Moment of the Year Voting
by Dave Clark on Nov 13, 2011 7:30 PM PST
in Democracy in Sports
Email
PrintIn a season of excitement, disappointment and passion it is difficult to figure out which moment is most memorable. For 2009 there was a scene in the early hours when hundreds of fans met the team to celebrate their first trophy. In 2010 another US Open Cup win was highlighted by Sanna Nyassi's brace. For 2011 the number of moments, not just wins, but great moments is long. But eventually the Seattle Sounders 2011 year will be remembered for only one or two things.
This annual award takes more than a poll. From amazing plays, displays of passion (both fan and player), to 90 minutes gifted to us, the selection can be difficult. In 10 years what few seconds capture one the strongest non-MLS Cup winning seasons in MLS history?
57 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
None of Above
I voted for Neagle KC comeback finisher but, even though I see why they weren’t candidates for this list, the highest intensity moments for Sounders fans this year were
1) Neagle’s goal in the MLS playoffs making it 2-0 us. …. ROOF CAME OFF
2) Either of the goals in the comeback against San Jose to send Keller off (closely related to Keller’s 4 goal flury option above)
To those who voted for Honey Badger's goal...
Let me point out that this is a vote for the best MOMENT. Not the best game, not the most impressive victory, but the best moment. Based on that criteria, Neagle’s icing of the KC comeback does it for me.
I met a possum.
An exclamation point
versus a statement.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
this was my philosophy too
Nothing was more sublime than that KC comeback… though the Alonso goal was a great moment despite being bootstrapped by the size of the stakes.
I voted for the Honey Badger
because his goal was the best MOMENT. The relief, added with the amazingness that was that play, made it the absolute best moment by far. Didn’t even have to think about it.
by Sounders4life on Nov 13, 2011 8:08 PM PST up reply actions
it was definitely top 3
if you want to combine elements of stage (cup final), intrinsic worth (quality of goal) and celebratory intensity (home, open cup final), it was a top tier goal, but the game was in hand and the fact it was the cup final discounts the relative worth of it in terms of how excited we necessarily got about it.
I get more excited by random greatness. And we had a LOT of random, last minute heroics in everyday MLS games this year. Each of those moments is what made the season to me. Jeff’s header at home vs KC. Lamar @ KC. Rosales a few times. Freddy Montero. MLS workaday world. That’s ultimately the flesh of our season’s corpus and what should be recognized as most sublime.
it was a top tier goal, but the game was in hand and the fact it was the cup final discounts the relative worth of it in terms of how excited we necessarily got about it.
Exactly. I’m slightly disappointed that Montero’s opening goal isn’t up there, because I think that was a better moment (Exhibit A being that video someone posted).
I met a possum.
by s0merand0mdude on Nov 13, 2011 9:53 PM PST up reply actions
I'm rather confused why a goal in a Cup Final is less important than a goal in other games?
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
When was I making an argument about importance?
I met a possum.
by s0merand0mdude on Nov 14, 2011 1:50 PM PST up reply actions
when you said "Exactly" to quoted material that said
the fact it was the cup final discounts the relative worth of it
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
My point was that of course we went insane over the alonso goal – because it was in the cup final. But the game was already in hand. A similar goal in another situation wouldn’t have elicited the same reaction.
The way I looked at the question, the Neagle goal at KC was the singular most exciting goal of the season because, at that moment in time, it was the most unexpected, spectacular, sublime result that happened all year.
However, if you’re just viewing this question in terms of what was the most impressive goal made on the biggest stage, the most important at the most important time, the Alonso cup final goal would still have to take back seat to the 2nd goal (neagle) in the playoffs, IMO.
Also
IMO if you’re gonna just crown the Alonso goal, it undermines the whole question, because essentially you’re just saying what was the “biggest” goal in terms of stage/success. In which case the Alonso goal surely does take the cake and nothing would come close.
No one's "gonna just crown" the Alonso goal
It was put up for vote with a bunch of alternatives and is currently polling ahead. For many, it seems to be the moment of the year. I am sure that, yes, in many years where the Sounders win just one competition, the winning moment (should there be a clear one) will stand out to many of the fans, especially if the game was played at home and many fans were in attendance. That doesn’t really seem so unreasonable—sometimes the correct answer (a term used loosely here because it is a completely subjective question) is the simple answer.
At the same time, so far more people voted for something other than the Alonso goal than voted for the Alonso goal. It would be interesting to see what would result from a run-off of the top 3 or 4 options in this poll.
