Dave’s Football Blog

What does it say about Major League Soccer when one of its clubs goes to a USL First Division club’s house and loses 5-0?

And what does it say about the tournament in which they played when the big story coming out of that game is not that a USL side demolished an MLS side, but that the home club’s city might get an MLS team?

I mean, I understand that Seattle has NFL, MLB and (for the moment) NBA clubs and probably shouldn’t be satisfied with a soccer club in what’s essentially a second-tier league. Still, how about a little love for the team you have now, Seattle? They’re currently on top of the USL-1 standings, they just obliterated two MLS clubs in a row in the U.S. Open Cup — which is not a friendly, as some people would have you believe — and they’re hosting an MLS Cup contender the day after Labor Day. Surely, you can get more than 6,619 people into Qwest Field, a 67,000-seat stadium, for that semifinal match the day after Labor Day, can’t you?

Then again, for a weeknight game in a tournament that nobody’s ever heard of, maybe 6,619 is pretty solid. It certainly beat out the crowd at SAS Soccer Park on Tuesday, where the Carolina Railhawks edged out the Richmond Kickers, 1-0, to advance to the semifinals. Then again, it’s been 100 degrees outside during the day, so most everyone down here is probably looking to avoid sitting outside for two hours, even after sunset.

By the way, the Richmond Kickers may be in the USL Second Division, essentially a third-tier league, for financial reasons, but they had plenty of loud supporters for this game, which was impressive. It’s kind of a shame that they can’t get enough support at home to afford the travel expenses of USL-1. They’re not a bad club.

Not that this made it any less fun to sing, “Well it’s all gone quiet over there!!!”, when the Railhawks scored. I won’t be able to get to Connecticut for the semifinal match against the New England Revolution on Sept. 4, but I’ll be cheering for them all the same. This is a fantastic run for a first-year franchise, and I would love to see an all-USL final in this tournament. What a shame that not enough football fans will care.

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