March 16th Cascadia Block Party

EMERALD CITY SUPPORTERS

 CELEBRATE THE START OF THE CASCADIA CUP’S 

10TH SEASON WITH BLOCK PARTY 

Largest Supporters Group of Seattle Sounders FC Host 

Pre-Match Party on March 16th in Pioneer Square

SEATTLE – This weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day revelers of Pioneer Square will again have added company this year, as the Seattle Sounders FC face off against their bitter rivals the Portland Timbers at Century Link Field.

To celebrate the 10th season of the Cascadia Cup, the Emerald City Supporters, with their partner, Fuel Sports Bar, will host the annual Brougham Block Party.  Located at the corner of Occidental Avenue and South Washington Street, this 21+ event will feature a large beer garden, food and full bar, ECS membership and merchandise tables, and raucous chants and songs.  Festivities begin at 12 p.m., and covered areas, patio heaters, and extra restroom facilities will make this a comfortable party venue for all Sounders fans (21 and over). Drink specials for Redhook No Equal Amber Lager and Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey will also be featured.

The Emerald City Supporters (ECS) is the largest independent supporters group of Seattle Sounders FC, and can be found at the Brougham End of Century Link Field during every Sounders home match.  Drumming, singing, waving flags, displaying tifo, and cheering on the Sounders, “The Brougham Faithful” create the best game day atmosphere in MLS.

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For more information, please contact Arthur Kim at (206) 859-9988 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tifo in 2012

What better way is there to prepare for next season than by reflecting on the previous ones? 

What went well in 2012 (almost everything). What could use some improvement (not much).  Let’s face it, the ECS has consistently had the best tifo in MLS since 2009. The question is why. Well, our superiority can be summed up in three words: structure, talent, and support. 

The overall Tifo structure within the ECS has evolved over the last 4 seasons. In the old days, there were different individuals responsible for Tifo crews, FO communication, match day gear transportation and set up, and large scale choreo creation and deployment. There wasn’t even an official Tifo lead until the final choreo of that season. 

In 2010, we got a little more organized. Tifo crews were still picked by way of conversations through threads on the boards. The Sweatshop was responsible for getting everything to and from RBP on match day (a responsibility carried over from the previous season). And the Tifo Director took over FO communication and large scale choreo creation and execution. This was a landmark season for our Tifo. This was the season we pioneered the techniques that we still use to this day. This was the season we truly set ourselves apart from the rest of MLS. 

2011 was the season the rest of the world took notice. Because of that, credit must be given to our structure, our talent, and, most importantly, our support. This was the first time that we held a pre-season meeting to discuss match day set up crews and to bring in new crew members. Transportation and inventory responsibilities changed hands. And the Tifo Director took over managing tifo crews and maintained FO communication and choreo responsibilities. Our choreos took a monumental leap forward; not only in quantity but also in quality. Not only did we make almost as many choreos that season as we did in the two previous seasons combined, but the level of detail and execution we reached surpassed even our wildest dreams. Never would we have guessed that we would be deploying 26,000sqft choreos, a feat still unmatched by any supporters group to date. In a word, dominance.

At the very beginning of last season, the tifo leads knew that they had their work cut out for them. They knew that to be successful and to maintain the high levels of excellence to which the ECS has become accustomed that they must stay focused. They were going to have to push themselves and not simply rest on their laurels. We had another pre-season meeting to pick match day setup crews. We recruited multiple artists to add new flavor to our choreos. We developed new deployment techniques. The problem was that we had already set the bar so high with our Decades of Dominance, We Predict a Riot, and Open Cup choreos (just to name a few) from the previous season, surpassing 2011 would prove challenging. 

How would we do this you ask? Again, talent and support. Thankfully, the ECS has an abundance of talented and supportive members. We just needed to identify them and utilize their strengths. You’d be amazed at how much help you can find when you ask for it. Sewing and drawing and painting, OH MY! Have you ever sewn together acres of fabric? We have. We put miles of thread through our poor sergers. We drew sharpies down to their roots. And countless (Literally. We didn’t count them.) gallons of paint were used to bring our beautiful choreos to life. These Herculean feats wouldn’t have been possible without the numerous man-hours selflessly volunteered by our membership. The most valuable resource that the ECS has at its disposal is our members. You can have all the structure and talent in the world, but unless you have the support to bring your visions to fruition, it won’t amount to anything.

That being said, we can always use more help. ANY current ECS member is welcome to help us make our large choreos. We typically work on weeknights late into the evening with the occasional Saturday/Sunday thrown in if needed. If you’ve ever wanted to get involved more with the ECS, then these Tifo parties are, by far, one of the best ways to do this. Artistic ability is not a prerequisite. All that is asked is a willingness to help and to learn. If you can put paint to fabric, then you’re already a pro. For more information, check out weareecs.com/tifo.

Bring on 2013!

Rise Above - 2013 Home Opener

4 months ago, while the 2012 season was still winding down, we began discussing our 2013 choreo concepts.  The first one that had it's concept laid out was the 2013 home opener.

The Concept...

The concept was simple, we want the Sounders to rise above the competition.  This lead to the design of a Sounder rising out of a sea of players to make it to the 2013 MLS Cup.  There is also another hint towards making the 2013 MLS Cup behind the players with the cup itself.

Who are the players?

The players are actually not specific to actual players from any of the teams. This was done intentionally as we want the players to reflect the entire teams they represent, rather than a specific player.

What teams are represented?

All Western Conference teams are represented in the display.  The hardest one to identify is San Jose, who is represented by the keeper.

What does it take to make a display like this?

13,000 sqft of fabric, 55 gallons of paint, almost a mile of seams, and 560 man hours is what it took to make the 2013 “Rise Above” Seattle Sounders home opener choreo, courtesy of the members of the Emerald City Supporters

Want to help?

These choreos aren’t free. If you want to donate time then check here www.weareecs.com/tifo. If you want to make a financial donation, you can do so here. http://www.weareecs.com/general/donations 

Both of which are EXTREMELY appreciated.  

Up the Sounders. Up the ECS.

Cascadia Supporters Groups Oppose MLS Cascadia Claim

For Immediate Release

Jan 10, 2013

Cascadia Supporters Groups Jointly Oppose Major League Soccer’s Claim of Ownership of Cascadia Cup Trademark

Portland, OR., Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, WA. — January 10, 2013 — The supporters groups in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver jointly oppose Major League Soccer’s claim of ownership of the Cascadia Cup trademark. The three supporters groups have jointly used the Cascadia Cup mark for many years and have been the rightful owners of the mark.

In response to recent statements and actions by MLS, the supporters groups recently formed a new entity, the Cascadia Cup Council, which acquired the supporters’ groups trademark rights in the Cascadia Cup mark.The Cascadia Cup Council will ensure that the mark remains in the hands of the very supporters who created it.

The Cascadia Cup Council recently filed a U.S. federal trademark registration application for the Cascadia Cup mark, and a registration application will likely be filed in Canada as well. The Cascadia Cup Council also intends to formally oppose Major League Soccer’s attempt to register the trademark that the public recognizes as a fan-created competition that predates Major League Soccer in Vancouver, Portland or Seattle.

Not only does the Cascadia Cup Council believe they rightfully own the trademark to Cascadia Cup but they also are of the belief they are the appropriate entity to protect the mark from third parties that are unaffiliated with the supporters groups in the Pacific Northwest.

For more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.