Letters to Trixie

Oh Trixie, Trixie, Trixie,

We have two games to review and two games coming down the pike this week.

First game was away at LAFC.  It was the new expansion club’s first home game in their new stadium and so there was lot of hoopla surrounding the game.  There’s honestly not a lot to say about the buk of the game.  It was not a terribly exciting game, Sounders didn’t finish a lot of chances to score, and defended like gangbusters for over 90 minutes.  Then a dive, the ref blew the whistle, and Laurent Ciman hit a solid, kind of knuckling free kick that Stefan Frei let slip through his hands.  In the 94th minute.  Is there a worse way to lose a game?  If there is, I can’t think of what it is right now.

I’ll be honest, Trix.  I took this one on the chin.  I want the expansion sides to be successful.  I want the league to succeed.  I want soccer in the US to be successful.  This is why I was cheering on Toronto in CCL.  This is why I’m happy to see homegrown players come into their own and aspire to the national team.  This is why I keep telling myself over and over and over that a second club in LA is a good thing, that a rising tide lifts all boats, that a solid result in their first home opener is good for LAFC if this brings dedicated fans to MLS.  And I keep telling myself this.  Over.  And over.  And over.  And over.  And over.

The second game was not an improvement.  At home versus Columbus could’ve been a real turn around for us.  As you might’ve guessed from that sentence, it wasn’t.  Despite all odds.  Pedro Santos was rightly sent off in the 15th minute after trying to put his cleats through Alex Roldan’s face.  This left us 75 minutes and a one man advantage.  How did we respond?  With 17 shots (3 blocked, 1 on target) and 43 crosses.  The game ended scoreless.

Credit to the Crew, they switched their formation and either put 9 or all 10 men behind the ball at all times to defend.  And they held on.  Lodeiro didn’t start and wasn’t in the 18 man roster.  In the post-game interview Coach Schmetzer said that he was dealing with a significant injury, that they were hoping he could play, that Nico wasn’t able to play, and also the decision was left up to him.

… I’m sorry, what?  Was the injury significant or did the coaching staff believe he could play?  If the injury was significant, why was the decision left up to Nico Lodeiro?  If the injury wasn’t significant why would Nico decide not to play?  The mind reels.

Regardless, the attack looked beyond ineffectual.  We looked so flat and uncreative; it wasn’t a fun game to watch.

It’s time for some wake up calls and some real talk.  Trix, most teams are nearly a third of the way into the season.  We’re unusually lucky because we took a handful of byes early, so we’ve only played 7 matches.  But 5 points in 7 games and -4 goal differential is nothing to be proud of.  We have 103 shots and only 5 goals (lowest in the league) and all 5 of those goals were scored in two games.

I think we’ve talked previously about the importance of patience.  Or, we’ve talked about concepts tangential to patience.  This and constant and brutal crush of consecutive defeats are some of the worst aspects of sports.  Worse, not much can change in the immediate future.  In June/July, we’ll all take a break for World Cup and then the summer transfer window will open.  (They actually overlap slightly.  The World Cup final is July 15th and the summer transfer window is July 10th - August 8th.)  This is when our front office will make their move.  Our GM has said in no uncertain terms that we’ll be making an 8-figure signing as well as making another influential acquisition.

But we’re talking about a sea change that is at least 2 months (or 10 games) away.  At that point Sounders will be halfway through the season and then the question becomes, is it too late?  Optimists will point to 2016, when Seattle mounted one of the greatest comebacks in MLS history.  We went from bottom of the table to fourth in the Western Conference (7th overall), which was an unprecedented leap.  We then went on to win the cup.  But that summer was a dark one.  I remember the final press conferences with Coach Sigi Schmid with an excruciating pain, not unlike my memories of middle school fashion and chatting with girls.  It’s not fun, Trix.

Pessimists have already made their peace with the season.  And the only way they’ll return is when Sounders climb the standings and have a shot at the playoffs.

So what do we do?  Optimism is one thing but being a realist is critical during stretches like this.  I dunno, Trix.  I said, it was time for real talk and here it is: I don’t know.  I don’t like watching the team like this.  But I’m a dedicated fan.  I enjoy watching soccer and I love supporting the Sounders.  So… I guess we just keep doing that.  Tonight we face Toronto on their home turf.  Of course, folks are holding it up as the rematch after the fall from grace (as both teams are near the bottom of the table).  And on Sunday is a rivalry game against Portland.

I’m not optimistic about either.  But I will be wearing rave green.  That’s what eternal blue, forever green means.

EBFGingly Yours,

Dear Trixie,

Alright, let's review Seattle at Kansas City.  I have to be honest.  I watched this game a day or two after sinus surgery, so I'm cobbling together this analysis from foggy memories while I was hopped up on painkillers, highlights posted by the league, and Reddit threads that I'm discovering I had commented on.  Ah, the joys of recovery.

We'll start with the end.  A draw 2-2 on the road.  This is one of those results that if you had told me in advance, I would've gladly taken it (especially seeing as SKC are top of the Western Conference right now) but having watched the game, we could've done better.  Which is a weird, dissatisfying feeling to have. Again, our lineup is handicapped by suspensions and injuries.  Leerdam drew that idiotic red card in our last match, and he's regrettably joined by Clint Dempsey.  This little piece of news floated in from the Disciplinary Committee about THREE WEEKS *AFTER* the incident.  God knows why they took so long to issue this decision as they're being quite tight-lipped about the whole affair and the DisCo is pretty clearly trying to throw Dempsey under the bus about the whole thing.  A group of lions is called a pride.  A group of crows is called a murder.  A group of baboons is called a congress.  I don't know what a group of idiots is called but right now I'm inclined to nominate the term Disciplinary Committee. A Disciplinary Committee of idiots.

Our play looks markedly better than in the first three games.  When our offense is on the attack and looking good, it is looking so damn good.  When we're not clicking and look bad, we look so damn bad.  There is no middle in Seattle, apparently.

I'd like to focus on one player in particular that I think might help us temper our expectations going into a season with rough injuries, an aging roster, and only 2 of our 3 Designated Player slots filled.  That player is Tolo Nouhou.  A lot of folks are shifting the bulk of the blame onto Nouhou.  And, well... rightly so.  He was getting burned up on the his side and too often Zusi (or another facet of the SKC attack but mostly Zusi, who are we kidding) would catch him out of position.  For young overlapping outside backs with pace, this seems to be strong strategy.  The wingback goes up with the attack, possession changes, the counter-attack is sprung, and our dear player is woefully out of position.  Sometimes they can get back in time to make a play.  Sometimes the distance or speed of the opposition is simply too much to overcome.

