Why do we march? Why do we gather in Pioneer Square each matchday? Simple enough questions with simple enough answers.

We march for our club. It’s matchday after all. We sing for our lads from the terraces, why hesitate to gather and sing for them in the streets of our own city? You either bought season tickets and planned on being there anyway, or scrambled to barely get one for today. You wrote songs and you painted tifo. When it’s us versus them, it’s all for the club.

We march for our city. You can’t tell me that the Emerald City is not the most beautiful in Cascadia- if not the world. That skyline as you’re coming into town on I-5 or the ferry? Others can have a different opinion, but it’s wrong and my money is on Seattle. Ballard. Queen Anne. Cap Hill. Even Pike Place Market and those damn flying fish. I love this city, and I know you do, too.

We march for each other. Who else is going to be there when we “get to know our neighbor?” Who else pogos with you until you can’t jump anymore? Who do you grab a hold of in celebration as the boys put yet another one in the back of the net? But it’s more than just what we do on the terraces. We hangout together. Party together. Drink a shit-ton together. Why would you not want to be counted amongst your friends?

We march for tradition. The Emerald City Supporters have marched to Sounders home- and many away- matches since the founding of the ECS. Back in the USL days, twelve at times and twenty at others, we would drink our beers, gather our flags, and start singing on our way out the door. Oh, yeah, we got odd looks in Pioneer Square, but nobody knew we were trendsetters!

From the streets to the terraces, the March is our way to rally support from the pubs and bars. It’s how we announce who we are and why we’re here. It’s where we’ve been and where we’re going. It gets your voice warm and your blood pumping. Just in time for kick-off.

See you at the March!