Every body fans in their own way. Some sing, some march, some cheer, some write, some create two-poles. Heather Stewart is part of that two-pole group. Over the past three years she’s created nearly 100 of the little supportive banners.
Back in April that number was 93 with six more already planned.
“All but 7 are for Sounders/S2...one was for my daughter for her when she played middle school soccer, 1 was for Hugo's niece for her little league soccer and 1 for my school district to hold up on the side of the road when we were trying to pass our school district bond...we passed!” she told Sounder at Heart via email. “One was for Orlando after the nightclub shooting- OrlandoStrong with the heart. And one was for Landon Donovan when he came for the Steve Zakuani event. One I made for SonarFeed and one for Kingdom Hope...which are kind of Sounders themed I guess.”
Stewart’s two-pole passion started with S2 player Duncan “Captain Crunch” McCormick and grew, and grew. She debuted a new one every game after that. Her various two-poles were once behind the ECS section at CenturyLink, but now they are above her own seats, but taking up nearly two sections as they stretch from 332 to 334.
Each endeavor takes about 2-4 hours with some exceptions. She definitely has favorites.
- Jordan Morris/Cristian Roldan "Sounders Bromance" two pole. I just love how colorful it is. And it seems like a happy two pole.
- Stefan's "The Save" it is so vivid. I love all the small connections to Stefan hidden in the piece. And it pays honor to a favorite artist of mine (Romero Britto).
- Andy Craven's "Cravenclaw" two pole (that idea came from James Woollard and Ian aka the16thdoc). The first Harry Potter themed two pole...and I loved this one. There were so many drafts, and then I obsessed about it. Scary thing when two obsessions combine! Harry Potter and the Sounders.
- Ozzie- the character of Anger from the Disney movie "Inside Out". When fans walk by, this is always one of the most popular. He autographed it in the mouth, which just cracks me up.
- Charlie Lyon- the first season's lion two pole. On black fabric...the lion just popped. And that one took forever to paint.
- Harry Shipp's "Harry Potter" montage. I cannot begin to describe how thrilled I was when Harry joined the team. Another bazillion drafts. This one probably took the longest just to get to the point where I could put it on the fabric.
Most are signed, and her goal is to get signatures on them now. Some are already with the players that inspired them. Stewart gives them to the S2 players after the final game of the season.