Where have we seen this before?  Do you remember a young homegrown talent named DeAndre Yedlin?  You know, the homegrown player the Sounders signed with just two college seasons under his belt and blinding pace?  The fella, who immediately saw call up's to the national team and then was quickly signed in the English Premiere League.  It's hard to remember back that far but Yedlin was plagued with the same errors in his early days of professional soccer.  In lower leagues, he was simply able to outrun his mistakes.  But after going pro, it was no longer a given that his speed could always compensate for being out of position.  Though slowly, sometimes the hard way, Yedlin learned when to join the attack, when to support with distance, and when to hang back and defend. This is one of those difficult lessons that just takes time and experience.  There's really no way around it.

Earlier I spoke of no middle in the attack, our roster is very similar.  We have a lot of older players who are kinda on their last season or two as well as a lot of young promising talent.  It's honestly not a terrible place to be, as the vets will guide the younger players, offering guidance and advice from lessons they probably mostly learned the hard way too.  And games like the one against SKC, will reveal themselves as growing pains.

Growing pains are good.  They're not fun, but they are good.  Because they are an opportunity to be better and stronger.  Tomorrow we face Minnesota at home.  Which, in my humble opinion, is a great way to follow up the game in Kansas City.  MNU don't have the strongest attack, we're playing at home, and, while our injury concerns remain disconcerting, we're free and clear of suspensions.  Meaning we're that much closer to our strongest form we'll see in the 2018 season (summer transfer window acquisitions notwithstanding---ohpleasegodplease).

Home game means wear your green home jersey.  Sunny afternoon game means we're that much closer to stunning PNW summer.  And Sounders match day means, when it's us versus them, you can always count on me.  EBFG Growing in Pain,

Dear Trix,

Hoo boy.  Where do I start?  Well, maybe with some honesty.  The beginning is a very good place to start but honesty might be better for us at the moment.  I watched a replay of the game against Dallas, as promised.  And it was terrible.  Just mind-numbingly terrible.  If it’s not clear by now, I think sport has a lot to teach us.  This must be painfully obvious to anyone who reads this… if anyone reads this.  But yeah, let’s put our cards on the table.  I think there’s a lot life lessons to be gleaned from sports and it’s something I care very passionately about (another thing I feel is important--caring passionately, I mean; also, to clarify, sports are the thing I can passionately about, not life lessons).  ANYWAY.  I try to wrap both of those in a neat little bow for you.  But this game against Dallas…  YEESH.

We started slow, then showed some signs of life, and right when the game was (more or less) beginning to move in a positive direction Clint Dempsey nut tapped a guy.  If you don’t know what that is, great.  If your curiosity starts getting the better of you, ask your dad.  I’m sure we both became quite familiar in our middle and high school years.  So, the ref goes to VAR and sends Deuce off with a straight red.

Now, we’re being honest, so let’s be honest.  Before VAR, this probably wouldn’t have happened.  The move was off the ball and cleverly hidden from view from the officials and most players on the pitch.  But you know what’s not cleverly hidden from view?  CAMERAS.  A professional athlete can’t so much as pick their nose or scratch their butt without it becoming a gif on SB Nation.  Now we can argue whether there was intent, if Dempsey actually hit him, and whole host of other things but it doesn’t really matter.  A move like that, whether or not it lands, is going result in a red card.  So a lineup already depleted by injury is now playing a goal down and a man down.  I don’t have to tell you it didn’t end well.

So, what’s to write about?  A classless act on a soccer field hurt a team already suffering from factors outside their control.  You don’t write about it, you write it off.

Well, you write it off and you look forward to the next game.  I hate to tell you, Trix, this was more of the same.  Kelvin Leerdam slaps a guy for some ticky-tacky BS gamesmanship.  Again VAR.  Again red card in the first half.  Again we lose.  It was dumb and it cost us a game.  Which is the 3rd time in 3 games of regular season league play.

I’ve written to you about bad days before, so I’m not going to do that again.  And I’ve promised you honesty, so I’m just going to say it, there is nothing to learn from these two games.  They were awful.  I hope to forget them, to tell you the truth.  If we play well and lose, I’m disappointed, but if we play like garbage and get our asses handed to us… well, who cares?  Why are we here if we’re not going to put in an effort?  Why am I spending the precious little money I have to watch games for team that can’t go 90 minutes without turning this into a lame MMA spectacle?

Trix, I haven’t lost faith in the Sounders.  But the near future isn’t so bright.  Technically we have until May 1st to bring in new players but I don’t think we’ll see real improvements until the summer transfer window which isn’t until July 10 (and goes through August 8).  So we’re talking at least 3 more months of likely frustration.

I’m at a loss, Trix.

But I hope you’ll stick with me.

Stick with us.

Stick with the Sounders.

Really Trying Here,

Dear Trixie,

Oh me, oh my.  It's only the beginning of the season and I'm already behind.  First things first.  You are getting so big.  It's kinda unreal.  Your pop sends me Snaps every so often and the other day I stumbled across a baby photo.  I couldn't believe it, comparing the two.  It boggles the mind, Trix. I remember hearing that “you’re getting so big” junk when I was your age (er, not when I was your age but I remember people--adult people--saying that to me).  And I hated it of course because when you're a kid all you want to be is treated like an adult and when you're an adult you want to go back to being a kid.  I suppose that is the great, unstoppable press of time.  Ok, ok.  I'll stop being a doting uncle and be the responsible uncle that talks to you about soccer.

The Sounders have only played two regular season games but they’ve also been a part of some extracurriculars, namely CONCACAF Champions League (or CCL, for short).  What the heck is that?  Don’t worry I’ll tell you.  CONCACAF is our confederation.  There are 6 confederations organized by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body.  Our’s is the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football or abbreviated as CONCACAF.  CCL is a tournament for club teams (as opposed to national teams) who have finished top of their league in the last season or so (I say “or so” because different leagues use different calendars and it gets a bit complicated but you get the idea, the best teams from the continent in the last year… or so).

Our first match of 2018 was away at Santa Tecla for CCL.  Santa Tecla are a Salvadoran side.  They’re a solid team but one we were well-matched against, giving us a strong possibility to advance.  In the first leg we played flat and looked gassed very early.  Very very very early.  Injuries prevented us from taking an honest first team (we travelled without Torres, Ozzie, Leerdam, Deuce, or V-Rod) and we walked away with a 2-1 loss.  Unfortunately for us, Jordan Morris didn’t so much as walk away as limp.  He tore is ACL and is out for the rest of the season.  This doesn’t bode well for our attack.

