To: Adrian Hanauer, Joe Roth, Paul Allen, and Drew Carey, owners of Seattle Sounders Football Club

As Seattleites, we know the devastation of watching a new owner take our team to a new town. They take our players. They take our records. They take our trust.

As Sounders, our club is defined by the relationship between the fans and the players. And we believe, as Brian Schmetzer likes to say, that our coaches and owners are stewards of the Seattle Sounders, entrusted with the care taking of our club.

As Emerald City Supporters, our commitment to this club knows no bounds. We love our city, our colors, our players with fierce intensity and passionate expression. As Emerald City Supporters, we are also very aware that calling a franchise "our club" in a single-entity league is a choice. It’s a choice of trust in you, the owners, and we make that choice every day.

That is why the potential move of an original franchise, which seems to have the support of the league, shakes us.

For us, it’s not about saving that fanbase. We’re writing to you today to save our ideals. That our sport can be different. That soccer in North America can be about more than profit margins and business metrics. It *is* more. Soccer is a fabric made up of players, fans, sponsors, city pride, and national hope, all woven together.

But this move tears at that fabric. And if it is not stopped, it will be the unravelling of our collective trust as fans in the owners of our clubs.

Please deny this move. Trust us. It’s the right thing to do.

Emerald City Supporters