The moment that goal went in was as happy as I have ever been as a sports fan
by Aaron Campeau on Nov 13, 2011 11:15 PM PST up reply actions
that's why I voted for it
It was a great moment. Maybe you had to be there in order to appreciate it, but it was easily the highlight of the season for me.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Nov 14, 2011 8:27 AM PST up reply actions
Why I voted for Honey Badger's goal.
My favorite player scores a beautiful goal to ice a trophy for the team I love and runs down the field with a look of pure joy. I’ve watched it 50 times now and every time the joy on Alonzo’s face is overwhelming. So yes in 10 years I will still remember that moment.
As someone else said in another thread :
We are all fans with our own opinions.We will each find something special about each of the moments in the poll for our own personal reasons.
I like the guy so much I cannot spell is name correctly.
… grumble were it that edit button again?
Well said...
I agree that in 10 years, I will absolutely remember Ozzie’s goal. It was a fantastic goal, yes, but for me, it was the moment when we could truly being celebrating our 3rd US Open Cup. It’s hard to come up with words to describe the look of sheer joy on Ozzie’s face, the celebration of the team, and the absolute euphoria that swept through the stadium at that moment.
I have since compared this moment (and to be fair, that game) to being at the Kingdome in 1995 and watching the Mariner’s beat the Yankees in game 5 to take the series and complete their quite improbable comeback.
It's hard to hate on the Honey Badger
There’s much love for him, deservedly so, hard to hate on that, I voted for Keller’s saves, but wasn’t surprised that Ozziedammit is winning.
Funny...
Where’s JWay’s first experience of live in person Sounders soccer on this list?
:P
Unofficial Sounder Fan Club President - South Dakota Division
But serious, it was the Chivas game, which was well...
not a great game. But the experience was my moment of the year.
Unofficial Sounder Fan Club President - South Dakota Division
IN this list I picked the Montero brace.
I had a small bar full of strangers, in South Dakota, all watching and cheering for Seattle before the match ended. Fun.
Unofficial Sounder Fan Club President - South Dakota Division
by JWAY on Nov 13, 2011 8:09 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
The Open Cup was one of the sports moments of my lifetime.
I live in Phoenix, Arizona. Ive been a Sounders fan for the last few years, since I got into MLS. I decided to support the Sounders because Seattle was always to me a ‘final destination’ of sorts, in that it was the city I wanted to live in for the rest of my life. Always had a fascination with the city, and how beautiful the whole state is, and how perfect for me the weather was at least, etc, and have been a Seahawks fan for a good 8-10 years or so.
Well I finally was able to visit Seattle this year. I planned my vacation around the Open Cup Final (originally was shooting for the weekend of the Earthquakes game, but when they made the final changed the plans). It was the best sporting even I have ever been to (I’ve been to hundreds of hockey games, a few college bowl games, a world series, multiple NFL games, Wrestlemania) and none of it even came close to comparing. Finally hearing the chants and the songs in person and being a part of it was unforgettable. Ive seen them play before as I make it to most of the preseason games they do out here in AZ, but obviously it didn’t compare. Echoes of the chants still ring in my head, and I absolutely pine for the days that I can be apart of it every single matchday. It was one of the best nights of my life.
I felt a love for the Sounders and this game I had never felt before, even being what I would consider a die-hard New Jersey Devils (born in Jersey) fan, but even what I felt then was nothing to how I feel now about the Sounders after having actually witnessed the awesomeness that it is in person. I go to Coyotes games now and am just bored. Nothing else remotely compares. There was something very deeply spiritually fulfilling about the journey to Seattle and the game.
Regardless of missing out on the Supporters Shield, and the disappointing first round exit, this season was, to me at least, a roaring success because of the US Open victory. That night will stay with me till I die. It was utterly perfect. If I had to pick one moment from it, it would probably be the Montero goal over the Alonso goal, but Im not about to split hairs about that one.
And…anecdote over.
by Jason Riptide on Nov 13, 2011 10:12 PM PST reply actions 10 recs
100% Agreed
I’ve been to tons of Sounders matches but this was my first cup final and nothing compares for me moment wise this year despite attending most of the moments on this list and watching the others on television.
Alonso’s goal set off sheer pandemonium and it was a pleasure to be a part of the bedlam!
Roast Duck is a delicacy.
by PurpleHeart on Nov 13, 2011 10:29 PM PST up reply actions
Your story made my tear up a little bit.
Those of us that are here sometimes forget how lucky we are to go to every game. There’s no denying that those Open Cups are very special to me, but I can’t possibly imagine having one of those be my first Sounders experience. I can only compare it to that first match in 2009.