Or so you’d think!  Because a week later we played the second leg at home and blew them out 4-0.  This time they looked flat and our midfield ran like clockwork.  Our first half left a bit to be desired and they pulled a lot of time wasting tricks out of the bag but once we scored that first goal in the second half, it was off to the races.  Santa Tecla needed an away goal and that really opened up their defense.  After the second goal, you could see some players begin to lose the light in their eyes and by the third… well, it started to get sad at one point.  The big tactical change came at halftime.  When centerback Alfaro was subbed out, Svensson slipped back to pair with Torres, and newcomer Magnus Wolff Eikrem (how cool a name is that?) joined the midfield.  This was a decided push for attack and it was a great decision by Schmetzer.  After all, who cares if you showed well in a knock out tournament?  If you don’t try to advance, why are you participating?

Hot on the heels of that game came the season opener against expansion side LAFC just 3 days later.  With another CCL game on the horizon, we started more of a second team.  Former Sounder Tyler Miller was in goal for LAFC and boy howdy did he have a game!  He was peppered with 22 shots, 13 of which were on target or blocked.  Good for him but gee cripes can we finish some goals?  Rossi slipped one passed in the 11th minute and from there on out we were chasing this game with personnel who were clearly outmatched.  But coach and GM have both said explicitly that CCL is the priority and, with fixture congestion that has us playing 3 games in a week, it was understandable we might have to take the first part of the MLS season on the chin.

Ok, now back to CCL 3 more days later to face CD Guadalajara at home in the first leg.  Save the gaping hole where Jordan Morris would’ve played, we put out a defiant first team and again laid so many shots down, you’d think we were on a 21 run.  But only one found the back of the net and late (not until after the 75th minute).  This was a frustrating game to watch.  The clean sheet was critical but missing so many opportunities in the attack was disheartening.  It left a bit to be desired moving into leg two.

Which would come just a week later, speaking of disheartening… the fixture congestion and short off-season has made for an injury-plagued roster.  We’re still without Ozzie and V-Rod but pile into that med bay Morris and our key playmaker, Nico Lodeiro. To boot one of the best centerbacks known to man, Chad Marshall, is taken out with a bad injury to the head and so is Will Bruin.  All before halftime!  Let this be a lesson to you, Trix.  When you go up for a header, you need to put your arms out to body the other players away from the ball.  Noggins knocking is no fun.  Down 5 starters at first whistle and then two more (as well as those possible subs) by the 35th minute.  I’m not sure at this point you could even call it a B squad that got their rears handed to them 3-0.  Thus ends our CCL journey.  But moreso than that is beginning to sow the seeds of doubt for the season.

And 4 days later we’re back at it in league play.  I actually haven’t watched this game yet.  I think this weekend I’ll watch a replay or at least the condensed match.  Though, I know the scoreline (it isn’t pretty) and Reddit has made me well aware that Dempsey is shown a pretty unceremonious red card and then is quite the poor sport coming off.

As I said, time presses onward, so where does that leave us?  No more CCL.  That’s for sure.  At least for now.  But we have a whole season in front of us.  Bear in mind, even though we’ve played 6 games, only 2 of those have been regular season MLS games.  Meaning we have 32 games to figure it out.

There’s obviously something I’ve glossed over.  Which is, of course, the result from 2017 MLS Cup.  By now I’m sure you know, the Sounders did not win.  If I’m honest we didn’t play well.  If I’m really honest, we didn’t play well in either final.  But time presses on. After one of those lackluster performances, we raised a cup.  After another, we had nothing to hold but our head in our hands.  Time presses on.

Looking at the transfer windows and roster rules, the likelihood we’ll sign a big name striker to lead our attack, a replacement for Jordan Morris, cut any dead weight, or add any other critical pieces will have to wait until summer.  Time in this case is a cruel friend. It’s a lot of cloudy skies in the short term but, in the long term, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.  I know those two analogies don’t connect as well as I’d like and maybe time won’t fix that.  But it will fix a lot of other things.  We just have to wait.

Yours in Time,

Dear Trixie,

Alright, here we go.  As you well know, we won the last match against the Houston Dynamo.  This means there are roughly 90 or 120 minutes separating the Sounders from a second consecutive appearance at the MLS Cup Final.  So, where do we stand?  Let's take a quick look at last game and then look forward to the next.

Naturally, I was nervous going in.  Houston has been very good at home: 13 wins, 5 draws, and only 1 loss.  Also, for whatever reason and to make matters worse, we have not played well in Houston; 4 ties and 4 losses.  I chalk a lot up to the change in climates.  Moving from the cool, temperate Pacific Northwest to hot, and often humid, Texas can't be an easy adjustment.  And the travel distance is nothing to sneeze at to boot.

But Sports are a strange thing, Trix.  If you had told me on the morning of the game, we'd leave Houston with a 2-0 result, I would've been thrilled.  But watching the game, this could've easily have been 3-0 or even 4-0.  And I'm not just talking about the penalty kick Nico Lodeiro missed.  Joevin Jones put wide a 1-on-1 chance against the keeper and Lamar Neagle sailed one over the bar in straight up Wondo-vs-Belgium fashion.

We started out aggressive, which was a nice change of pace from the days where Sigi, our last head coach, would have us bunker in during leg one.  I always hated that technique.  It left me exhausted and with very tense shoulders.  Besides an early chance from... I want to say it was Elis... Seattle dominated the first half.  Lots of good combination play in the midfield.  Very front foot attacking style but with a stout defense that was tough to break.  This was especially important as Stefan Frei, our starting goalkeeper, was out with a hamstring injury.  His backup, Tyler Miller, was solid.  Miller wasn't tested too terribly much but we saw him come off his line to grab balls out of the air, make a couple of good saves, and communicate well with the backline.

The second half was another story.  Off and on we looked lazy with a slow first step.  Just as this game could've ended 4-0, it could have also ended 2-2.  Though, we held out in the end.

But remember, remember, remember... two game aggregate series with weighted away goals.

On Thursday we'll play Houston again, this time at home.  Both of those away goals will prove crucial.  Here's how each scoreline could work out.

As you can see, because of those weighted away goals, the Dynamo need at least 3 to win outright (or 2 to send it to extra time).

There's basically a couple options.  1) We can bunker in and just play defensively.  2) We can bunker in, play defensively, and look for moments to counter-attack.  3) We can play open with our normal style of attack, leaving us vulnerable to goals but also giving us more opportunities to score.

Personally, I'd love to see a whole lot of option 2 with a few moments of option 3 for good measure.  If we're up with 10 minutes left, I can see us switching to option 1 to see out the end of the game.  I've never been a fan of option 1 across the full length of the game.  Despite Alerth Elis being suspended, Houston has a lot of attacking options and I don't want to give them an inch until the game is nearly a foregone conclusion.

