbox was Alan Hinton, Sounders coach from 1980-82 who’s since earned his stripes as a Seattle lifer, staying close to the club in his retirement.
“It’s a beautiful story,” he said. “The big deal is (the win) happened here, more beautiful because Brian Schmetzer is a local boy. How many local boys coach their team to the top in professional soccer? Very rare.
“We’re hosting the tournament final for 69,000 and could have sold 100,000 at high prices. By far, this is the best moment ever for soccer here. By a mile.”
Hanauer, at peace, can relax, knowing he hasn’t let his homies down. Then?
“Back to work tomorrow,” he said.
He meant it. Global players don’t stop.
12 Comments
Two things–
1. Was Pepe Fernandez there?
2. What is a technical director?
No.
Google is your friend.
That’s the thing about soccer: You can boss possession time and shots on goal but not convert, then the other team scores on a lucky break, and that’s the game. Toronto had this match under their thumb, but Leerdam’s shot (which looked more like a cross) caroms crazily off Morrow, and the stunned Reds — which protested that the goal should’ve been overturned due to an earlier foul by Roldan — just never recovered.
Last week you said that the 2013 NFC final between the Hawks and the Niners was the most gripping football game you’ve been to. How does this MLS Cup compare to that in the CLink’s history?
The tense history between the NFL teams made that game rare. And it came down to last moments. The MLS Cup was a little shy on both counts.
IMO the Sounders initial game plan was to play more of a defensive match. Gauge their opponent much like the way they in their last two Cup matches. Considering how Michael Bradley started out strong, possibly due to his possible contract extension based on the outcome, that may have been wise. Though Toronto won the time of possession side the Sounders had more shots and more corners. They simply waited for opportunities to eventually present themselves and knew they would with Jozy Altidore not starting. (I’m assuming that they knew he’d enter the match later.). Toronto was no match for the Sounders after Leerdam’s goal. Even when Altidore finally stepped onto the pitch they looked worn down. The Sounders organization even took a page out of the Seahawks playbook having Macklemore perform (not too difficult when he’s part owner) as well as getting Ken Griffey Jr and Sue Bird to lead cheers. The Rave Green did their part after that. Toronto really stood no chance.
Seeing Brian become emotional during his press conference reminded me of when Mike Holmgren did during his own after Super Bowl XL. Both men passionately wanted to bring a title to Seattle and were emotional discussing it. But in Brian’s case he had already achieved that first goal and has now accomplished what had been brought up countless times: winning at home. Add to that thought that he grew up here, in Lake City, makes him even more appreciative I imagine. I enjoyed seeing him simply standing out on the pitch, looking at the Rave Green cheering, soaking everything in. After getting eliminated from the postseason the previous year by the Timbers on that same spot yesterday’s events makes it a distant memory.
Okay Mariners, you got next!
I saw Brian on the field during the celebration, walking by himself. I was going to ask him about that, but forgot. Good question gone unasked.
The only thing that could have made these playoffs even better would be to eliminate Portland from the playoffs. That day will come. So happy that the Sounders have more Cups than the Timbers!
Bob Cram . . . who scored Seattle Sounders’ first goal against the Denver Dynamo, 1974. 10,000 sounded like 70,000! You know Art, there was once a Seattle sports columnist who, during the run-up to the statewide election for CenturyLink Stadium, pooh-pooh’d stadium supporters claims that a soccer team would find a home there. Specious politicking by monied Seahawks owners to find more votes. “Frankly,” the columnist wrote, talking frankly to his readers, there will never by a professional soccer team in that stadium. That was a long time ago. The sportswriter’s name is lost in the mists of the Kingdome (not). Emoji SMILE!
I’m shocked that such a vile wretch ever worked in this market. When I find his name, I will report back to you that I thrashed him on your behalf.
He’ll probably claim that MLS had just been born when the stadium campaign began, but that logic will never wash with me.
Never, ever give up. Outed he (or she) must be! Search under every supporters scarf and dive bar (is Swannee’s still open?)! By the way, I met a young man named Lewis recently. Good newspaper stock . . .
World Cup 2026!
Yes. There will be one.