Dear MLS Seattle ...

Dear MLS Seattle ...

This is a follow up to my open letter to Adrian Hanauer from January ... so some of it will be a repeat ... and some of it has been in bits and pieces of other rants ...

MLS Seattle has a golden opportunity to become a model franchise. There is what appears to be quality ownership with a local track record. The public is clearly on board with season ticket deposits. The hiring of Chris Henderson brings in a guy who has dabbled overseas, been successful in MLS, had a nice run with the national team, and has local ties into mix. Getting the league to agree to allow the Seattle team to retain options on Sounders players from 08 allows for some continuity makes playing time meaningful for the 08 Sounders regardless of their place in the standings. I see no reason to nit pick on some issues, but there are significant issues that do need to be addressed. Here is my two cents worth ...

Qwest Field IS a "soccer specific stadium". It is not the model most MLS teams want and if we could take the top sections off for game day like they rinse away the football lines, that would be perfect. However, the political reality of the Puget Sound region is that getting another stadium built will happen only after Hell freezes over and multiple economic impact studies are done on it after three or four public votes that contradict themselves. You will be playing in Qwest Field 20 years from now. I accept that. Let's make the most of it. Opposing cities in the expansion search can complain, but they haven't heard how loud it can be with ten thousand fans in it ... which is less than the season ticket deposits. We'll be fine. There will be times where we will want it smaller, but during the playoffs if you open up an upper deck and we get forty thousand, it will rock.

The name and colors. This one is I have to admit is very, very touchy for a lot of people. I completely understand why. But, I was against bringing back the Sounders name in 1994 and have mixed emotions about it to this day. I went to my first Sounders game in 1976 at age 8 and have regularly gone to games and been a season ticket holder. I have had conversations with people who feel very strongly both ways. I rooted for the Stars, Storm, and Seadogs too ... so if you decide to keep the colors and name I will go with it ... and if you don't, well ... I will get over it. The notion of a fresh start is not an insult to the Sounders legacy or fans; it is a recognition that things change. That being said, there will be a fairly loud backlash by many fans over the retiring of the Sounders name if that is what happens. Good luck with that. I am glad it is not my decision.

Foreign players. Do not be fooled into believing that signing Luis Figo in 2011 would be a good thing. Not to besmirch Figo as a player and I am not trying to start a rumor or anything, but European players that want to wait until later in their careers to come over to MLS should immediately have MLS GM's hanging up on their agents when they do finally call to inquire. There are only a couple of examples that are easy to note and remember precisely because they are the exceptions that prove the rule. Let them go play in Bahrain. Most European players seem to consider MLS to be beneath them in their primes and still mostly act like it when they are here playing later in their careers. The NASL had a similar problem. Is MLS on par with Spain? No, not in 2008. But, you can't act like you know that as a matter of policy or it will never get to be a more legitimate question about quality in the future. Those older European players simply leach money away and actually reinforce the stereotype that MLS is a retirement league in Europe. Ignore them. MLS teams that have signed younger Latin American players like DC United or the Galaxy have done better and won trophies. I am hardly the first to comment on this or notice it, but if I hear about Seattle signing a 35 year old "former" Barcelona (or insert another former G14 team) here, I will know it is because he is out of gas. Gas costs enough around here. Bear in mind that an argument can be made that signing young Latin American players is pandering to the Hispanic community; a bribe to finally get them to come in big numbers to American soccer games. If there is a fringe benefit of Hispanic fans attending, that is great. But, pandering to fans of a specific ethnic group is not good policy for building a team. Basically, there is a fine line there.

Bring back American players from Europe. Being the focal point of a club in MLS in an era where the league is clearly improving and playing more internationals makes the notion of toiling for a 2nd tier English team or sitting on the bench at a bigger club a lot less appealing for many players. Put some money there and the benefits will follow. There are a number of quality American players overseas that could help build a solid club. Plus, who really develops by sitting on a bench? The national team needs guys playing, not guys practicing. The majority of the starters for the USA against Mexico this month were from MLS and they played Mexico straight up even though they were not in mid-season form. Unless a guy is going to actually play for a good club, MLS needs to try to keep these guys as much as possible.

Slogans. "The World's Game is coming to Seattle" slogan is a loser. Soccer fans already know soccer is the world's game and those that are not soccer fans consider the fact that it is the world’s game to be part of why they don't like it. Come up with something new, not something that failed for the NASL. Frankly, I am not certain that marketing is really going to be the issue for this franchise. Seattle fans go to winners and bail on losers just as fast as any city. Good seats eventually will be available if the team is bad, just ask the M's or Sonics.

Drew Carey is a great face for the franchise. He is genuinely enthusiastic about the game and this opportunity. Seeing him leading cheers in the stands or with the marching band would be cool to see. Let's hope he is able to be a regular face for the fans. The media loves him and he is a great voice for the converted fan. I can just picture him making a point of wearing MLS Seattle ties or something every day on "The Price Is Right".

Membership. Giving the fans a voice is a cool idea. I understand that there are some limits to what can be expected from a fan membership vote, but it cannot just be a PR gimmick or there will be a backlash, of the newspaper investigation kind most likely. There just won't be any middle ground on this one. People can't be led to believe one thing and then have it not be true. A lot of people nationwide will be watching this one, and not just soccer fans. The membership idea is newsworthy.

"Non-traditional US Soccer fans". To be politically incorrect, the Hispanic community has never really embraced pro soccer in this country in many areas. I went to a game in LA in 2001 and I found the Galaxy did a good job of making them welcome. Short of pandering to them with a specific signing, I have no idea how to get that demographic to go to MLS games. It's sort of like the Eurosnobs in their preference for anything other than what is here, only somewhat understandable in that they are somewhat homesick.

This time next year we will have a lot of questions regarding the above issues already answered. We will know the name, colors, coach, roster, schedule, and so much more. MLS Seattle has such a great potential upside.

"This time next year" sounds pretty cool ... except that it is a year away ...