We can start speculating about the next round of expansion. How is Seattle doing with the investment group and have you guys heard any news up there about any rumblings regarding MLS 2006? Garber has repeatedly said that he wants two more teams in the market for '06 so it's time for you Seattle people to step up to the plate and put pressure on Adrian Hanauer to make sure it gets done. CD Chivas and Real Salt Lake were just added to the MLS:Teams section today...will we see YOU guys there next?
Trying to explain "how things work" in Seattle soccer is a bit of a task. I appreciate Mr. Hanauer and the other owners for their devotion to Seattle pro soccer over the years. When Hanauer "took over" the GM duties a few years ago the club was at a very low point, averaging just 1,800 per match (2001). The Sounders have been competitive, fiscally improved and attendance has almost doubled since then. However, reaching out to fans and bringing them on board for a "Seattle MLS" rally has not been something Hanauer has done yet. There could be many reasons, such as he just doesn't want to start anything until he knows where he/the league stands. Or, it is quite possible that he is following "his own vision," and doesn't see the need to get fans involved yet. Hanauer has shown this tendancy with the current A-League Sounders. In an email conversation posted on SounderCentral.com Hanauer put the needs of the fans a distant "third" on his priority list for running the club. He's being educated as he goes when it comes to fan relations. From the Seattle soccer fan perspective, the "let's all rally for MLS" thing is NOT going to happen until a club is already announced. Why? 10-plus years of on/off talks with the league, promises broken, dreams coming and going, a 400 million dollar soccer stadium vote, still no team, league changes direction, new commissioners, Paul Allen uses soccer fans, then doesn't buy a team, etc....and on and on... Seattle soccer fans are faithful MLS TV-watchers, having the highest non-MLS city ratings of any place in the country in recent ratings data. But the idea of trying to muster an umpteenth rally of hopes about MLS, after 10 years of "hearing it all before?" Um, no. Either a new group of fans needs to come on board here (which would be nice) or it really is best to just let Mr. Hanauer and his group try to get the job done...and then let us know. Besides, he hasn't asked for our help, and doesn't seemed overly excited when we offer it, anyway. Example: When I debuted "GoalSeattle.com" I received an email from the Sounders who were concerned that the site looked "too official," and might give MLS the idea that Seattle felt "overly confident" about getting a team. I responded by saying that many cities have fan groups with expansion hopeful sites. They seemed to not know this. I went ahead with the site anyway. Another example (fans, this time): http://GoalSeattle.com receives thousands of hits each month. However, when I posted a "Season Ticket Pledge" area to measure fan interest in Seattle MLS...only 37 tickets were pledged in 5 months. So I pulled the pledge area. Fans here will need to be given a reason to get excited about Seattle MLS. Namely, the announcement that we HAVE a team.