Weekend Sports Roundup: Sounders in the Playoffs

Courtesy tbirdshockeyfan, from our Flickr pool

No sense in dwelling on the shortcomings of Seattle’s American football teams. This Monday, there’s only one sports story worth writing and reading about, and that’s the Seattle Sounders FC.

The Sounders are going to the playoffs.

It was on a pitch in Kansas Saturday that this unlikely group earned their place on a road - perhaps it ought to be yellow and brick - that leads to the MLS Cup in, where else, the Emerald City.

Their 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Wizards also happened to put head coach Sigi Schmid just one away from having the most wins in MLS history.

Who and where the Rave Green will play in the first round still hinges on this weekend’s final regular season games. But the mere fact such a discussion is even taking place is monumental.

We remember a time, not so long ago, when talk of MLS playoffs in Seattle and sold-out home matches against powerhouses FC Barcelona and Chelsea would’ve been a byproduct of ingesting some weapons-grade peyote.

In 2000, when the Sounders’ non-MLS predecessors played at Seattle Memorial Stadium, the crowds were smaller than, say, for a Rainier Beach football game.

What of Seattle soccer now? Making the playoffs in the inaugural effort, shattering league attendance records, sending four players to the MLS All-Star game, winning the U.S. Open Cup, bringing Seattle worldwide exposure with international matches and players.

All credit to Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer, majority owner Joe Roth, the rest of the ownership group, and a thousand points to Drew Carey.

Congratulations not only on making the playoffs, but for bringing to fruition one hell of a pipe dream.

After watching Saturday’s game in KC, we might as well have shut off the TV and enjoyed the rest of the weekend.