By The ECS Capos
It’s that time. When the colors change from the dull drabs of winter into a season for green and blue. It’s that time when the routine buzz of downtown shifts with the echoes of singing thousands, calling thousands more together in our march. Where clouds of smoke, the scent of flares, the chants rise above all carry the passion from the streets and into the stadium with one united thought: Sounders. Together, in the stands, where your voice becomes our voice and our voice becomes the voice. Where two beats of a drum draw tens of thousands of hands together at once. Shaking the city. Stirring the passion. And focusing all that we have, all that we can be, for 90 minutes to urge on those men fighting on the pitch with our crest over their hearts to be greater than they ever imagined they could be. Welcome to what we are. Welcome to why we exist. Welcome to the Emerald City Supporters.
Looking back over the past season you’ll find a high water mark where the ECS swelled, pushing the boundaries of the Brougham End to draw in more and more from experiencing the atmosphere to being the vanguard of it. Looking deeper you’ll see the marks we hit the season before and before that – each showing our growth year to year, season to season. There was a time the ECS looked to a single Capo atop a seat, or milk crate, directing our voice. And we grew. Another stepped up and we added a topo to unify a single section to be louder, more organized, more effective. And we grew. The drum we began with needed to carry its beat further out, so we increased the size and our reach. And we grew. Capos were needed to help the sections of 121 and 123 become better organized with 122 and ECS members stepped up to fill those roles. Our effect on the pitch was increased. Our voice become fuller, stronger - and we grew. Where front Capos on the sides weren’t reaching enough of the ECS so topos for 121 and 123 stepped up to fill a role that was needed. Capos refused to get off the stands and 90 minutes became standard for those on and off the stands. We added a second drummer to help amplify our sound, better keep with timing, tempo, and communicate more effectively across the ever expanding territory of the Brougham End. And we grew.
We continue to grow into the next season.
As the ECS expands in size, sound and strength there are ways we all work together in order to maximize our overall effect for the men on the pitch. In the coming season there will be some changes all will see. First will be the drum. In the off-season there has been a purchase of a larger (30% larger!) drum. This, and the previous (now smaller) drum, will be used in tandem to continue to be the heartbeat of our songs and tempo. Our drum section will be relocated from the traditional location within the middle of 122 to the front section of 122 to accommodate the larger drums size, drummers having to play unobstructed and to focus on the lead Capo. Communication between main Capo and drummers will be immediate, allowing for smoother transitions between chants as well as increased sound throughout the Brougham End and stadium.
Another change being added to the Brougham End will be the permanent place of topos for both 121 and 123. Along with all Capos staying on the stands for full games, the addition of section topos truly worked favorably for the ECS in drawing in more and more voices towards our goals of unity, passion and support. It’s to the Capos we see most prominently giving our actions, our voices, direction but it’s the whole of the ECS, made up of thousands, the thousands who are individuals, which is our strength. Together that unique passion we hold for the Sounders, that die-hard mentality boiling over from within, is multiplied through our unity. Together the sound of one voice becomes thousands strong and shakes the heavens with the pure, undying love we each hold for this team and this city. Shoulder to shoulder with fellow ECS, pouring every ounce of enthusiasm, every fiber of who we are, into supporting, into pushing those men fighting for us beyond their limits, that’s gameday. That’s what we do in Seattle for this Club.
It’s another season.
The colors are blue and green all over. Forever.
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