Seahawks Preseason Game

I went to the Seahawks - Broncos preseason game at Qwest Field on August 22nd with a group of friends. I'm an opponent of preseason, but nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed sporting my Hasselbeck jersey, hanging with my friends, tailgating in the sunshine, and getting excited for a new Hawks season with new possibilities (i.e., Mora, Curry, Houshmandzadeh). Foam fingers up!

My First Mariner's Game of the Season

I went to my first Mariner's game of the season last night, and what a game it was. Griffey is back and scored his 400th home run as a Mariner. Late in the game Ichiro hit a grand slam to help bring the Mariner's to a final score of 11 to 3 over the Anaheim Angels. Not to mention it was a beautiful spring day in the Emerald City. I will add a photo or two to this post in a few days.
And speaking of Anaheim... I will be off soon enjoying the California sun (for the first time since I graduated in 2007) at Disneyland. Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder, here I come!

Off to a Good Start

Well the Seattle Sounders are off to a great start. First of all, they are one of only two Major League Soccer (MLS) teams to still have zero goals scored against them. Second of all, Sounders forward Fredy Montero was MLS Week 1 Player of the Week and Sounders goalie Kasey Keller was MLS Week 2 Player of the Week. Third of all, Montero is first in the running for the Budweiser Golden Boot award. AND the Sounders are currently first in the Western Division.

If you ask me, that's just about the best start for a brand new team as we could have hoped for. Keep it up, Sounders!

Pix from my Weekend

This weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the second Sounders game, in which they beat Real Salt Lake two to zero. Undefeated! Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, and though my hiking plans were thwarted due to heavy mountain snowfall, I still got out to walk around Discovery Park and cruise Alki. Here are some pix from my weekend (in Seattle Times spirit, which often posts reader photos).

Seattle Sounders Inaugural Game

On March 19, 2009, I was lucky enough to attend the Seattle Sounders FC inaugural game, which was also the Major League Soccer season opener. The Sounders played the New York Red Bulls in front of a packed house.


Season ticket holders received their inaugural game tickets attached to a bright green Seattle Sounders scarf with the team logo and Sounders in huge letters. As a result, the crowd was awash with lime green. Others were festooned with similar lime green Sounders paraphernalia. The crowd was great - everyone excited and anxious to see the brand new major league soccer team. But the crowd was also much less rowdy than your typical Seahawks game crowd, so there was no worry of a fight two rows in front of you or beer spilled down your back from the drunk fan behind you.

I love sports - especially the camaraderie of hanging out with friends watching your team battle against a rival. But I must say, as much as I like football or basketball and sometimes even baseball - soccer is the only major league sport I ever myself played competitively for a long period of time. This makes the game SO much more fun to watch. I know the positions and what they do; what a header feels like; what fancy footwork can be used to trick the opposing team; and simply how awesome and exhausting soccer is. I really enjoyed the game and cannot wait to see more games in the future.

Our fantastic goalie Kasey Keller keeping good care of the Sounders goal. He saved our butt a couple times this game and proved he's dynamite.
The Sounders got off to a great start and beat the New York Red Bulls three to zip. In soccer, this is by all means a good solid route. And what a great beginning to our brand new major league sports team. I see a bright future for these guys (though my crystal ball is not always accurate). And how cool is it that the Sounders have sold more season tickets than any other major league soccer team in the U.S. ever? Wow. Pretty incredible.

The Sounders outplayed and outran the Red Bulls. The Sounders beat them to the ball almost every time; took more shots on goal; and played tougher throughout the game.

Goal! Third goal of the game was a spectacular one - and the crowd went wild!

Sounders Countdown

Next Thursday - March 19th - marks the Seattle Sounders FC very first regular season game. The Sounders will play the New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer opener at 6 PM Pacific.

With the positive swing in Seattle sports recently following dreary baseball and football seasons (the UW Husky men's basketball team just finished first in the Pac-10), I am hopeful for the Sounders inaugural season.

Go Seattle!

Welcome Home, Griffey!

The news is today: Ken Griffey Jr. decided to come home to play for the Mariners instead of the Atlanta Braves. What fantastic news! Griffey is past his 1990s glory days, but this is the exciting kick the Mariners' needed - I can't wait to see him play for us at Safeco Field this summer since now I so have to go to a game.

WELCOME HOME, GRIFFEY!

The Kid comes home: Griffey picks M's
Seattle Times, February 18, 2009

The Birds Lose Again

Yesterday was Superbowl XLIII: the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Arizona Cardinals. Two historic teams with vastly different histories. The Steelers have now won a record setting six Superbowls - more than any other NFL team. This was the Cardinals very first appearance in a Superbowl. And though it was sad to see another unlucky NFC West team lose to the Steelers in football's biggest event (*sigh* for the Seahawks losing 21 to 10 in 2006 in much more unevenly matched game) - it's hard to be terribly disappointed because BOY what a game it was. Hard pounding, fast-paced, evenly matched, with dynamic game-changing plays and some of the best football players ever like Larry Fitzgerald.

I can't quite decide if this year or last year's Superbowl was better. Seeing the true underdog Cardinals give the Steelers a serious run for their money was pretty incredible. But was it really better than seeing the wild card Giants beat the undefeated Patriots? Was there a play this Superbowl better than the third down-Eli Manning-somehow-escapes-sack-throws-thirty-yards-then-Giants' David Tyree-catches-football-on-his-helmet play?!?! I'm not so sure...

