Sons of the Mask

Having season tickets to the Sounders has been a lot more fun than I could have ever expected. The games themselves haven't been the best lately, but I really enjoy the people in our section. So much so, I couldn't tear myself away from the match this week. I missed the New England game with a mild touch of Swine Flu, and I somehow convinced myself that the Toronto match was the last home game of the season. So I couldn't miss this one.

Just one problem, the calendar. I had planned to miss two games, one on Mother's Day and this one. Kim is out of town, having a ball in Alaska, which leaves me with child care. I don't want to make it sound like a burden, but I could hardly ditch the Lucas and Jack (the boys) for eight hours to go to a game. Yes eight hours. It's a hundred miles in each direction, and the tailgating has become too good to miss. So it's a long day.

The solution - bring them along. I found tickets on stubhub, which only cost a couple of organs. But it was worth it to take the boys to their first match. Sounds altruistic that way, doesn't it? I wasn't just being selfish, I had talked up the Sounders all season so Lucas anyway was interested in going. I thought about trying Craig's List, but I'm dubious of that site. As I understand it you'd either have to drive somewhere to pick up the tickets or get arrested for solicitation. Or so I've read. So I overpaid at stubhub and just had to hope the tickets came on time. With the added FedEx charge, there should have been no worries.

I didn't have that guarantee with my other purchase for the the game, though. Wrestling masks. They've become a standard, so I had to include the kids. Yes, had to. I'm crazy that way. Prior to passing out Jack made me take mine off. Which did feel pretty good in the sunshine, but may have also put the whammy on the Sounders. Thank you, by the way, to everyone who has said that my not being there, or not wearing the mask, somehow influences the outcome. Makes me feel necessary. Also makes me feel that I'm with a bunch of nuts, so I must be in the right place.

Saturday I got up early to make some bacon. Two pounds worth. Didn't want to show up empty handed for the tailgate, plus it's one food the boys will consistently eat. We usually bake bacon, but I had a surprise this time. Spontaneous combustion. One three separate occasions I heard a "poof" from the oven then saw a (thankfully) brief flash. The bacon never did burn, but I half expected to find the house in ruins upon our return.

The boys and I headed in to the stadium early to collect our bobble heads and to stand in line for the kid activities. That consisted of a twenty minute wait to spin a wheel for a prize. Both walked away with a button. The grand prize was "Autograph Alley" which I assume means you get to have things signed after the game.

As for watching the game, I couldn't have prayed for better behavior. Everyone around us was very accepting of the kids, and even kept the language down. I wasn't going to say anything, I was just hopeful the cuss words they would learn on the day would be creative. But the Sounders put forth such a lackluster effort that the crowd was somewhat cowed. Jack even managed to sleep through about eighty minutes of the game, plus half-time. Thank God. I just had to hold the sleeping kid all day. By the way, my left arm is now a bit longer than my right.

I don't know what I was thinking. But there was no way on earth I was going to be able to corral them both for the entire game. Realistically, I hoped to make it to half-time. Lucas, bless him, was as patient as he has EVER been. He had a couple oftussles with Rich and Dave, but they started it and deserved every kidney punch.

As for the game, Dwayne De Rosario is darned good.  He's also a punk and needs a haircut.  Perhaps that is why Houston traded him away.  I was wondering what they got in return so I looked it up and it was surprisingly little.  An allocation (whatever that means) and a rookie defender named Julius James.  That man again, the same one Houston gave to DC for a third round draft pick and that Jon and I want to come to Seattle.  I think Adrian Hanauer needs to make some phone calls and offer very little just to see how much in can get in return.

Another reality?

How was it neither team could find the back of the net?

Perhaps it's the water in the Qwest locker rooms. That couldn't be it as New England scored against us last week. Granted, it was a pathetic lil' wank of a shot, but it still went in.

Maybe it's the third place curse? Well, that could be a reasonable argument for both clubs, if we'd been in third place for a good long while now. We've been bouncing up and down the Western Conference standings for a while now.

This brings me back to the water at Qwest. We, the Sounders, can score on the road (2 at LA, one in Houston) but haven't scored a goal at Qwest since July 11 (vs. Houston). Six weeks without a home goal? And not for lack of opportunity. Perhaps we should ask Qwest to let the Sounders have one practice before the match on September 19 vs. Chivas so Sigi can properly instruct the lads on WHERE THE (EXPLETIVE) THE GOAL IS, as it must phase in and out the players realm of existence. And it only happens with the goals at Qwest because we haven't had this problem at Starfire.

And can someone please, please, please let Freddie Ljungberg know he doesn't need to open his mouth every time he realizes the officiating is bafflingly inconsistent. The rest of us don't.

I am going to go sob into my beer now.

On the horizon, Toronto FC

I have mixed feelings about the game on Saturday. Glad to have the boys home (and subsequently grab beers with the Tribe). Distressed that I actually have something to do in Bellingham after the match.

Why distressed you ask? After last Thursday's match, having successfully exited Qwest Field at 9.15pm, I arrived in my garage at 12.45am. This would be the third such occasion of taking more than three hours to complete an 80 minute drive.

If there is a reason why I would consider not getting season tickets next year, it isn't the officiating so many fans have lined up to scream is biased and poor. Nor is it the lack of finishing from our lads and match results which follow. It would be the lack of a convenient alternative to sitting in traffic to get to and from Qwest. Why spend four and half hours in traffic for ninety minutes of footy? I can get a sixer of Bud Light for the same price as one at Qwest and watch the game in my skivs at home.