You mentioned going to Coyotes games. There have been some rumors that they may be coming to Seattle in the near future. How would you feel about that, and how would Phoenix feel about it? If Hockey does arrive in the Emerald City, I imagine the experience would be the Hockey equivalent of Sounders or Seahawks gamedays.
Speaking of which, have you had the opportunity to go to a Seahawks game yet?
Uh, kinda...
I see them almost every year when they play out here in Arizona, but have yet to see one at CenturyLink. The US Open Cup game was the first time I had ever even been to Seattle, and was there from that Tuesday-Thursday.
And its not even just going to Coyotes games, its even watching Hockey, which has long been what I considered my favorite sport, I just sit there feeling like something is missing. Noone is singing. Occasionally you get a canned unoriginal chant, and people cheer when someone scores, but the rest of the time it feels kinda hollow, ya know? Same for any other sport other than Soccer.
by Jason Riptide on Nov 14, 2011 9:27 PM PST up reply actions
And I hope Seattle takes the Yotes.
The Yotes may be the last available franchise for a bit. With two teams having to relocate, expansion for the NHL doesn’t seem likely, and then after the Yotes, the Islanders are looking like the next team in danger of moving, and that would be when their lease is up (I believe they have 5 years left on it…) Im a Devils fan, but based on where I live, and my younger brother who I take to games all the time being a huge Coyotes fan, they have a comfortable 2nd spot. I plan on moving to Seattle within the next year or two, and the biggest downside is that there is no NHL team there, and at that point I could care less if Phoenix doesn’t have a team. Arizona has some of the worst and most fairweather fans, for any team, in any sport. If the Coyotes left, maybe a few thousand people would even notice. Games this season have consistently had 6-9000 people in attendence…in a 17,000 seat stadium (which was built specifically for the team and is still state of the art).
by Jason Riptide on Nov 14, 2011 9:46 PM PST up reply actions
Goosebumps
Easy to forget how blessed we are, thanks for the reminder and hope you make it up here permanently.
If the criteria is what will be remembered about this season 10 yrs down the road
I chose the win in Monterrey. I bet MLS has only a handful (maybe a double handfull if things go well) of wins vs Mexican teams in Mexico in the next ten years. It was an ugly, crazy, nail-biting game, but Flaco’s goal was absolute beauty and the result will stand the test of time (especially as it was mostly our reserves vs mostly their starters).
I also think that Decades of Dominance tifo will go down as part of club history, to be talked about whenever Portland comes to play us at CLink.
by Nevtelen on Nov 13, 2011 11:14 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
Levesque's scuba dive
It wasn’t the most meaningful game. It wasn’t the most important win. It wasn’t even the best performance, not by a long shot. But it was the best celebration of the season by any player, where the Ur-Sounder showed how much it meant to be part of the team.
The fact that it came
from the Sutton-backpass-fiasco goal is also what makes it great. It wasn’t a beautiful technical shot or last second game winner, but when I think of the Levesque’s impish grin from the Decade’s tifo this goal embodies that spirit.
Best for Me was the Alonso's open cup goal.
Yes it was just icing, but man the stadium went crazy and so did I.
The KC comeback probably would have been it but I was unable to watch the game. I was driving over HWY 20 and when i lost cell reception we were down and the game was about over. Great surprise to when i got reception back and my phone displayed the Final score. I was like crap, i missed somthing special.
I voted for ozzies goal
I literally live 2,000+ miles away from Seattle, and the 2011 us open final was my first ever sounders match. When Ozzie scored that goal the stadium erupted. It is by far the most memorable sport sporting event I’ve been to, and I think it was ozzies awesome goal at the very end that made that evening so spectacular. I’ve been to marlins, dolphins, heat games( all in miami and including playoff games) and braves, falcons, hawks, Georgia state football games( all in Atlanta). I’ve been to a lot of sporting events many of them exciting but non were as exciting as that game.
by JZSounder4life on Nov 14, 2011 7:45 AM PST via iPhone app reply actions
Another vote for Alonso's open cup final goal
Best moment by far. Fucito’s face and Neagle’s hat trick were a close tie for second.
I voted for the DoD tifo.
Because that’s the moment I expect to remember the most 5-10 years from now. That adidas “All In” commercial has cemented it into my brain.
by The King of Norway on Nov 14, 2011 10:43 AM PST reply actions
Yep, there's quite a bit of Seattle in that commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9AKIblQKN4
Not only the tifo at :07, but also the ECS March to the Match (at :01), the Hawks Nest end of CLink (at :20), a random shot of the scoreboard that clearly says Seattle (at :21), and supporters flags (:22).
by The King of Norway on Nov 14, 2011 12:23 PM PST up reply actions
Best MLS tifo of all time probably
Yet another epic all time moment, so many of them, such a great year.