As a wise man one said... Never give up. Never surrender. Eternal blue. Forever green.

Let's go back to MLS Cup.

Still Yours in Hope,

Dear Trixie,

Hey kiddo.  So... it's been a while.  Well, it's been a few whiles and handful of a time's and, by my watch, we're a hair passed an age.  Tuning in for games that began around 3am Dublin time and then coming home to rehearsals/performances occupying a lot of my free time made it difficult to write.  And then it became more difficult as the mountain of time in which I hadn't written grew.  At this point we're in the second leg of a two game aggregate and I just decided to say, "Damn it all," and write.

So that's what I'm trying to do now.

I'm going to start with soccer as it's easier.  Like I said, we're in the second leg of two game aggregate series.  I know this is your first playoff experience, so please bear with me.  In a two game aggregate series you play one game at home and one game away.  The score from both of those games is totaled and this determines who advances to the next round.  It's pretty common in soccer tournaments as a means to negate home field advantage and the wear of travel on players.  Additionally, MLS uses a sort of tie-breaker means called "weighted away goals."  Which means a goal scored on the road is worth more than a goal scored at home.  It's not easy to wrap your head around.

Let's work through an example.  Say, you and I are on a team playing a two game aggregate series with weighted away goals.  In the first leg, we play away and win 1-0.  In the second leg, we play at home and lose 1-2.  Even though the aggregate score is 2-2, the other team would advance instead of us because they scored more goals while playing away.  My buddy Rob once explained it as an away gaol being worth 1.1 or 1.01 goals, if that's helpful to you.

Ok, so that's two game aggregates with weighted away goals.

In our series, the first leg ended in a dismal 0-0 draw. MLS has the higher seeded team host the second leg and that's today.  Could I have waited longer to write?  Probably not.

But soccer.  What's this means for the Sounders, I pretend I hear you ask.  Great question, Trix.  Basically, we have to win to advance.  If we win today, we advance to conference final (the two game aggregate series with weighted away goals before the cup final).  If we lose, our season is over.  (Hence, I could not have waited longer.)  If we tie with any scoreline greater than 0-0 (e.g. 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, etc.), Vancouver will have score more away goals and will advance.  If we are 0-0 at the end of 90, we will play two 15 minute periods of overtime in which away goals are no longer weighted (hooray!).  If we are still tied, regardless of the number of goals scored, we move on to penalty kicks.

So.  What to do?  The simple answer is pull ourselves up by our cleat straps and win.  There's really no use in fretting about weighted away goals or the fact we had just 1 shot on target last Sunday or how long it's been since you've written your faux-niece.  We can spend all day complaining about the unbalanced schedule or injury concerns or how late the games come on when you're in Europe.  There's really nothing else but to go out there and give it your damnedest and hope it all works out in the end.

So long as you've done that, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I apologize again for the delay in my writing.  Hope you can forgive me and hope we'll be watching the Sounders play November 21st for the first leg of the Western Conference Finals.

Yours in Hope,

Dear Trixie,

Trix, it's been a minute.  I'll get to that.  But let's start with some recaps of the games.  In an uneven game, that can really only be described as disappointing, we lost 0-1 to Toronto.  Followed by two losses that were straight up embarrassing; 1-4 in Chicago and 0-3 in a living nightmare/deja vu at Kansas City.  Followed by two scrappy, at times ugly, wins against Salt Lake and Portland.  Finally, an abysmal performance in Columbus last night with another 0-3 loss.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to take the 3 points from RSL.  And I always and forever be grateful for 3 points from the Timbers.  You can chalk up the loss to the Crew as being spread thin, but we are undeniably in rough shape.  Injuries continue to plague us and our attack has no focus.  Worse, World Cup Qualifiers have arrived, and, because MLS cannot for the life of them figure out a GD international break, we've lost Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris for international call up's to the men's national team.  Of course, I'm happy for those two and will be glad to see them represent our club and country on the pitch, but... during a 3 game week? When there was a slim chance we're finding some rhythm (or at the very least grinding out good results and finding ways to win)?  This is devastating.  Our attack has turned from toothless to... I dunno, jawless?

Because we're in a World Cup qualifying year, this will continue to happen.  We've got a friendly on June 4th, Trinidad & Tobago on June 9th, and face Mexico at the Azteca on June 12th.  Then we have Gold Cup games throughout July.  It's a lot.

What's this all mean for the Sounders?  I actually started writing before the Crew game last night but even then I was not optimistic about our chances.  And I reckon we'll see more of the same at home facing Houston, unless half of the Dynamo are swept up in the call up for Honduras' qualifiers, even the ones that aren't from Honduras (aaaaand I just checked, their scheduled miraculously worked out so that the 3 players called up will show up after the game against Seattle).  All this leaves us lucky to come away with even a point per game and we're 14 games through a 34 game schedule or 7/17.  Just 3 games from the halfway point.

As you may have picked up by now, I'm feeling pretty down about the Sounders and how their season might shape up.  I'm clinging to the hope of a summer transfer window miracle which will solve our woes in the attack (and maybe pick up a right back for the backline).  But will lightning strike twice?  It's really hard to say.  And, looking forward, more disappointments at club level may be down the road.  Next summer is World Cup, which is awesome for so many reasons.  League play is not one of them.  We could be missing key players in the summer again Jordan Morris, Clint Dempsey, Nico Lodeiro, Joevin Jones, Roman Torres, and there's been chatter about giving Christina Roldan a call-up.

"So, why not just choose to not care?" I hear the hypothetical you that can form complete sentences ask.  You're right, sports don't matter.  They have no meaning or intrinsic value.  They’re certainly not important than life.  Which has pulled me away of late.  Hell, I made a move to live in Ireland for the moment; that’s certainly big life stuff.  So why bend over backwards to catch a few games on a cruddy, pixelated stream?  I guess, sports mean nothing in the same way that art means nothing or paper money means nothing or jokes mean nothing or the color red means nothing or any host of other things.  The truth is all of these (and so much more) means something because we ascribe those things value.  Truly Trix, there is nothing so great in this world as caring about something.  About loving so deeply and passionately that you weep for it whether in sadness or joy.  I share all this about soccer with you only because I care about it so much.  And likewise goes for those closest to me, I would want to share what I care about with the folks I care about most.  As you get older, soccer may not be your thing.  But whether it's playing piano or doing calculus or architecture or archery or optometry or gardening or scuba diving or whatever, do what you love and don't let anybody suggest that you simply choose to not care.

