A Story For The Faithful

They are going to win this one,

My buddy said that right after Mauro's first goal. I of course thought he was being rather cocksure. After all, we had spent the majority of this match against Kansas City against the ropes. He was supremely confident though, and who was I to doubt him, he was only four beers deep whereas I was on my tenth.

I laughed him off though and poured another, ecstatic that my boy, my Argentinian, had brought me a point. Oh me of little faith. Sure enough a minute or so after my buddy, Matt Janzer, made his ridiculous, preposterous prediction Mauro Rosales made yet another run into the box.

And he passed to Fucito.

Who passed to Neagle.

Who knocked the slowest, ugliest, most meandering, goal I've ever seen hit the back of the net.

I was so elated I screamed, I shouted, I fist pumped, I drained my beer. It took me a minute before I realized the insanity of what had just happened, and I looked at my friend and drunkenly said "HOW ARE YOU MAGIC RIGHT NOW?!?"

 This win prepared me. Not just for future matches you see. Oh no. it prepared me for much more than that. I live about 8 hours away from Seattle. Earlier in the day, hours before the match, I had bought tickets for the match against Chivas. Section 126 Row J. Great seats, great price.

I couldn't help but feel down though. The last couple weeks had been hard. You see recently, I had also driven 8 hours, and paid far more than I ever had for Sounders tickets, to watch Wayne Rooney score a hat trick against a bunch of reserve players. I had also risked the wrath of my girlfriend, ignoring the movie we were watching together to watch the Sounders drop a leg to San Francisco. I had invited a bunch of friends over to my new apartment to watch Seattle get dismantled by the the Dynamo.

Oh this was better than a victory. This was highway robbery, grand theft three points. This was the energy I needed to drive through Montana, Idaho, and Washington. This was Mauro looking into my green-bleeding soul and saying "Thank you for your support us, thank you for not giving up"

This is why, next Saturday, when a bunch of "goats" come to town, I will scream louder then I ever have in my life.This is why I will give my full 90. This is why I bleed green.

Sky of blue.