Looking at the upcoming Toronto match, we play another team who is as inconsistent as Seattle. Toronto hasn't won two league matches in a row since June 11 and gave Sacha Kljestan his first two goals of the year last week along with having one shot on goal against Chivas. How does this bode for Seattle? Who knows? I am not in the habit of making predictions based on streaks, what if's or gut feelings.

However, as Seattle's last home performance was embarrassing and they should've left Houston with a win instead of a draw (though I am certainly thankful for the point), they may come out with something to prove. I'd be happy if they'd prove they know where the back of the net is. Assuming both Freds are going to start, as well as Marshall in the back, I'd say our chances of getting a much needed victory Saturday stand somewhere in the 75 - 80% range. But as we all know, I love playing the roulette so percentages don't mean much to me.

On the field

OK, most of you heard about it at the game but a little recap about being on the field.

The guys are a lot bigger and taller than I ever realized. Jaqua and Keller are really tall. The ECS is LOUD, especially in that south end goal. However they'll yell at anyone on the field. The ball is actually moving a lot faster than it looks from row V. Sigi actually yells during the game, however most of the time he is just watching or talking with Brian (the assistant head coach). There are a lot of folks that work to bring the games to us, from the truck guys (man that thing is quite a bunch of technology on wheels), to all the camera and sound folks, to the announcers, and all the people that support them. JP Dellacamera and John Harks (ESPN announcers) are actually really into the sport and were talking a lot about the game before hand and rather candidly (I was in the box for a little while). Our section is one of the better ones in terms of number of folks standing during a game, mid stadium is kind of sad (especially the west side, our side). There is a ton more I can write but those are the big standouts for the night.

While it was really cool to see things at field level and actual feel the crowd (each ooh and ahh and boo is felt for sure), the fact you can't wear your colors or yell was a bit weird for me. I think the place for me is in the stands in section 131!!

Here are some contraband photos I snapped while down there:

I would post something about the game but I am still just too upset. Sounds like Freddy wasn;t suppose to take the kick, he also saw nothing wrong with his little goalkeeper incident (got that from Jose's blog http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/soundersfcblog/2009702886_our_first_real_bit_of_inner_st.html?syndication=rss ). If you want to know how much that hurt for the playoffs...we went from an 85.3% chance of making it to a 68.2% chance accoring to http://www.sportsclubstats.com/USA/MLS.html. OUCH!

On another note, anyone have plans for the Houston game on Sunday? Should we try to gather at a local waterhole or something?

GO SOUNDERS!!

I am a media whore.

Rather than express my continued refereeness here, I took it to a whole 'nother website.

Here are my words of silly.

In other news, I cannot comment on posts on this here site of ours, regardless of how I try, so Troy, to answer your comment on my last post...

When a defender cleared the ball after an attack of any kind and the ball went to an opponent, this was not considered a turnover. This also applied when the keeper punted the ball down field. However, if the keeper kicked the ball straight out of play, I considered this an unforced turnover. Also, if a defender had obvious control of the ball and made a pass which was intercepted by an opponent, this was an unforced turnover.

Playoff picture

Here are some interesting looks at the playoff picture (way better than the MLS site)

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/USA/MLS.html

http://www.settingthetable.info/home.asp

Thought these were a lot better to give us all an idea how important each game is...

Let's talk turnovers...

Being stuck at the stat table for not only the WWU soccer matches but also the volleyball matches has made me kind of a statistics geek over the years. After watching the hideous performances by the Sounders the last couple of weeks, I made the decision to keep track of the individual unforced turnovers by the Sounders this week against the Galaxy. For arguments sake, I also kept track of the Galaxy's overall unforced turnovers.

I defined an unforced turnover as a PASS that was not completed to a teammate in the defensive or middle third of the field. I also included in the goalkeeper's UFTs, times when the keeper kicked the ball directly out of play after releasing the ball from their hands.

The first half was none too pretty with the Sounders turning the ball over for no apparent reason 21 times, while the Galaxy did the same only 14. The second half was markedly better for both teams with the Sounders tallying 7 and the Galaxy 6.

Leading the Sounders with 4 UFTs each were my loves Leo Gonzalez and James Riley. Naturally, I went into the match fully expecting Vagenas to easily walk away with the most UFTs, but thankfully the homecoming was good to Peter (as well as Beckham's silly studs-up challenge) and he ended the day with only a single miscue.

I know there has been a lot of talk on other sites regarding the officiating across the MLS and as a registered soccer official I have tried to calm the Tribe to the best of my ability in their criticism of the referees. I thought Ricardo Salazar, on the whole, did a fine job. He was more consistent than most of the officials we've seen so far (with the event immediately prior to Marshall's second yellow a possible exception). I agreed with both the send-offs to Beckham and Lewis and definitely the first yellow to Marshall. I wish other officials would have the stones (or perhaps the correct angle) to send-off every player who engages in a studs-up tackle and those who guilty of violent conduct after the play (think the New York game, in New York). Marshall's second, at speed, I agreed completely. The replay made me doubt. But such is the official's burden...to make decisions in real time.

The Sounders FINALLY put together a decent amount of possession (although the Galaxy was a man down for the majority of the match) but I am happy the Sounders were able to keep their cool and stay composed.

Oh, did I mention I love Leo? I do. Really, I do.