Now! That's what I call Seattle 1995

Dave Clark -

Sometimes it is hard for me to think about how long ago 1995 was. A young soldier at a language school in Monterrey, Calif., my identity there was wrapped in nerd-dom, grunge and the brick red Sonics shoot around jersey.

Two of my good friends in our class were also from Puget Sound. A large overrepresentation of a city punching well above its weight nationally at the time.

Culturally, Seattle was where A&R went to discover the post-grunge sound (hello Sounders fans Presidents of the United States of America); it was Magic: The Gathering taking over gaming; Shawn Kemp dunking on everyone; Eddie Bauer and other local retailers dominating mallrat life; it was the second city of the emerging internet.

In my teens and 20s, Seattle felt impossibly far from small town North Carolina. Unlike anything around me at the time, it seemed to live in the future. Along with music culture, Microsoft and Amazon were building a foundation for Seattle’s reputation in technology. Combined with grunge, I had the impression that everything cool and interesting was originating in the pacific northwest. I can distinctly remember asking myself this question: In the future, do I want to be where things are coming from or going to? - Lee LeFever in Seattle, 1995

Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and the Foo Fighters all still dominated rock charts. The End was where other bands, not from Seattle, released their debuts. Their top 107 of the year is nostalgia and Seattle memory fuel.

And the sports world? We were also the center of that, for a bit.

Refuse to Lose. Not in our House.

The Kid ran for President in 1996, that's how popular Seattle was nationally.

If was 1995 that really elevated him – the Refuse to Lose season put the Mariners on the map, something that hadn't happened before. Randy, Jay, Ken, Edgar and the rest put up numbers in an electric offense playing inside the weird pimple that was the Kingdome.

Over in Lower Queen Anne, Shawn, Gary, Nate were throwing down dunks with a press-and-run style that turned Seattle into a basketball town at the same time it was a baseball town. They were electric and only Mike could stop them (we don't talk about Dikembe).

The mid-90s were peak Seattle sports.

Seattle Sounders, the A League

Y'all, when you see the list of names on that roster you're going to be absolutely stunned, because they were and are the coaches that launched the current era of Sounders homegrown dominance – they're also that year's MVP and keeper of the year.

When the Sounders came back in 1994, coached by Alan Hinton, they surged forth to dominate – a Commissioner's Cup (shield) and two League Championships.

Peter Hattrup took the MVP in '95 when he led the league in scoring. Marcus Hahnemann, before the hard rock castle and World Cups, won back-to-back keeper of the year recognition. Hinton was the coach of the year.

Jason Dunn, now the coach at Oly Town, was the rookie of the year. Neil Megson, Shawn Medved, Chance Fry, and Wade Webber were 1994-96 All Stars. Some of you were probably coached by them in the 2000s.

Dick McCormick and Billy Crook were on that '95 title winning team, the first for Seattle pro outdoor soccer. They'd go onto be part of the coaching group for the Sounders Academy.

Bernie James, the Crossfire legend, was also on the squad. Olympian Jason Farrell and USMNT B Teamer Dusty Hudock played here. Dom Kinnear, the legendary MLS coach, played in Seattle after playing in Necaxa.

Now! That's what I call a party

The kit and celebration of the mid-90s soccer scene in Seattle is a celebration of an era of Seattle when it was a cultural and sports beacon, not the port-industrial town of the '80s. It's a celebration of brash athletes, loud rock and champions.

This week is a celebration of one of the foundations of what it means to be a Sounder. I'll see you in the stands thinking about my youth, jamming to the tunes that defined that era while watching all but five players on the squad who weren't even 1 when the Sounders won their first 'ship.

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Catching up on Sounder at Heart

Here's what you missed on the site this week.

Sounders

Next match: Wednesday, July 16 v. San Jose Earthquakes | 7 pm PT | MLS Season Pass
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Everything else you need to know

There's too much soccer – especially for the best athletes. They are frequently playing 7 games a month for club and country. Now with Club World Cup, World Cup and Nations League they don't get time off. That may change. FIFA, players agree to mandatory rest periods per ESPN. But, Fifpro was not invited to the Fifa player welfare meeting per the BBC. If everything gets worked out there would have to be at least 72 hours between matches for a player and every player would get at least three weeks off between the end of one club season and the beginning of another. There are also intentions to deal with climate stresses as the world's game is exposed to the world's biggest problems – heat domes, flooding, convective storms, polar vortexes, cyclones and more.

Predicting the USMNT's 2026 World Cup roster (615 soccer) Ben expects Jackson Ragen to emerge as one of the centerbacks on the roster with a chance for Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris to get their second World Cup experience.

Meza proud to represent Mexican heritage with USWNT (Pro Soccer Wire)

As Tim Leiweke team competed for Climate Pledge deal, competitor criticized Seattle's process (King5)

Investigation finds Bay FC’s Montoya caused players harm but did not violate NWSL harassment policy (San Francisco Chronicle)

Italian soccer great Giorgio Chiellini joins LAFC ownership group (Yahoo! Sports)

Former USWNT midfielder Tobin Heath reflects on soccer career: 'Nothing will ever fill that void' (New York Times)

Trinity Rodman not pleased with Wimbledon announcers calling her 'Tiffany' and mentioning father Dennis (Awful Announcing)