Just go to one large watch party and you'll see it – the culture of soccer, global, diverse, passionate, welcoming. You'll find shirts from clubs and countries scattered around the world.
No matter how big the party around Puget Sound, you'll feel the shadow of the Sounders – inclusive, just, community, partnerships.
In a small living room or in a suburb. On the Pier or on a barge. Inside Seattle Soccer House. On the bricks of Pioneer Square.
This is soccer. This is our World Cup legacy.
Seattle didn't build a new stadium. We didn't launch a new arena or rail system.
We improved parks. We finished projects. We made the lands around us better and we made them to share with our visitors over these weeks. We made them for us in the future.
Today at Renton's Legacy Square I was overwhelmed by communities normally hidden. Now, thanks to soccer they burst forth vibrant in yellow and green, in blazing red and white with green, in the colors of hope and glory, in the beauty of humanity.
In 10 and 20 years I'll remember that, not the price points. I'll remember talking with a Canadian-Caribbean and Moroccan and a Brazilian. These are all people who now call Renton home and soccer their sport.
They danced with a ball at their feet on the mini pitch in Sounders colors.
They screamed in joy when both teams scored and in pain when either team missed. They were rivals for those 100+ minutes. They were neighbors before and after.
This is their home and their legacy. They're Renton and Seattle and Washington and America.
That's our small legacy. That's our beauty. I'll see y'all Friday at Fast Fashion SoDo. Because that's our legacy, too.
Use our affiliate links to support your bloggers when buying merch and tickets.
This newsletter was made possible through the support of Iron Chuck’s Gluten Free pitas. The only soft, foldy, bendy 100% GLUTEN FREE flatbread-style pitas.
Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Here's what you missed on the site this week.
The new issue of IV: The Sounder at Heart magazine is now available to order. Issue 2 will focus on Seattle’s role in the 2026 World Cup.
Sounders
Next match: July 16 v. Portland Timbers
World Cup
- The USMNT just gave us the gift of unbridled optimism
- USMNT deliver first-in-century performance in World Cup opener
- Finally, actual World Cup games to play for the USMNT
- The Ultimate World Cup Experience Has Arrived in Seattle!
- What’s Obed Vargas’ World Cup outlook with Mexico?
- Lobbing Scorchers: Rep. Rick Larsen on Trump, the USMNT & the 2026 World Cup
- Boom-Boom-Clap: The World Cup qualifier that put Seattle on USMNT's map
- Where to watch the World Cup around Puget Sound
- 7 reasons to watch non-US games at the World Cup
- We Sat in the Most Expensive Seats in Seattle!
- How normies are experiencing the World Cup in Seattle
This newsletter was made possible through the support of Full Pull Wines, a boutique wines reseller that has been sponsoring us since 2011.
Reign
Next match: July 4 at North Carolina
- Seattle is 10th at the break
Defiance
Next match: June 17 v. Dynamo 2
- Tacoma is 6th of 10 in the Pacifc
Looking back at the news
Everything else you need to know
World Cup
- Clint Dempsey won't put ceiling on USMNT's World Cup chances, but he sets floor (USA Today)
- What futi can tell us about the USMNT (Futi App)
- Seattle group returns free World Cup tickets after Somali referee denied U.S. entry (Seattle Times)
- As war reshaped the World Cup, Iran’s team found an unlikely home in Tijuana (Washington Post)
- Thomas Partey denied entry to Canada, unable to play in Ghana’s World Cup opener (New York Times)
- Which Type Of Big Weird Guy Is Your Goalkeeper? (Defector)
- The State Of Sportswashing (Defector)
- The World Cup For Nobody Is Almost Here (Defector)
- Texas joins N.Y., N.J., California in probes over FIFA World Cup ticket practices (ESPN)
Sounders and MLS
- How Sounders reserve GK got adopted by Belgium before World Cup (Seattle Times)
- Fifa vice-president Victor Montagliani: ‘MLS can become the second-biggest league in the world. Maybe the biggest’ (The Guardian)
- A new potential Seahawks bidder emerges (Seattle Times)
