SEATTLE – On May 4, 2022, a stranger hugged me in a bathroom line.
But first, let’s back up.
It was the 45th minute of the CONCACAF Champions League final between the Sounders and Pumas UNAM, and I was trying to beat a halftime rush. From the north concourse at Lumen Field, I heard what happened next.
After Sounders striker Raul Ruidiaz’s shot deflected off a defender, turned left and limped past Pumas goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera, a tournament-record 68,741 fans aggressively unglued. A slew of Sounders hopped a barricade to celebrate with supporters in the stadium’s south end. A stranger wrapped his arms around me, perhaps reflexively, an outpouring of emotion in a line to use the loo.
The Sounders’ 3-0 win – 5-2 on aggregate – felt like a seminal moment in Seattle sports. The city turned its entire attention to soccer, and the Sounders rewarded it with the first Champions League title for any MLS team. This was a collective catharsis, a spectacle with historical significance, an earned outcome carved from decades of competition. This all felt organic. That joy was genuine.
The FIFA men’s Club World Cup – which the Sounders qualified for with that win – has not reached those highs.
How could it, really?
That’s no fault of the Sounders or their scarf-wielding, drum-pounding, flag-waving fans. On Thursday, 51,636 filled Lumen Field for the Sounders’ 3-1 loss to Atlético Madrid. They watched the Sounders trade punches with a Spanish power, narrowing the deficit to 2-1 with an Albert Rusnák goal past keeper Jan Oblak in the 50th minute. After which, the Emerald City Supporters repeatedly rained his name – AAAAALBERT RUUUUUSNAK – from a bouncing Brougham End.
“There’s not a lot of teams in MLS that have an atmosphere like this,” said Sounders forward Jesús Ferreira, whose goal in the 79th minute was wiped away by an offsides call. “So whenever other teams come and see it, it’s impressive. They don’t expect it from an MLS team. So I’m proud of the fans, and I’m excited to be around those fans.”
Unsurprisingly, it was not enough – as Atlético Madrid’s punches inevitably piled up. They claimed 57% of possession, with seven shots on goal, earning a brace from winger Pablo Barrios and a goal Axel Witsel headed home to start the second half.
It was, at its best, what this tournament can be – an international showcase the likes of which Seattle might never again see. Though the Sounders (who also lost 2-1 to Botafogo on Sunday) will likely not advance to the Round of 16, Monday’s match against UEFA Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain will be a similar spectacle.
And not just because of PSG.
“Look, we’ve hosted some big events here – the MLS Cups, the CONCACAF Champions League final. These types of events really show the class, the deep roots that we have with soccer in this community,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said Thursday. “The fans were excited. There were some Atlético fans there as well that helped the energy in the building.
“But overall, Seattle soccer fans show up, and I appreciate that, being a guy that was born and raised here. The building was rocking today.”
If you feel underwhelmed by the Club World Cup, don’t blame the building, or the players and fans who effusively filled it Thursday. Blame FIFA’s dynamic-pricing model, which effectively punished fans for ordering tickets early. Blame the MLS, which cited its CBA in refusing to pay players more than $1 million of the minimum $9.55 million in tournament earnings, prompting a recent Sounders protest and wasted goodwill. Blame a political climate that might make international fans reconsider traveling to the United States.
Blame, if you’d like, unlucky injuries – which have hampered the Sounders’ ability to spring upsets.
“We were missing Jordan Morris, our striker (with a hamstring injury),” Schmetzer said. “That’s never an excuse. We don’t use excuses. Other players can fill the role. But I think in those critical moments, inside the 18-yard box, that’s where the big players earn their paychecks.”
(This particular paycheck should be bigger. But again, I digress.)
Fact is, you can’t manufacture a moment, or force a feeling.
Make no bones about it, FIFA has tried. That’s why it launched an expanded 32-team tournament in the first place, attempting to capitalize on the timing of next year’s North American-hosted men’s World Cup (with national teams as opposed to clubs). It dangled a $1 billion prize pool to incentivize the world’s best clubs to showcase top talent, including a $40 million purse for the eventual champion.
But if this experience feels emotionally empty, that’s because it is. Besides money, it’s a tournament without the weight of history or significant stakes.
On May 4, 2022, I heard and felt what Sounders soccer can be, even from a bathroom line on the north concourse. More than 68,000 fans embraced a moment.
Like Schmetzer said, Seattle soccer fans show up. They did again Thursday. When it ended, they stood and rained a round of enthusiastic applause.
The players and fans both deserved it. They’re the best part of an otherwise flawed FIFA Club World Cup.