alternatives to friendlies?

With the Sounders-sphere full of what is best described as a mix of ambivalence and vitriol over the de-facto announcement that the much-anticipated "Friendly 'C'" is none other than popular Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara - most commonly known by their nickname "Chivas" - it might be the time to open a discussion on exactly what could be a viable alternative to the "friendlies" we have seen the last 2 seasons.

Obviously, in season one we were a bit star-stuck to see the likes of Chelsea and Barca roll into town, seeing as how not only were these two of the best 4 clubs in the world, but we were still in that phase of the relationship with our club when everything seemed new and exciting.  The F.O. made the very wise and fortunate decision to include the MLS Cup final as the "C" ticket that year, thus ensuring a full house for the nationally televised event, and furthering Seattle's place as a great MLS city.

While this season's opponents have certainly lacked the luster of last year's, there is still a clear pattern to the selections that have been made.  Boca Juniors is among the most storied clubs in South America, as well as one of the most trophied in the world. Celtic has a huge following in the Irish community and as one of the "old firm" in Scotland are one of just two clubs (along with Rangers) in the Scottish Premier League that most anyone is familiar with.  Chivas is touted as Mexico's most successful and popular club team.  All these clubs, while lacking the luster of Barca and Chelsea, and relatively big and important clubs in their own right.

Unfortunately, its is not just the perceived lower stature of the clubs involved that has many in Sounders-land bemoaning this 3rd friendly, or for all intents and purposes, the other two already played this year.  Schedule congestion, the evolution of our relationship with the club, and doubts about the wisdom of mid-season friendlies for marketing purposes are all among the concerns being voiced... although having said that, I DO NOT intend for this to be a bitch-fest, there are and have been plenty of avenues for that out in the internets all year.  What I really want to do HERE is have a conversation about what the alternatives are, if any, and present two myself that are out there.

1) "Sister cities cup"

Chicago did this in May, hosting 3 clubs from "sister cities" in a mini-tournament format, with "semi-final" matches in a Wednesday doubleheader and then another doubleheader Saturday with the loser and then winners squaring off.

Pros: the Chicago event got very good reviews, and Seattle prides itself on being a very "international" city, and we like to actively tout our importance as part of the Pacific Rim community.  We even have a trophy to hand out to the winner, the "Emerald Spire."

Cons: possible opponents do not necessarily include the likes of even this year's friendlies (sister cities) although we could get FC Nantes to come... Unfortunately the state of the club in Perugia is a real mess right now, and other than that there are possible K-League (Daejon Citizen) and J-League (Vissel Kobe) opponents.  SK Brann, from Bergen, plays in the Norwegian top division, and Arka Gdynia, from Gdynia, plays in the Polish top division, although neither of these leagues are among Europe's finest; and I'm not even sure Mazatlan, Mexico has a team [??]

2) revive the Pan-Pacific Championship

This event is the brainchild of SUM (Soccer United Marketing, an arm of MLS) and underwritten by MLS.  It was last played in February 2009 in Carson, CA, and prior to that in Honolulu, HI in '08.   I see no reason why Seattle couldn't step up and host future events, and sort of "take over" this fledging mini-tournament.  As with the "Sister Cities" idea, we even have a trophy, the Emerald Spire.  It could even be expanded beyond 4 teams, with a re-built Husky Stadium providing a possible 2nd venue.

Pros: that whole "Pacific Rim" thing we always hear so much about Seattle being a part of; we could get solid matches against teams from similarly-ranked leagues as MLS (Japan, Korea, Australia); revitalize an idea with merit; pre-season scheduling wouldn't add congestion (February usually isn't that bad here, no worse than England where they play in February!)

Cons: this is "owned" by MLS and our F.O. probably isn't willing to do what it would take to work this out with the other entities involved.

So there you have it.  Once again, this is just two ideas for the FO to perhaps make some extra cash for themselves in non-League or Cup matches.  Yes, maybe in a prefect world, most of us would like to see the "friendly" idea squashed altogether, but there also isn't any reason some sort of reasonable compromise can't be reached.  

Please comment below because I would really like to hear everyone's [constructive] ideas...