Kevin checking to see who we are cheering for

We are ready to cheer for the Sounders!

One major objective of this trip was to attend the Sounders game against the San Jose Earthquakes along with Kevin and Melinda. We have never attended an away game, so we got seats in the Emerald City Supporters (ECS) section. The ECS sit in the south end of the stadium for Sounders games and sing and chant throughout the game. They also make the fantastic tifo displays that we enjoy at the games. Tami is such a rabid Sounders fan that she often joins in with the ECS songs even though she is horribly off-tune and frequently the only person in our section to do so. Here was her chance to actually sit with other crazy fans who are singing so her voice would be drowned out.

Watching the boys warm up

We spent the day making our way down the peninsula, stopping at some eating and drinking establishments selected by Kevin and Melinda along the way, and arriving at the stadium in good time to meet up with other fellow ECS members. The bus from San Francisco soon arrived with the rest of the ECS folks and our tickets, and we gathered to march together into the stadium.

Strong support by the ECS

We all sat together in the visitors section and a raucous time was had by all. I enjoyed joining in the songs and learning the words to the chants I wasn’t sure about. The pogo song was a bit thrilling as the stadium stands are bare metal bleachers and they really get bouncing when everyone is jumping at the same time. The stands also creak quite a bit when fans are bouncing- just a tad disconcerting!

Cheering for the boys in rave green

The flags and banners are waving constantly and did impede the view a bit, but it was exciting to be a part of it all. It was unfortunately not a very well played game. Our boys in rave green seemed very disjointed even though we had our full squad available. Play was rough on both sides. The game got even chippier as we went down a goal, and fouls were called right and left. Our players also suffered some injuries and the game unfortunately culminated in a red card for Alonso, who just got healthy again. We shook our heads at the loss but continued to sing our way out of the stadium. Not the way I wanted our first away game to go, but it was very fun to join the ECS for a game.