Flag contest: Sounders fans already showing 'team spirit' before first kick

March 9, 10:03 AMSeattle Soccer ExaminerDavid Falk

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Seattle Soccer Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Winning Flag: This artful combination of the Washington State flag, the UK Union Jack, and traditional soccer supporters cultural use of skull imagery , won Joe Saarhiem the GOALSeattle.com Sounders FC flag contest. (Emerald City Supporters website. Original Sounders founded in 1974.)

Seattle Sounders FC have yet to play a regular season match but already their fans are giving them a lesson in 'Seattle teamwork.'

Joe Saarhiem is more than ready for Sounders FC kick off on March 19th The Bellingham resident won the "GOALSeattle.com Sounders FC Season Ticket Flag Contest" that awarded a season ticket to the top flag. The season ticket was donated by a fan who supported the NASL (and USL-1) Sounders and made a promise on the BigSoccer forum that he would buy and donate a season ticket if the new team continued the tradition of the Sounder name. Sounders FC chipped in a jersey and Kasey Keller-signed soccer ball for the second and third place winners. In a very cool 'Sounders fan showing some love move', Joe has decided to take the second place prize so that the second place winner, Joe Olson of Gig Harbor, can go to matches too.

The contest ran from late January until last weekend when judges and an online poll picked the winner. During the contest flag makers posted photo and video updates of the their progress. It also became clear that perhaps more than one of the finalists was relying on winning to be able to afford going to matches at all.

When Saarhiem was contacted as the winner, he took the contest for a new spin. "I started this project a month ago and and could not be happier with the results.  But with that said, I think it would be best to give the season ticket to the guy who made the Chief Sealth flag (Joe Olson).  You see I have two season tickets in the south end already and what I can gather from various message boards he has none.  It would be a shame to know that flag #3 is sitting in a living room on game day and not flying proudly in section 122.  I would trade down to the jersey knowing that one more die hard SSFC fan was able to stand, sing, and support our Sounders, that would be enough of a prize to me."

Joe's move was appreciated by the other Joe (Olson, of Gig Harbor.)

Saarhiem is still the official winner of the contest. His flag got nearly 40% of the vote and was chosen tops by both judges. Saarhiem was born in Portland Oregon and has lived all over the northwest. The 2000 graduate of the Art Institute of Seattle is currently an operations manager for a seafood marketing company in Bellingham.

 "The hardest part about making the flag," says Saarhiem, "was that I decided to use a blue fabric background, so it took mulitple coats of fabric paint to get the proper colors.  In retrospect I would have gone to a white cloth background and maybe saved a few coats of paint. (Try painting a yellow circle on blue cloth).

Be sure to look towards the south end of Qwest Field this season to see both Joes' flags. "March 19th seems like a dream right now," concludes Saarhiem. "I know it's a few days away really and the atmosphere, excitement and electricity of the opening match will be overwelming. I will probably waive the flag so furiously that I may take off and land in the section above me somewhere. I'd like to thank all the people that voted for my flag and i look forward to hoisting a pint with you all very soon!
COME ON YOU SOUNDERS!"

Kudos on the teamwork, Seattle fans. Take note, SSFC!