Brougham Times for April, 2011

-The Emerald City Supporters

Dear Brougham Faithful,

It's beautiful that what brings us together is our passion for soccer, each other, and most importantly our Sounders FC. It is three games into 2011 and thus far the results haven't been going our way – but don't lose hope! Our team hasn't even begun to hit its stride. This will be our longest season yet: MLS, another Open Cup defense, and the CONCACAF Champions League crowd our calendar. That being said, the most important thing that we can do as supporters is to give all our energy for our boys when we're in the Brougham End. Those of you who were around for the 2009 Open Cup match against Houston for the infamous "full 120" match know this. When we support until the end sometimes beautiful things happen from what seems like nothing. Whether your part is waving flags or using your voice or pogoing or everything at once, we need to stay focused and follow the capos until the final whistle: for when that go-ahead goal happens in stoppage time it is a thing of legend that makes you walk tall every single time you remember it.

This year I would like to formally encourage members to attend as many road trips as possible. It's going to take careful planning and dedication to ensure that we bring our full allotment to P*rtland and Vanc*uver (get your passport if you don't already have it). However, these are the easier matches to make – we're the best, and we go above and beyond. That's a few weeks ago ECS brought over 150 supporters to New York City. Last weekend we brought almost 250 to San Jose away. Our numbers for away matches keep getting better and even more impressive. For those that are looking to exercise their passport we're looking to bring a sizable contingent to our CONCACAF play-in match away. Last year we brought around 30 to El Salvador and those that went were blessed with a legendary goal from el Flaco during the 74th minute!

One of the founding pillars behind ECS is our camaraderie with our team, our partners, and each other. Fuel has been our premier partner bar going back to 2006. 2007 saw us begin our partnership with Ruffneck. In 2008 we brought in the Atlantic Crossing for away matches and for USA viewings. In 2009 we began to accumulate sub-groups and our reach has expanded beyond Seattle to include the Puget Sound region, eastern Washington, southern California – even the east coast. With this growth and these additional partnerships we have garnered much respect and that respect has been reciprocated to us. Yet it is crucial to remember how much work has gone into fostering these partnerships, and while a lot of people want to work with us now this could easily change. Please: remember to respect our partner bars as they are an important part of our community.

For this coming season the hope is that we continue to grow and keep setting the pace as the best supporters group in MLS. I shouldn't need to remind you our two geographical rivals are joining the league this year that we're the group – and the team – with the big target on our backs. It's imperative that we continue to innovate and stay passionate. The novelty of Sounders FC and MLS may have worn off to some, but times like these are where the rubber meets the road as supporters. We must keep our heads held high and support our team, and we must also continue to welcome new people to our ranks. Last off-season ECS lost one of our founding members and one of the first people new members meet, Zach Crisman. I would urge people to have a "spirit of Zach": introduce yourself to those you haven't met before. Our friendships and shared experiences are special. They are a large part of what makes the ECS a truly great experience, and it deserves to be spread everywhere someone has a passion for our Sounders.

I hope to check in periodically through the newsletter throughout the year. However, for now, I'll leave you with: Up the Sounders and Up the ECS!

See you on the terraces,

Keef

ECS FC Season Round Up – D2 and D4

D2

This winter season the D3 team was in for a surprise. It was only last season that we had made the Jump from D4 to D3. We didn't do that bad taking 3rd in the division when we said we would be happy if we walked about with a .500 season. As we got the schedules from the GSSL we found out that we had been bumped to Division 2B. This was met with a lot of "WTF", "You're not supposed to be promoted unless you win", etc… A lot of people didn't think we could hang and it would be a rugh season.

Well as the season we decide shoot for .500 and see how we do. Week one we were pleasantly surprised and got a 2-0 victory. We figured if this was a mid-level team we should meet our goal. Well week 2 rolled along and we pulled out another victory against a friendly rival of ours that had our number for many seasons (including knocking us out of the playoffs the season before). Week 3 is where it really got interesting as we were up against the team that won D3 the previous season undefeated and they were still undefeated going into week 3. Yes, you guessed it we bested them 1 to nil to keep our newly established undefeated streak.

As the season progressed we kept our undefeated streak going into week 6. We finally fell to another good team who ended up taking second in the league. We were able to bounce back from that with a dominating 5-1 win and lock in a playoff berth with 3 weeks left.

The next big game was actually a "friendly" against Portlandia FC of the TA. The last time we met the game was scoreless and they won in PK's. Both teams came out with teams that were much stronger then the following year. In the first half Justin A. scored off of the best free kick strike I've seen taken in the clubs history. With that we went into half time up 1 to nil. The second half produced probably the second best set piece we've had. Justin A. lined up to take the kick again while Greg M. casually walked down the right side of the box unmarked. Justin recognized this and played the ball to Greg who played a wicked strike across the goal where Josh L. was there to place the ball politely between the keepers legs. As the second half progress Portlandia was able to get a cleanup goal off of a great save by Colin N. The game ended in a 2-1 win for ECS FC. (Yes I know you want more details, but someone didn't get me the article. He's a keeper and doesn't play on the D4 team).

That game was on a Saturday and we suffered a few injuries. Needless to say this affected our Sunday league game and we lost to the last place team that had not won a game. A bit of humility does a team good though and we bounced back again and won the last regular season game.

In the playoffs we didn't fare so well and lost 1-5. The team wasn't happy with the result, but was very happy with the results as no one thought we could pull it off in D2. We are looking for more success going into the spring season and we hope to see you out to soon.

D4

After ECS FC split into two teams before the fall season, the "B" team, playing in GSSL division 4 was a lowly "pub" team just hoping to win a match or two. After some success late in the fall season provided some hope, the team returned from the Holiday break for winter and stormed out of the gate, establishing themselves as one of the teams to beat in division 4.

Competitiveness won the day and the focus of the team switched from hoping to win to expecting to win matches. Through 6 matches only a single draw blemished their record before some poor results in weeks 7 and 8, which featured some bench-kicking and much other consternation both on and off

the pitch for those involved The team recovered to clinch a playoff spot with a win in week 9 but lost to the table-topping team in week 10 in a match which provided no opportunity for ECS FC to improve its playoff positioning.

It is fair to say that a 2nd-place overall finish exceeded many people's pre-season expectations, despite a bit of a slow finish and loss in the playoffs. The commitment shown to the team was exemplary, including players traveling from Olympia and Bellingham to play every Sunday. Special thanks goes out to Russ, aka "Bulldog" who managed the team – and even occasionally played – and greeted us many a cold and dreary winter Sunday morning with his admonishment not to waste time.

With the announcement that a 3rd ESC FC squad will start play in division 3 – nestled between the established Div. 2 and 4 teams, the Div. 4 team will probably return to "pub" status, but an important precedent has nonetheless been established. From its inception in the Fall of '10, the "B" team has played an important role in providing an opportunity for players to get competitive playing time and foster their skills. The legacy of the Div. 4 team in Winter of '11 may very well be that it served as a vital springboard for the competitive success and continued growth of ECS FC at all levels.

ECS Leadership

Next month we will have a much more extensive look at supporters culture in Seattle!
If you have an articles you would like to send in, questions, or comments contact us at: ecsnewsletter@gmail.com