Sounders travel well for first MLS Cup final

There are more than 2,500 miles between CenturyLink Field in Seattle and Toronto’s BMO Field. The Seattle Sounders and their fans had less than two weeks to prepare for the team’s first-ever MLS Cup final. Thanks to the league’s allocation rules, the Sounders only got an official 1,500 tickets for such a big match.

Despite such difficulties, the Sounders and their fans have absolutely swarmed Toronto. We’ve heard stories of fans driving through the night, sitting in airports all over North America for endless layovers, and last-minute dashes through terminals and gates and train stations and more. The Sounder at Heart contingent took three different routes on tiny planes, and yours truly sprinted through the Toronto airport, luggage in tow, to catch a bus to the city on Friday night.

But we all made it here. The Sounders and ECS put together a raucous party at the most Canadian bar I’ve ever seen, and I had to quickly down a plate of poutine and dash off to yet another train to get to the stadium. Seattle fans absolutely swarmed the overground train to the stadium, singing and singing and chatting with Toronto fans, both sides buzzing with excitement.

Photo credit - MikeRussellFoto

It’s 26 degrees in Toronto right now, and the stadium is filling up with red and black. But even though the sliver of Sounders fans across from the press box looks small, we can hear them all the way up here. The atmosphere is good, sure, but it’s not just the home crowd making noise. Brian Schmetzer’s Rave Green Army did everything they could to be inside this stadium and make their voices known in enemy territory. But just like we can hear them, so can the players.