Love for the name "Sounders" came from around the world

January 7, 9:06 AMSeattle Soccer ExaminerDavid Falk

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A look back at how Seattle's new MLS club came to be called "Sounders."

Monday April 7, 2008 at 12 noon at the Space Needle, Seattle Major League Soccer revealed the colors and name of our new passion, our new MLS club, our new first-division soccer team: Seattle Sounders FC.

The announcement came on the heels of a few dramatic weeks when three names were leaked as being on a fan ballot: Alliance, FC and Republic. When Tuesday March 27th arrived fans were surprised and pleased to find that a 'write in' option had been added to the ballot.

Longtime Sounders fans Chuck and Paul Davis, who now run SoccerSeattleStyle.com, had been championing the "Sounders" cause for many months before the vote. They built a rally website called "SaveOurSounders.com" to build momentum.

At least one part of the story goes that my blog calling the club on the "Democacy in Sports" slogan was sent to GM Adrian Hanauer in the final frantic weeks , who then forwarded it to owner Joe Roth who was in France at the time. Roth read the blog and the other local newspaper commentaries and decided to add the write-in after the media blitz had already been prepared. Roth later confirmed the story with me in person.

That slim opening was enough for Seattle Sounders fans both past, current and future to launch a local street-level and world-wide internet campaign for the traditional Seattle name. Local press also came to the rescue behind the write-in idea.

The first Sounders FC flag. (Jenni Conner)

While Seagals and newsprint ads hocked the vote and the three ballot names, Seattle Sounders fans and friends were busy typing away to any and every soccer website they could find. "Sounders" fans went to the phones to call family, friends and soccer acquaintances. They cc'd their entire email contact lists with a plea to go to the club website and vote. Emerald City Supporters joined forces with future MLS club Philadelphia's "Sons of Ben" to increase the vote. The ECS had been all along the most vocal supporters for adopting the traditional name.

A quick google search of the phrase "write in Sounders" gives you an idea of how quickly and thoroughly the word got out. Blogs led the way in bringing the story to the front and the vote to the website.

We heard from football supporters around the world. They either knew of the name "Sounders," or understood the passionate cause of supporters to save their club name. Europe, Asia, Australia, South America...all over fans posted their support and registered their write-in votes at MLSinSeattle.com.

On March 29, 2008 MLS commissioner Don Garber, who had earlier told the world he was counseling the Seattle owners to 'move on' from the name Sounders, stated on national TV after an MLS match, that "There is a strong write-in movement for Seattle Sounders," later adding about the name "we'll get it right."
 

Joe Roth, Sounders owner, explains the turn-around to embrace "Sounders." (Jenni Conner)

On March 31st fans who had tirelessly campaigned for the name to be adopted discovered that First and Goal (who run Qwest Field) had registered the website addresses www.SeattleSoundersFC.net and SoundersFC.net and .com. The timing of the registrations gave heart to the possibility of the cause becoming a reality.

The final vote tally was huge, nearly 15,000, and some form of "Sounders" was written on thousands and thousands of ballots. The badge was designed as a three-part honor to the city, the northwest and the history of soccer in Seattle.

April 7, 2008 was a day of celebration for the campaigners who woke the world up to our tradition and history, and in the process gave Seattle MLS every reason to keep that tradition alive and build further on that history.

It is now 2009, and 18,200 season tickets later we can only wonder how far the "Sounders" movement has grown, and has yet to grow.

My hand-held video of the name announcement at the Space Needle last April.