We Believe That We Will Win...

Yesterday we had to load up two cars to get the entire family +2 girlfriends to Seattle for the Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers soccer game, the first time the whole group got together for anything. It was also the day of the World Cup final game, so a nearby park to Century Link Field, home to the Sounders, was a gathering place to watch Germany vs. Argentina on the big screen, then a pregame rally for the night time rivalry.  Fans then paraded from the park to the stadium. We left ahead of the festivities so we could keep tabs on the girls, but here is a view from atop the stadium as the parade drew near. Mind you, this was just the beginning of the long line of fans..

Nope, not smoke from a riot! It's blue and green Sounder spirit!

All decked out in our gear...

The view from our seats...

The crowd at a soccer game is very high energy! There were over 63,000 fans in attendance chanting "We believe that we will win."  The club section of highly insane fans cheered and played their instruments the entire game. Since Portland and Seattle are such a close rivalry, they had their club section of 1,000 or so, chanting the entire game too.  After the game the band moved outside to entertain the crowd, lots of whom were sticking around. I have a deeper understanding now of the soccer crazed around the world. You really can get caught up in the atmosphere. I am glad to have experienced it without all the hooligans!

Our cheers of "We believe" turned out to be true, as the Sounders dominated, winning 2-0. Can't remember the last time I was in Seattle at 10:00pm, and not freezing cold. It was still in the 80's as the game finished. This is not my photo, and our view from the stadium was looking out at the water, not Mt. Rainier, but just as beautiful. This was taken the same evening...

We enjoyed the game immensely, and are looking forward to taking in the whole experience again before the end of the season.