Finding a way to duplicate Seattle Sounders FC's extraordinary popularity with incoming expansion teams is a huge priority for Major League Soccer. As supporters from across the country converge on Seattle, the Sounders FC supporters groups have banded together to assemble a full lineup of activities in the days leading up to MLS Cup 2009.
Organizers hope that in addition to a good time, these events will give out-of-town fans a chance to pick the brains of Seattle's diehard supporters.
This year's event was spearheaded by Sounders FC fans Dave Clark and Rachel Molloy. As members of Seattle's Membership Alliance, the pair was contacted by a member of the Angel City Brigade with ideas from the previous year's summit. From there, the idea gathered steam among the rest of the membership council, who then approached the supporters groups with the idea. In the end, each of Seattle's four main supporters groups agreed to host an event.
The early feedback points to a successful event. Clark expects several dozen fans from Los Angeles and Salt Lake City are expected to make the trip for Sunday's match. However, he also expects hundreds of fans from Portland and Vancouver, expansion cities for the 2011 season, to converge on Seattle as well.
While these fans will partake in MLS festivities, Clark believes they will also get a chance to observe Seattle's fan infrastructure. Sounders FC boasted the largest season-ticket base in Major League Soccer, drawing over 30,000 fans per game in their inaugural season. The supporters groups went a long way towards setting the atmosphere, standing for the entire match and creating the raucous atmosphere that was noticed by nearly every visiting team.
Clark also hopes events like this help unite the disparate supporters groups under one umbrella.
"The battles that the teams have on the field; the shouting matches that can occur in the stands -- they only last 90 minutes," Clark said. "When we leave the stadium, we're soccer fans. We're Americans and Canadians. I'd love to just lift a beer with people and celebrate the games that we just saw."
The "main event" will be Saturday's official 2009 Supporters' Summit, where MLS Commissioner Don Garber will deliver a version of his annual State of the League address to gathered supporters. This speech will also be streamed live via MLSnet.com.
Supporters are welcomed to ask questions of the commissioner -- fellow Membership Alliance member Greg Roth, who served as the communications director for the Summit, expects them to do just that.
"It also provides input to improve the quality of the league," Roth said. "The refereeing, the quality of play on the field, the pitches, the stadiums -- everything. I think the fans need to engage with the league directly and provide some valuable feedback."
Seattle has four main supporters groups: Immortal Fury, Gorilla FC, Emerald City Supporters and the North End Supporters. Getting the groups together was one of the Summit's biggest challenges. Another challenge was selecting which events would be appropriate, as some of the bigger ideas fell by the wayside during the planning process.
"(Other cities) had done tailgates in the past, but Seattle isn't a tailgate town. We're a downtown pub town," Clark said. "In the end we found ways to implement the things that made soccer in Seattle unique."
This year's schedule of events includes a meet & greet with a silent auction, pub crawl, a spaghetti feed, FIFA 2010 Tournament, and Seattle's unique March to the Match. Saturday's lineup also includes the Sounders FC end-of-season party, hosted by the website Prost Amerika.
Steve Clare, editor of Prost Amerika, has arranged for a panel of local soccer experts including Sandra Hunt from U.S. Soccer, longtime Seattle University coach and Sounders FC pregame talent Pete Fewing, and Fox Soccer Channel's Jeremy St. Louis. Manuela Horn will also be providing entertainment.
The summit kicks off Friday evening with a meet and greet and silent auction at Fado's Irish Pub in downtown Seattle, hosted by Gorilla FC. A full schedule of events can be found at http://sounderscouncil.com/summit/.
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
