For the Love of Sport

Many of you regular readers are not sports fans, but I do recollect some passion for the Jets or the Razorbacks out there in the ether. The rest of you politely indulge me when I carry on, because, as you know, we are a sports fan family. Tom wasn't really into sports, but because of a need for a coach for eight year old boys who had been dumped as not good enough to make THE team, he began what was to be a ten year stint as a boys soccer coach. It's the one sport he still follows faithfully, now that we have the Sounders. I was raised in a household where some of us participated in youth sports at a minor level, but my dad watched sports on TV, and we learned to do that too. When I moved to Seattle and we began picking up major league teams here, I taught my kids to follow the Seahawks and the Supersonics. We were mildly interested in the Mariners baseball team. Then two years ago we lost our NBA basketball team but picked up a MLS soccer team. Our kids remain faithful to our Seattle teams even though Jill now lives in Colorado and is married to a Denver Broncos fan. Today was sports day at Green Acres Elementary School in Fort Morgan, CO, where Jill teaches and Isaac is in second grade. This is how they looked as they were getting ready to leave for school. Corey posted this on Facebook with a text about them suffering from "Sports-aphrenia", as they are dressed in Seattle blue and green (Seahawks and Sounders), with USA World Cup Soccer scarves, and a touch of Bronco Orange. At her school they already know Jill is a little wacky, and lives in two different worlds. But sports are fun! Last night we attended yet another Sounders Soccer match at Qwest field. This match was the final for the USA Open Cup, which is a tournament open to all levels of soccer clubs in the US. The Sounders won it last year in their inaugural season, and defended it last night. We took the light rail in, as usual, and arrived in Occidental Park in time for the March To The Match. It was led this time by the Emerald City Supporters, of which Jake is now a member, a raucous bunch of singing and chanting fan-atics. We were somewhere in the back of this pack. The crowd of 31,311 stood throughout the match, cheering our lads on to victory! See that flag to the left of the 'cup'? That's us! Goalie Kasey Keller celebrates as green and blue glitter rains down.

Sanna Nyassi was the player of the match, scoring both of our goals.

And now our two year old team has two Open Cups!

And the season continues. We have three more league matches, and it looks like we'll qualify for the playoffs. We also have a 'friendly' against a Mexican team next week and the final CONCACAF tournament match the week after. We'll all be a little blue when the season is finally over, but we do still have the Seahawks.

Sports are fun! (Photos captured off of Facebook. Click to enlarge.)

I forgot to mention, Jill bought the soccer package and the NFL package for satelite TV so she and the kids can watch the Sounders and the Seahawks there in Colorado. She let the kids stay up to watch last night. Irene fell asleep after our first goal, but woke up to see the trophy. Isaac made it all the way through. Jill paced most of the second half.