To be the Phoenix who has risen from the ashes, you must first have been among the ashes. The first half of this season, we were in the trash heap. In August, we were in ninth place in the Western Conference. Everyone said we were done, finished. Until we weren’t. We began to rise. We said goodbye to Sigi, entered the second Schmetzer era of our club’s history, and signed Lodeiro, Morris found his left foot, Torres returned, and everything came together. We were born anew. It was inspiring to experience. Mid-September, it started looking like Playoffs were a real possibility and our concept team started kicking around ideas for a playoff choreo and eventually decided on the Phoenix display we deployed today.

Fast Facts:

• While aggressive, we decided to start work on this display at the same time as we did “Mahalo Zach”. We finished roughly half of it as we were unable to complete production yet. We did not yet know who would make the playoffs and who would be on the outside looking in.
• The second half of the display was finished on Monday night by roughly 10 people. This mostly consisted of final detailing work and drawing and painting the names of the four clubs who were not able to climb from the bottom.
• The original designer and one of our newest designers bravely combined on the finished design.

What can be said about Zach Scott that hasn’t been said in his career? The epitome of what it means to be a Sounder. 15 years for our boys in famous green. No other club but that of Seattle. From Gonzaga to USL to MLS, Zach has sacrificed blood, sweat, and well, we can’t say tears because legend has it, a single tear from his eye would cause mass flooding across the globe.

We’ve sung about Sounders Legends in the past, but Zach is in his own category. 349 appearances for the club. He is always proving the naysayers wrong. Quiet off the field, always deflecting any praise sent to him back to his teammates and coaching staff. He doesn’t want the limelight, he wants to compete, do his job, and secure glory for this club.

Upon hearing rumors of Zach’s retirement, we immediately decided we had to honor him with one more display. ECS has paid tribute to Mr Sounder twice before (Hang 10 and 300 matches). This time, simply a thank you for years of dedication to our club.

Fast Facts:

• The Mahalo Curtain is 100 feet wide and 60 feet tall. It took 23 gallons of paint to complete.
• The Zach portrait was 36 feet tall by 36 feet wide. It was drawn, painted, and completed in 3 hours by eight highly motivated ECS members.
• In the lower level of the Supporters Section, our members held up their ECS scarves from the year they joined the group, symbolizing the number of years they have enjoyed and appreciated Zach's play.

One club men are extremely rare. Nearly unheard of in modern sports. We're going to miss Zach's hard nosed, take no prisoners style of play in years to come. But he is family. He is Ohana. He will always be a Sounder.

We look forward to seeing each and every one of you at the Zach Scott Testimonial on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $10.20.

Mahalo, Zach.

The story of today's choreo begins with the 5/24/2014 away trip to BC Place. Looking out at the skyline from our bus on the way home, we noticed a resemblance between the sinister silhouette of BC Place's masts and the thorny crown of the Night King from Game of Thrones. As we talked about the idea, we realized that the analogy was a great fit: our city, our club, and our boys are the final point of defense against against an old, white-clad threat from across our Northern border, and we are Sounders 'till we die, just as a crow's watch ends only at death.

We designed the concrete aspects of the image to support this conceptual foundation: supporters at the top of the wall along with the text "We Are the Watchers On the Wall", to emphasize our connection with and commitment to our boys on the pitch, and a Sounders ranger of the Night's Watch defeating the BC-Place-throned monster as a representation of our boys defeating our northern Cascadian foe.

Of course, the value of an idea lies in using it, and we had great work from our volunteers, starting with the excellent (and challenging!) artwork created by our designer, to the work done by our team to sew, draw, and paint the banners, and finally from our 30-person deployment team.

Facts:

• The display is comprised of a 100'x55' curtain, a 100'x70' overhead, and approximately 2,500 cards.
• About 80 volunteers put in approximately 800 hours of work during production
• We used 24 gallons of paint on the image. Despite the large amount of whitespace, painting was very labor intensive due to the amount of detail on the Night King and supporters silhouette.

All ECS members are invited and encouraged to come meet their fellow supporters and participate in a tifo making session. Follow @ECSTifo for more information or you can email your questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please also like Emerald City Supporters on Facebook to stay up to date with ECS events including tifo.

Tifo projects such as this are supported by the sale of our membership kits and by donations.

Saturday’s Pride display “Emerald City, We are Here” comes at a time when many in the LGBT community feel afraid. Reeling from a recent event in Orlando, many of us feel that it’s time to hide away. Not so, says the ECS. We are here! From the stands in upper 122 holding up cards to make the pride flag, we see support. From the stands in the lower 122 flying the rainbow ECS crest, we know that ECS signals its love for the LGBT community. Throughout 121 and 123, our family raises rainbow scarves to show their team their love. Somewhere, over the rainbow, we’ve found our home. After all, don’t all Friends of Dorothy want to be in the Emerald City?

It also sends a message to the team. We are here. It has been a tumultuous season, and it’s time to turn our luck around. The Copa America Centenario break is over. We sing for you, you fight for us. It sends a message to the opposing team, that we are here. You will hear us as you play. The home field advantage is a force to be reckoned with, in our Royal Brougham Pitch.

This Pride display joins the Sounders Pride display on the field, showing that ECS approves of the inclusion of LGBT support. We are a unified club, team and supporters, ready to take on the challenges of the second-half of this year.

Display Facts:

• The display has three elements, a card display, a text banner, and a fabric overhead.
• We’ve improved on our card cutting, and cut the twelve rolls of cards in a little over an hour
• The overhead and text banners were painted in two nights, with the support of a little over sixty volunteers.

If you are LGBT, questioning, or never feel like you belong, know that there is room under the ECS crest for you. As we scream together, we energize our team, and change the conditions on the pitch for our boys.

- Kevin Hope