Thoughts? Which Superbowl has been your favorite?

Seattle Sounders FC Coming Soon!

Last Thursday I was fortunate to attend a Seattle Sounders FC season ticket holder event where Drew Carey told season ticket holders about the exciting new team. My dad holds two of the 18,000 season tickets already sold for the Sounders FC - to begin playing at Qwest Field in March or April 2009. The new team is developed on a model where season ticket holders form a member's association that meets twice a year and votes every four years on the team's general manager. We also voted on Thursday to name the team's marching band (I voted for Green Machine) and the member's association.

Currently the team has four players - two of the players were at the event. I got forward Sebastien Le Toux's signature. I am very excited to go to some Seattle Sounders games in the near future. Once upon a time during my CYO soccer days, I watched many a Sounders games at Memorial Stadium. And I think it's great that Qwest Field will be used throughout the year. Go Sounders!

Oh, and I met Drew Carey!

Yikes!

The Seahawks have now lost four games and won only one, against the Rams, one of the worst teams in the NFL. I'm not giving up hope yet, but our prospects for making the playoffs this year look pretty grim. Our team just can't seem to stay healthy and our defense has had a lackluster at best performance so far this year. And the Giants kicking our butt was nearly humiliating, except for the fact that the Giants are one of the best, if not the best, teams in the NFL. I guess this means I might have more free time on Sundays since watching the games is not quite so exciting when your team is losing.

On a side note, I finally loaded photos onto my computer from the Seahawks - 49ers game on September 14th, the Seahawks season opener. It was a warm, sunny Seattle September day, so it was hard to be too depressed even though Seattle lost. Mother Nature perhaps decided to grant Seattle a beautiful September because she knew the Seahawks would bomb this year. So here are a few photos.

I Heart Number Eight

Last Friday I went to the Seahawks versus Raiders preseason game at Qwest Field. Though I am already longing for the warm summer nights that I know are gone - I was thrilled to finally pull my #8 Hasselbeck Seahawks jersey from my closet where it has been hanging since that fateful day of blizzard conditions in Greenbay on January 7, 2008.

At Friday's game, I cheered, clapped, shouted, booed, speculated, and hoped this year would be better than the last. Since Mother Nature is taking away sun and summertime, maybe she'll grant Seattle a run game or a stronger offensive line or a healthy receiving corps or a dynamite Hasselbeck. Maybe! And isn't that the joy of the beginning of any sports season? Who knows where we will be in 17 weeks! Ah the excitement... Best of luck to the other doomed teams - I'll see you out there with my foam finger, Hawks jersey, and battle cry!

Mariners v. Red Sox

If you have been paying attention at all for the past few years, you probably already know the outcome of the game. Last night, July 22, I saw the Boston Red Sox down the Mariners four to two. Due to the stinky scent surrounding Mariners baseball lately and the stellar Red Sox team of late, there was a large amount of Red Sox fans mixed throughout Tuesday's crowd. Though I had a strong feeling the Mariners would lose, I still rooted for my own city's team. Indeed, it was exciting to see the Mariners score twice late in the game. Not to mention the brand new Mariner, first baseman Bryan LaHair, got his first Major League Hit in the eighth inning.

For me, people watching is often a more fun pastime at Mariners games than actually watching the game. Nonetheless, it was a good opportunity to snap some photos and create some photomerges. The best way for me to sum up the evening is: the calm, almost subdued atmosphere of a Mariners game made me pine for the raucous, heart-pounding Seahawks home games.

We were sitting directly below the Safeco Field sign. I merged two photos to get this one, that's how close we were!

There is a teenie-tiny ball flying right through short stop.

Safeco is pretty cool looking at night.

Galen... you're allowed to root for Boston. But when you leave Boston, I expect you to root for the Mariners again. :)

Goodbye Seattle SuperSonics!

The Seattle SuperSonics are now officially moving to Oklahoma. After long, drawn out court proceedings, name calling, and finger pointing the settlement was made to allow owner Clay Bennett to move the team. One of my favorite instances from the whole lawsuit and debate was the Sonics claiming that Seattle doesn't even like them anymore. Of course we like them, but hearing such ridiculous arguments gets a little old.

Though this last Sonics season is nothing to boast about and I am glad we will not have to hear much more about Howard Schultz suing the city, etcetera, I still want to take a moment to commemorate Seattle basketball and the city's first major league sports team.

The Sonics achieved what few Seattle teams have, a National Championship (in their 1978-79 season). Though the 1970s were considered the team's heyday, at 10 years old, watching Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and Detlef Schrempf (who apparently is a fan of the McDonald's by University Village, right Gabs?) play the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 National Championships was exhilarating. My own city's team gave Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scotty Pippen, and one of the greatest teams ever in basketball a run for their money that year in the Championships. Shawn Kemp offered Seattle much entertainment and rappers still rhyme about Gary Payton.

Named after Boeing's supersonic transport contract (that was canceled only a few years after the team was named), it does not seem fitting that the Sonics will move to Oklahoma. But I guess all good things must end. At least we still have the Seahawks. And those women sure did a good job keeping the Storm in Seattle. It is unfortunate the men couldn't do the same for the Sonics.

Farewell SuperSonics, I promise to remember you fondly and hope that Oklahoma treats you well.

Here are two photos I took at a Sonics versus Lakers game on December 14, 2004. The Sonics won. I was proud we kicked butt against Kobe Bryant.