The Story of the 2008 Seattle Sounders

Hello, Goodbye

The glow of the 2007 season did not carry over to 2008 for the Seattle Sounders. The club's final season in the United Soccer Leagues can best be described as one of injury, uneven form and killing time for the MLS club to take over. Seattle fans were called on to support the current 'Sounders' while forking over much higher ticket payments for the next 'Sounders.' The Sounders played their final home season almost entirely at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. The move made it more difficult to draw crowds and made sure the future MLS club would get most of the press in Seattle.

The Sounders' traditional slow start was in play as Seattle had just one win after five matches. When the Sounders were outplayed but staged a 2-0 away victory in Vancouver on May 23 it seemed like perhaps a corner had been turned. Seattle wouldn't win again until June 7th.

Sounders players react to beating Kansas City Wizards 1-0 on penalty kicks in the US Open Cup on July 8 at Qwest Field.

The United States Open Cup became the platform where the Sounders could still muster interest and consistent effort. Seattle beat the Arizona Sahuaros 1-0 in double overtime to start their cup run. They followed up with wins over Hollywood United, Chivas USA and Kansas City Wizards before falling at Charleston in the semifinals.

The Sounders made the playoffs by finishing 6th in the league. Their 10-10-10 record was a reflection of the underperforming campaign. The ten victories were the fewest in the 25-year history of clubs named "Sounders."

In the playoffs Seattle faced the Montreal Impact. Leg one was played at Starfire and the Sounders dominated but could only leave Seattle up 2-1 on aggregate. The season ended in Montreal when the Sounders dramatically dropped the second leg 3-1 and thus the series, 4-3.

Sounders players posed for this photo while in Argentina on a post-season tour.

Sounders players and coaches were treated to a playing tour of Argentina in October. The club faced reserve sides from upper division clubs and ended the tour with a perfect 6-0 record.

Major League Soccer's birthing of Seattle Sounders FC dominated soccer talk in Seattle in 2008.

Big announcements became almost commonplace from the new club and were timed to last throughout the calendar year.

In January Seattle MLS announced the signing of Chris Henderson as Technical Director. In March Gary Wright was hired as Senior Vice President. Also on March the club rolled out an awkward "Name the team" voting contest that eventually led to a fan revolt and "Sounders" winning a write-in campaign fueled by fans both local and around the globe. The Announcement that Seattle MLS would be called "Seattle Sounders FC" was made on April 7th at the Space Needle.

Former Sounders Pepe Fernandez, Jimmy Gabriel and Alan Hinton joined owner Adrian Hanauer (second from right) at the Space Needle to unveil the name "Sounders FC" and the club crest.

In May Sounders FC announced their first signed player: Frenchman Sebastien Le Toux. Le Toux spent the rest of 2008 being carefully watched for his performances on the USL Sounders. The club also announced television rights and broadcasting hires. Seattle unveiled its 'rave green' Adidas jerseys first at Qwest Field when X-box was announced as the shirt sponsor, and then fully on December 4th in a charity fashion show.

Big player signing news came first when Washington native Kasey Keller was introduced at Qwest Field on August 14th and then again on October 28 when Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg was inked as the club's first designated player.

The year came to a close with the hiring of Sigi Schmid as head coach and Schmid naming USL Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer as his first assistant.

Seattle fans saw a year unlike any other in 2008. Some lost themselves in the drama of the USL Sounders' final campaign. Others ignored the playing club and paid notice to the future MLS side. A few followed the developments of both sides.

The USL Sounders ended their 15-season life with a less-than-stellar campaign. The Major League Soccer Sounders FC began to take shape with increased local, national and international media coverage and a seeming desire to do everything 'top notch.' The new side had already sold over 18,000 season tickets as 2008 came to a close.