Yours Caringly,

Dear Trixie,

Ah, such is the life of a sports fan.  One game you’re saying, “This team really need to pull its head out of its ass and start working if we’re going to win some games and have a successful season.”  The next game the team really pulls its head out of its ass and starts working and wins a game and it looks as if they might have a successful season.  The next game, we’re right back to head-up-ass-ville.  Let’s have a look at the game last weekend against the Revolution.

We had a really great first 20 or 25 minutes, even considering the howler that Stefan Frei let slip through his fingers (people have bad days, remember). And the last half hour, particularly the last 15 or 20 minutes, we were playing some lights out soccer.  The thing is, a soccer game is 90 minutes, Trix.

But look at these stats.  I can’t recall the last time I saw such discrepancy in possession and passing numbers.

748 completed passes.  Compared to 258.  89% passing accuracy.  Also, New England had 46 clearances.  That is desperation made numerical, Trix.

Now, at the end of the day, we salvaged a point.  Like many, I was relieved that we managed even that.  But my feelings quickly changed to disappointment and frustration that we put ourselves in that position.  We should never be scoreless and 3 goals down at home.  It just can’t happen.  Not if we want to be competitive.  I was glad to hear some of these sentiments echoed by Coach Schmetzer.  Alright, the goal from Nico was a great spark.  And Bruin’s addition certainly lit a fire under the team as a whole.  You can watch the pace of the game (and particularly the Sounders) really amp up and turn us into team that looks like one of the most dangerous in the league, a team that is exciting to watch, a team that won MLS Cup last year.  When that front 4 of Lodeiro, Morris, Dempsey, and Bruin is clicking they make scoring seem like an inevitability.  Throw in Jones streaking down the left side and whipping crosses in.  Or Alonso collecting balls on the edge of the final third to distribute or take those long shots.  This attack is beginning to look like the beloved hydra of 2014. We have only to wait with bated breath for the swoosh of the ball on netting, those flame throwers to ignite, and the roar of CenturyLink to deafen those in the surrounding area.  Instead, the only inevitability was the bong of a shot hitting the posts or crossbar.  I’m sure you’ve already seen it but just in case, check out this pic that Matt Doyle tweeted out of how many times the Sounders have been denied a goal by the frame.

Ludicrous.  Look, the goals will come.  Shots will zero in.  That will be sorted in practice.  But you simply cannot lapse and not play the middle third of a game.  If you didn’t complete the middle third of a school exam, the best grade you can possibly get is 66%.  And our performance was certainly unsatisfactory.  Even if you give 100% effort two-thirds of the time, that’s still a two-thirds effort overall.  Time to shake it off, take stock of our strengths and weaknesses from the last 90, and focus up for the next 90.  Let’s make it a full 90 this time.  First kick is in 30, Trix.  No spoilers, as I’ll be on a plane and plan to watch the game late as soon as I’m able.

Fully Yours,

Dear Trixie,

Mornin’ kiddo.  At last some good news to report.  Wouldn’t you know it, the week after I wrote that Seattle needs to get serious and start getting some decent results, they head down to LA and make it happen.  Not only did the Sounders win, and not only was it against LA, and not only were they playing away (away points are so crucial in this league), and not only was it by three goals, and not only did the defense keep a clean sheet, but we were playing a bit deep in our bench because of injuries.  I’ll talk more about this in a sec.  But first, let’s play Spot the Difference (trust me, this practice will be great for when you pick up your first Highlights magazine).

First, take a look at this (our lineup against the Galaxy):

Now, compare it to these.

Ok, so maybe there’s a lot of differences, but two big ones I want to point out to you are the backline and our attack.

Let’s start at the back.  Depending on how you count, we were starting our 3rd and 5th string center backs (I’m counting this way: Marshall, Torres, Svensson, Evans, Alfaro).  We also started our 2nd or 3rd (or 4th? I dunno.) string right back, Delem.  And they kept a clean sheet.  Now you can say, “Oh, LA isn’t the same team anymore.  They lost Bruce and have a weakened attack missing Keene, Gerrard, and plus Gio is playing terribly. You’re comparing apples and oranges.”  You *could* say that.  But what if I told you those same four defenders also kept Atlanta, one of the most dynamic offenses in the league, scoreless.  Atlanta was missing Josef Martinez and Almirón only played the last 30 minutes, but still.  That defense even held Atlanta to fewer shots.

Against LA:

Against Atlanta:

See?

I don’t know if I believed Coach Schmetzer when, earlier in the season, he was talking about our backline depth.  Now I believe him.

The other major change was a rearrangement of our attack.  Morris was shifted to the left wing and Bruin started as the tip of the spear.  I hate to lose Shipp because he’s such a workhorse in the midfield but I reckon he will be good to have in the rotation and for depth.  Plus he might also serve as a defensive midfielder if Roldan or Alonso need to be rested or suffer an injury.  That all remains to be seen.

But back to Bruin up top.  Morris is more of an attacking goal scorer than Shipp and so that’s where his focus is.  That said, he’s not great as a lone striker.  On the wing, he’s got the speed to chase balls down or beat his mark on a through ball.  His hold up play has also gotten stellar in the last year, making him dangerous with a cross.  He’s generous and aware when Jones is supporting or making an overlapping run.  And being on the left allows him to cut inside to his favored right foot.

What does that make for Bruin?  Chaos in the final third.  Will Bruin is making all the first runs into the box which will do one of two things: either 1) draw defenders to make room for Dempsey (who loves the late run) and either Morris or Lodeiro, depending on which side has the back door to goal, or 2) defenders let him pass to mark Dempsey, Lodeiro, and Morris, as well as an overlapping fullback (or two) and then he is goal-dangerous.  If you let him alone, he’ll score.  If you cover him, someone else will.

This strategy was all over the place against LA.  The first goal he draws the defenders on the first run.  There’s a chance in 20′ where, as the defender steps to him, he plays in Dempsey.  He does that “first run” business on a chance at 58′.  And the second goal’s cross was intended for him but Ashley Cole put in the own goal instead.

This new formation with Bruin at the top was the first thing I commented on following the final whistle against LA and it’s been reassuring to hear those sentiments echoed back by professional analysts who know a lot more about soccer than I do.  Let’s hope Schmetz sticks with a formula that works.  It’s kind of his M.O.

I have no idea what our lineup against the Revs will look tonight, but we only have to wait about 7 hours to find out.

Yours Making the First Run,

Dear Trixie,

Ah, kid.  How quickly I’ve disappointed you.  Two games I still haven’t written you about and another coming Sunday afternoon.  Sorry.