Montero's winner vs SJ
Making Keller a winner in his game, 64k people erupting, awesome moment!
I can understand the Alonso Open Cup goal, but the Keller match will never be reproduced. The Open Cup is something we’ve done before.
by PeterJH on Nov 14, 2011 11:20 AM PST via mobile reply actions
That shot was more memorable than his save sequence?
I almost put up call and repeat with 65,000 people
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
If you ask me what is going to define that game in the history books, I would say the save sequence, without a doubt. If you ask me what was the defining moment for me, it was Montero’s goal and how the crowd erupted.
Yes, the crowd noise that match was something else. I sit a few sections away from ECS and I recall noting it was often difficult to hear them.
by PeterJH on Nov 14, 2011 2:50 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
There were numerous times ECS was forced to stop chants or songs
To go along with whatever the rest of the stadium was doing or for general celebration loudness purposes because we couldn’t hear ourselves, was amazing.
Ozzie's PK in PDX
Being able to see the resiliency of the boys after going down twice in the second half was a thing of beauty, the overall atmosphere of JELD/PGE in our section couldnt be put into words, and being able to soak up the moment of “Yes!! three years in a row” combined with seeing the dejected faces of the Cinders fans as they knew we had it in the bag all made that shot and its aftermath the defining moment of 2011 for me.
Up to that point, I didnt think our team was capable of winning those types of games on the road. It felt like a before/after moment for the season.
Go banana!
The Sounders have three home fields;
CenturyLink
Starfire
Jeld-Wen/PGE
by Agent_J on Nov 14, 2011 12:21 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
The win was impressive
But a PK as a defining moment for a season?
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
And now you understand my argument up above...
I met a possum.
by s0merand0mdude on Nov 14, 2011 1:57 PM PST up reply actions
Just my opinon
To me, it was when I thought ‘Ok, I know we can go down in hostile territory and still have the gusto to come back.’ I supppose a lot of had to do with the whole experience that is Cascadia and the added bonus of a nationally televised game but for me, when I think of 2011 it will be walking out of Jeld/PGE with three points and bragging rights. Again.
Go banana!
Only a hit on the head.....
Would make me only remember EITHER Keller’s saves OR The US Open Cup being clinched.
Montero burning our nemeses to the south
C’mon, Fredy burning Portland has to be #1. I love Alonso and it the goal was fantastic but the game was nearly over.
Icing on the cake is nice, and Alonso is an amazing player … but oh… the pleasure of beating Portland in Portland…. ahhhh
I voted the KC-Comeback
because it was one of the greatest comeback’s in history. Turn a game from 0-1 to 2-1 in stoppage time is a miracle!
http://www.soundersfc.de.to/ First German Fanpage!
I voted Montero's brace
…as it was the most emotional moment for me. Honestly I wouldn’t trade sweeping RSL in the playoffs for losing to Portland in Jeld Wen the first year.
But that’s looking back at the season now. I’m betting, if you ask me and a hundred other people in 10 years, I’m guessing the scuba dive is going to place right up there. It’s more singular, where goals and wins and everything else will meld into a blur of on-field success that I’m sure the next decade will bring us.
Can someone submit a vote on my behalf...
…for Montero’s goals in Portland? That was the most fun I’ve ever had at a game but you apparently can’t vote using the mobile app. :-(
by James Amspacher on Nov 15, 2011 8:28 AM PST via iPhone app reply actions
Moment of the Year and Memory
For me the key issue is what will I remember years from now? I didn’t look on this as what was most important, but what was most memorable. Obviously, memory is often linked to what else what happening. Were you at one of these games? Who did you go with?
One of my fondest memories of the 2010 season will be the USOC final because I was able to attend the game with my two best friends and our wives. It was a birthday celebration for all 3 of us and our wives first ever Sounders game. Ozzie’s goal was special and is linked to that night. But it wasn’t my most memorable on field moment.
I also got to attend the Toronto FC game. Seeing the outpouring of support for Zak in the 11th minute was another very memorable moment. But again, it wasn’t the thing that I will remember most.
The thing that I will remember most was from a game that I wasn’t able to attend. The sequence where Casey Keller stood on his head, making 4 highlight reel saves in his final regular season home game of a storied career, will be the thing that haunts my early memories of the Sounders years from now. I doubt I will even remember the opponent, the score or whether the Sounders won. But I will remember a man walking off of the pitch on his terms with atheletic grace. One last spectacular moment in the sun that punctuates his stellar career as a player in front of over 60,000 adoring fans.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
