Prematch Priormath: Our Finest Hour

What will history say when it looks back on the 2016 Seattle Sounders season?

By Ethan Swenson Dec 7, 2016, 2:00pm PST

MLS: Western Conference Championship-Seattle Sounders at Colorado Rapids

In the darkness we wept; tears of disappointment, cries of anguish, unencumbered despair. It covered us in shrouds, blocking out hope. But it did not stop us. From the dark days of yore, adrift beyond the endless beaches, we rose, shedding the heavy shackles of burden that held us down for so long.

We have fought, we have clawed, we have scratched ourselves through the densest of thickets to be where we are now. We will give no quarter, we will cede no ground, for we know from where it is we have come, what it took to get here. There will be no backing down.

Overlooked, discarded, obsolete no more.

Down, yes, but never out. With our backs against the wall we rallied. With our brothers and sisters beside us we joined our voices in a chant so powerful, so unified, we announced our ascension. From the depths we rose, stronger for our journey, unafraid for we had stared Death in the eye and told it "No."

For no matter the foe, no matter the field, we stand tall as one and move forward. Our past has passed, strengthening us for who we were, shaping us into who we are. Battletested. Hardened. Ready. Our inviolable resolve in the face of unrelenting adversity forged us anew, never to surrender.

Our future lies before us, not defined by one moment, but instead a collection of experiences honoring the hills and valleys of this long trek. Come Saturday, we will either be crowned the Champion or not, but this is not the end of our story. Ours is a story without beginnings or endings, ours is a story carried through the passion, the love, the joy that we share, weaving through the lives we touch, the connections we make.

After Saturday we will be richer for this test. We will know that no matter how dark the path ahead, we will forge onward, unrelenting. But it is not yet Saturday, and there is one task still to accomplish. We will never flinch, never weary, for our Hype thrusters have been activated and there's no stopping this Hype train! Get Hype!

#2016MLSCUPORBUST

GET HYPE!