Sounders traveled to San Jose two weekends ago and managed the second-most boring scoreline possible, 1-1.  This is doubly frustrating bc Avaya stadium has always been a thorn in the Sounders side.  We’ve never won a game away at San Jose (only losses and draws) and our current form nor the on-field talent really seem to matter.  I reckon we’ll discuss this in detail another time but San Jose just always seems to have our number.  It’s not uncommon for teams have this.  For the Seahawks, it seems to be the Rams, for some bizarre reason.  Hell, this happens to people too.  I can remember my fair share of folks that just plain ol’ bothered me, especially in middle and high school.  And, no matter how many hypothetical retorts I might say in the imaginary situations I dreamt up or how often I told myself to not get worked up and let it all roll off my back, they always seemed to get my goat.  But, I digress.  The midfield looked better still.  Though, I suppose in more of a defensive or possessive or holding way, because we’re still missing a linkup between the attacking midfield and our finishers.  I hate to wait for a summer signing but I get the feeling that’s the plan from the front office.  We can try to blame the change in management at Inter holding Honda and (let’s not forget) the summer signing worked last year, but I hate this strategy.  Mostly because the first results are frustrating in the first half of the season and this, in turn, makes the second half of the season more harrowing and contributes to me going gray.

Last Friday we away at Vancouver which fared a more disconcerting result.  We lost.  Which is one thing.  But worse, we looked disconnected.  Even when we had the run of play (which was plenty of times).  Suffice it to say, we looked terrible in the final third.  At this point, we are 6/34 through the season (which reduces to 3/17).  This is very nearly 20%.  To this point, I haven’t been bothered much to write off results as it’s still very early in the season.  But our record is 1 win, 2 losses, 3 ties. That ain’t great…  We need to start finding our groove, whatever that groove happens to be.  For now, let’s chalk this one up to a bad day.  I know sports writers are unfamiliar with the term but, the fact is, people have bad days.  Even, world-class professional athletes.  Sometimes even collectively.  Bad days suck.  And it sucks to have bad days.  And it sucks that bad days suck and there’s nothing you can do about how much they suck.  But the only thing that sucks worse than a bad day is making the next day suck because you let yesterday’s bad day and how much it suck bleed into the next day.  You gotta let that go with the night.  Wake up the next day and do your damnedest not to let it end up the same.  It’s tough.  I don’t know a single person who doesn’t struggle with it.  But! We got two sleeps and then Sounders play in LA (well, Carson, but who’s counting).  Let’s go out there, get 3 points, and a W.

Optimistically Yours,

Dear Trix,

Sorry for the delay, there’s been a lot going on outside of sport that’s had me tied up.  But let’s take a moment to review the game against Atlanta from last Friday.

First thing’s first; let’s just get this ugly little piece of the game out of the way.  It was a draw.  Ties are very difficult to watch in a general sense but, worse, this was a 0-0 draw.  YEESH.  I’m not going to try and sugarcoat this, Trix.  You’re an American.  You are born and raised in a culture that (regrettably) values distinct black and white lines and labels.  Despite the fact that so little of life divides and categorizes itself so neatly.  This is a great struggle for us and your generation will likely be exponentially better at handling this than mine was or the generation before mine, etc. etc. etc.  That said, it’s important to acknowledge.  Let us see this game for what it was: a soccer match with no goals scored.

It hurts to write but this honesty is important.  Though these sound like platitudes, not all ties are the same and there are certainly valuable takeaways to draw from the game (pun intended).  I know I sound like a broken record about this (it’s because it’s so crucial), but the midfield is looking good.  The partnership between Lodeiro and Dempesy took a small step backwards during the international break but I’m confident they’ll figure out how to play together.  The backline held and, although Atlanta was missing some keep players from the starting XI (namely, Martinez and Almiron), managed to keep a clean sheet.  This is particularly impressive when you consider our defenders were a ways down the depth chart.  That bodes well for when we have a healthier crew in between international breaks.

This match reminded me the value of playing out of your league.  I mean that in the literal and figurative sense.  Trix, there are few things as valuable as playing out of your depth.  Or surrounding yourself with competent, talented individuals who are better at what needs to be done than you are.  Whenever Clint Dempsey comes back from duty with the national team, he is sharper, faster, cleaner on his touches.  Playing at that international level in competitive games and with teammates who are skilled enough to play at that level, also yields a return that we (the collective we, the player, the team) all benefit from.  He also looks hungrier.  That characteristic is hard to manufacture.  It’s almost a form of eidetic return (check out the recent Idea Channel, they talk about this a bit).  Another great example is Christian Roldan.  When he was hoping to play for the first team, he basically said something to the effect of “I’m here to replace Osvaldo Alonso.”  Ozzie is one of the best players we have.  Why on earth would we want to replace him?  The simplest answer to this is Roldan is 10 years younger than Ozzie.  More than replacing him, Roldan is sort of his apprentice.  Over the past few seasons, Roldan has elevated to the first team roster, then bench, then starting when Alonso was injured, and now starts alongside him.  And his level of play has improved exponentially.  Ozzie will someday soon be on the downward slope and the way in which he has taught and nurtured Christian has served the player, the team, and the sport here in America.  Rumblings have begun about Roldan getting a national team call-up.  And, while he’s not at that level yet, he might be eventually.  Hell, he even might be soon.  But all this came from playing with soccer players way better than he was, from taking his licks and getting back up, and from an unrelenting attitude towards his own self-improvement.

Now, of course, this can’t work if the levels of expertise are too disparate.  If I were to train with the Sounders, it would be a waste of EVERYONE’S time.  But if I play soccer in a rec league maybe one level more competitive than is comfortable, I think that’s an opportunity to improve.

Anyway.  That’s it for now.  I’d love to write more but I gotta prep for a trip and fight off (what I think is) a sinus infection.  Next game is Saturday evening away at San Jose.

Yours Out of Depth,

Dear Trixie,

Hey, kiddo.  So, the Sounders played last weekend but it was an international friendly.  We’ll discuss friendlies more in depth at a later date but, the long and short of it is: the result will have no bearing on team, a B-squad will usually comprise a good portion of the starting XI, and, in my opinion, these international club level friendlies are somehow more worthless than preseason games.

So instead, at your mom’s request (and this just goes to show her foresight and thoughtfulness), let’s get the Hoang household on the same page as far as schedule.  That way, your gear will be ready to go on match day.

So, we have 34 games in an MLS season.  17 home and 17 away.  With the addition of expansion sides in Minnesota and Atlanta, the league is composed of 22 teams with 11 in each conference.  Each team plays 23 matches against teams within their conference and 11 matches against teams from the other conference.  Does this work out into a nice, even way?  No.  No, Trixie it does not.  Would it be smarter to lose one match from the year and play a home-away series inter-conference and 11 out of conference matches with hosts alternating annually?  Probably.  But Trix, I’m not MLS Commissioner.  So we get what Don Garber says we get.  (There’s also US Open Cup and CCL but, since this is complicated enough, let’s stick to regular season.  For now, at least.)

So, here’s the 2017 season for the Sounders:

Sat, Mar 4 @ Houston Dynamo 5:30p Sat, Mar 11 @ Montreal Impact 4:00p Sun, Mar 19 vs New York Red Bulls 4:00p Fri, Mar 31 vs Atlanta United FC 7:00p Sat, Apr 8 @ San Jose Earthquakes7:30p Fri, Apr 14 @ Vancouver Whitecaps FC 7:00p Sun, Apr 23 @ LA Galaxy 1:00p Sat, Apr 29 vs New England Revolution 7:00p Sat, May 6 vs Toronto FC 1:00p Sat, May 13 @ Chicago Fire 5:30p Wed, May 17 @ Sporting Kansas City 5:30p Sat, May 20 vs Real Salt Lake 2:00p Sat, May 27 vs Portland Timbers 12:00p Wed, May 31 @ Columbus Crew SC 4:30p Sun, Jun 4 vs Houston Dynamo 7:00p Sat, Jun 17 @ New York City FC 10:00a Wed, Jun 21 vs Orlando City SC 7:30p Sun, Jun 25 @ Portland Timbers 1:00p Tue, Jul 4 @ Colorado Rapids 6:00p Wed, Jul 19 vs D.C. United 7:30p Sun, Jul 23 vs San Jose Earthquakes 7:00p Sat, Jul 29 @ LA Galaxy TBD Sat, Aug 5 @ Minnesota United FC 5:00p Sat, Aug 12 vs Sporting Kansas City 1:00p Sun, Aug 20 vs Minnesota United FC 7:00p Wed, Aug 23 @ Vancouver Whitecaps FC 7:00pm Sun, Aug 27 vs Portland Timbers 6:30p Sun, Sep 10 vs LA Galaxy 6:00p Sat, Sep 16 @ FC Dallas 5:00p Sat, Sep 23 @ Real Salt Lake 6:30p Wed, Sep 27 vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC 7:30pm Sun, Oct 1 @ Philadelphia Union 10:00a Sun, Oct 15 vs FC Dallas 2:00p Sun, Oct 22 vs Colorado Rapids 1:00p

When you see “vs,” that means a home game and when you see “@,” that means we’re playing away.  You’ll notice a couple of TBD’s for time on the Galaxy games.  They’re prima donnas, so sometimes we have to wait until LA’s front office isn’t “washing their hair” to lock down when we’ll actually be playing.  If you want to match your kit to the team, they usually make an announcement about what colors will be worn, but generally rave green at home and whatever our secondary kit looks like when we’re away.  There’s a third kit too which gets trotted out for competitions but those are going away after this season.  Again, Don Garber says so (it’s not fair; don’t try to make sense of it).  Visuals below.

Rave green for home.  This is our most traditional color.

Smolder in the rave green, Deuce.

This year they trotted out a new away kit called Heritage (they alternate release years btw).  It’s based on on the NASL days and comes with a strong warning from me not to eat while wearing.

White jerseys don’t work well with ketchup or nacho cheese.  The star looks good though.

That’s real Head Coach Brian Schmetzer holding his real jersey from several decades ago.  LEGIT.

Our third kit gets brought out and dusted off for competitions outside of MLS, for big rivalry games, and when our colors match our opponents to closely.  Like fine china or formal wear, it’s reserved for special occasions.

Third kit for third wheel competitions.  Note: Tyrone Mears is not a third wheel.  Even if he is playing for Atlanta right now.

Ok, now you’ve got a schedule and you know about the kits we’re wearing this season.  Next game is on Friday, Trix.  OH!  And there’s a super important World Cup Qualifier tonight for the USA Men’s National Team.  Sorry about not letting you know earlier, I’ve had trouble posting.  I’ll get you a schedule on that ASAP, but throw on some red, white, and blue; first kick is 7pm PST!

Nationalistically Yours,

Dear Trixie,

There are few things as wonderful as a home opener but one of them is winning 3 points in your home opener.  And there are few things as wonderful as winning 3 points in your home opener but one of them is hanging a banner before your victorious home opener.  And there are few things as wonderful as hanging a banner before your victorious home opener but one of them is when that banner lets everyone know last year you were the league CHAMPS.

(Here in action.)

Maybe as you were browsing MLS articles this afternoon, you read something along the lines of: 

The Sounders are back. It took a long time, but the MLS Cup Champs have finally found their form the season after lifting the cup. Such is the unpredictable quality of MLS. Get ready to put another star on your kits, hang another banner from the staidum rafters, and revel in the sweet taste of repeat victories until next March. 

Trixie. Do not listen to them. To, once again, take a page from Men in Blazers, we are 3/34th through the MLS regular season.  Trix, that’s not even a tenth.  You certainly wouldn’t say a round of golf was wrapped up on approaching the second hole.  A dime isn’t a dollar.  And your mom and dad are never going to say it’s ok to eat 10% of your veggies.

But there are some great takeaways from the Sunday’s match and possibly the most important is one of those unquantifiable qualities of sport: chemistry.  We can try and look at the numbers--possession, completed passes, tackles won, the list goes on and on--but, I promise you, they never add up.  So much of what we love about playing and watching these games are the unmeasurable aspects of humanity.  Determination.  Rhythm.  Momentum.  Discipline.  Passion.  Heart.  The beautiful work in the midfield was unselfish almost to a fault.  But it’s a fantastic indicator of who this team is, what they’re like in the off the field, and how they intend to pursue the other 9/10ths of this season.

There are a hundred thousand ways to learn these parts of life but I remember getting lessons right alongside your pop during high school wrestling season.  I learned more about respect, perseverance, and dedication on a wrestling mat than I ever could have from anyone or anywhere else in those formative years.  Often from old man himself, as we went from practice to practice, match to match, tournament to tournament.  Regardless of what you pursue, I’m sorry to say you’ll likely have to learn some of these important lessons the hard way.  If it’s like me, it might be while getting your nose ground into a wrestling mat or while sustaining wall sits that seem to know no end or watching your best friend push beyond limits you did not know were possible.  But the important thing is learning them.  And the lessons you learn the hard way tend to stick with you.  Also, you have to eat your veggies, Trix.

But yeah, we won.  And that was awesome.  And we hung a banner.  And that was awesome too.  Cheers to the first of the season.  May many more follow.

Intrepidly Yours,

Dear Trixie,

The Sounders season is over. Like so many before them, the MLS Cup Champs flame out in spectacular fashion the season after lifting the cup. Such is the parity of MLS. Pack up your kits, hang up your scarves, cry bitter, salty, postseason-missing tears until next March.

By Monday afternoon, this is what you’ll be reading from any sports column that isn’t explicitly pro-Sounders. Trixie. Do not listen to them. To take a page from Men in Blazers, we are 2/34th or 1/17th through the MLS regular season. And while 1 point out of 6 on the road isn’t anything to write home about.  It’s not unreasonable yet.  Even the best MLS teams only pull about somewhere between 1.25 and 1.5 points per game.  We’re slightly below that but the bigger point is the sample size is small.  VERY SMALL.  I’m sure your folks have taught you, one swallow does not a summer make.  Neither does two.

Let’s look at the game.

The second half of our first game looks markedly better than the first half our first game.  The first half of our second game seemed negligibly better than the second half of our first game.  And the second half of the second game looked much better than the first half of our second game.  Do you see the pattern happening here?  Link up play is improving.  Our midfield is looking better and connecting more passes.  (Looking over the numbers they look similar to the Houston game overall, but it’s important to remember there was almost no production in the first half of that game.  I believe Jon Ryan said, “Stats are great when they work in your favor.”  I think what he meant was numbers are important and valuable, but they don’t tell the whole story of the game and may, in fact, be skewed by strategy.)

But here’s the real takeaway, that most Seattle fans know to be true.  It ain’t over ‘til it’s over, Trix.  Always, always, always remember that.  SKC knows this better than anyone.  This game was DOA until Lodeiro sunk his PK in the 83′ and we were going home with no points until Bruin snuck in his first goal for the Sounders at 93′, about a minute and a half before the ref blew the final whistle.  And, let’s not kid ourselves, the goal that tied it was a messy one.  

https://streamable.com/64o0m

But guess what?  The messy ones count just as much as the clean ones, as much as the beautiful ones, as much as ugly ones, as much as any other goal*.

So, two done and dusted.  One point stolen on the road.  Next up: home opener.  Prep your gear for next Sunday afternoon.

Yours in Rave Green

Uncle Nick

Dear Trixie,

I was about to begin by suggesting you may have been born just slightly too late.  Was it possible you missed the Sounders first MLS Cup victory?  (I mean, you certainly weren’t forming memories but still.)  Your old man informed me of your birthday and, realizing I was wildly wrong, I’m thinking you may have been born just in time.  Back in July of 2016, Sounders were wasting away near the bottom of the table and hit a low near the end of the month when we lost 0-3 in Kansas City, a game in which we had only one shot and it wasn’t on goal.  We had about a 4.5% chance of making playoffs.  Coach Sigi Schmid was fired, Brian Schmetzer was made Interim Head Coach, Nico Lodeiro was signed (along with Flacco), and Sounders went on a tear, finishing the season with the greatest comeback in MLS history.  We went from bottom of the table to handily qualifying for playoffs; a greater rise in standings in a shorter period of time than anyone had ever seen.  And, of course, we went on to win the cup and put the first star above the crest.  It was sports movie/ESPN documentary material.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Why am I writing?  Here, I’ll tell you.  Your folks are doing a tremendous job raising you.  I’ve seen it first hand.  But they can’t be everything to you all the time.  They’re goddam smart as all get out.  Voracious readers.  Gaming aficionados.  Politically aware.  But they don’t watch a lot of soccer.  Which is fine.  Not everybody digs sport.  So, I’m here to pick up that small bit of slack, like any good pseudo-uncle would and make sure you don’t end up supporting a terrible club like the Galaxy or LAFC.  Or worse, you become a Timbers fan.  Perish the thought.  To that end, I’m going to write to you; hopefully after every game but you know how it goes.

Last Saturday was the first game of the 2016 regular season.  It was... rough.  Full disclosure: I neglected to put out my Sounders flag for game day.  So, I accept a lot of the blame.  Still resting on my proverbial laurels, I also had not printed my game calendars for my planner and wall, on which I mark out the wins and losses.  A lot of things fell through the cracks, Trix.  But I’m taking responsibility for my mistakes and moving forward to correct them.  This is some big-time-important-life-lesson-type stuff.  If you’re going to root for a sports team, it’s important to remember all the arbitrary actions you take have a real effect on the game and team.  Take it from one who ate a lot of Skittles on pizza in order to keep a Seahawks offensive drive going.  Earlier I was hinting at something to this effect; the Sounders may just have been waiting for you to turn their season around.  Correlation isn’t causation but that facts seem pretty clear: you were born, a couple weeks later Sounders became a force to be reckoned with and became league champs.  But that was last season.  It’s 2017.  Everybody starts 0-0-0.

Ok, what else went wrong?  Frankly, we did not look good.  The team was disjointed and disconnected.  Passes weren’t weighted correctly.  Dempsey dropping way back, almost to defense.  Torres pushing waaaay up with the attack.  Marks were dropped or left untracked.  Lots of turnovers.  LOTS of turnovers.  But this game was also a tale of two halves.  After a break in the locker room and a chat from Schmetz, Sounders looked a lot sharper.  2 shots in the first half, 12 more in the second.  The chances were more clear cut and dangerous.  Our midfield looked better, stronger.  We were connecting again, if barely and with some difficulty.  Our backline was communicating better too; only 5 shots from Houston in the second half.  And our possession percentage (although, as you know this is a poor indicator of the run of play) was strong across the 90 minutes.

Yikes.

Much better.

So, what to take away from this sad sack of a game?  I was working on a play once which involved a lot of devised work from the cast.  We would be asked to create a composition, given some parameters, and then left to our own devices until we presented to our director.  On one of our first cracks at a composition things really went off the rails.  Cast members weren’t communicating.  The piece was unfocused.  All of us felt pretty terrible (except for one guy who I don’t think had any clue what was going on--but forget him).  There was a long pause after we finished.  Then our director said, “Well, you always burn your first pancake.”  This phrase stuck with me.  The idea that we can’t always expect perfection on our first try, made trying some things for the first time easier.  I knew I could just throw out that pancake and pour some more batter in the pan.  Trixie, we burnt our first pancake.  We didn’t turn it into an ashen hockey puck but it was not good.  But that’s ok.  We got 33 more pancakes to make.  And, if we’re lucky, 6 more after that. Next up: a fleur de lis pancake with maple syrup.

Yours,