I live in Seattle and we have an excellent, well-supported MLS franchise here. Some 15, 20 years ago, whenever it was, we voted in a special election to tear down the Kingdome (which wasn't even paid for yet) and replace it with a new NFL stadium for the Seahawks who were threatening to leave town if it wasn't approved. As a special incentive, the new stadium was going to be built with a grass pitch so as to attract world class 'soccer' to Seattle.

The stadium vote passed with 51% of the vote, and I'm assuming that at least 1% of the electorate were swayed by the promises of a grass pitch and world class soccer coming to town.

Of course we never got that grass pitch. That was ignored and discarded two seconds after the votes were counted. The Seahawks and the Sounders play on artificial turf.

I've attended two Sounder games since that time. I find it... odd... The stadium is sold out (the lower decks at least), and there are sections that make as much noise as a College basketball game. It just feels odd... I felt that nobody around me in the stands were paying much attention to the game and were chatting and on their cell phones throughout. I missed kick-off three out of the four times because of everything else going on.

Add to that the aforementioned plastic pitch... It's just not the same game and the whole experience feels as forced and artificial as that plastic pitch. I couldn't bring myself to warm up to it.

I'm honestly not trying to sound like a transplanted Eurosnob here, but it's just, as I said... odd.... The seasons don't last very long and occur largely in a vacuum, not as though it were part of a larger sporting canvass.

I don't think I'm explaining it well, but then I haven't fully come to terms with it myself.

You'll have more fun. We've been going to Timbers games since they returned to USL in 2001. Now we have season tickets in the Army. Whenever I sit elsewhere it's not the same.

Or at least I have the TV on in the background while I'm doing other things.

I follow Orlando City to some degree and am more attentive when they are on. Kaka has always been one of my favorite players. I went to one game last year (OC vs. Dallas) and want to go to at least one game this year (possibly OC vs Toronto). I think the league is on the right track.

I tend to pay more attention to the NASL games. Growing up in Miami, I followed the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, but I always liked the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and they play across the Bay in St. Pete now. I went to one game of theirs last year (vs. Strikers) and plan on going to others this year. Smaller arena which gives you a home-town family feel and puts you more in touch with the whole event, and I like that.

As you note, the intimacy is great. We also hit U of P games in the fall, as being right on the pitch is just awesome.

I live near Univ. of South Florida and Univ of Tampa, which both have really good programs. I've wanted to attend some of their games, but there's only so many hours in the day.

And it's harder now for us with a kid who wants to do nothing but play. Of course I enjoy his games the most, but it does make it harder to get to other games.

I am still hoping the Rowdies can eventually go MLS. Orlando, like Portland, jumped USL to MLS which sorta pissed me off since Tampa had a MLS team at the beginning but the league just wasn't strong enough yet. They shouldn't have overlooked Tampa. I think eventually they will since the Tampa Bay area has approx. 4 million people. But with Minnesota and Atlanta coming in, and Miami likely up next after them, it may be a while.

Maybe one day we'll get to various league levels with promotion and relegation. Wouldn't that be something?

I may percolate to the top of the Timbers STH waiting list...but probably not in my lifetime unless there's a huge stadium expansion. I go to as many Timbers games as I can manage to snag a ticket to. I don't sit in the Army these days: I "watch hard," and the Army stuff, while fun, distracts me from the game too much (and I like to sit down sometimes).

MLS is getting to be a good, entertaining league. More rough play than I prefer; it stifles technically-skilled players like Darlington Nagbe when gets beefed off the ball so often w/o the defenders getting booked (same thing's true for the NWSL...really rough league), but getting better all the time in terms of quality.

Yeah, MLS has to do something to allow the game to be played the right way. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see at PP!

I watch nearly every game while I'm working from home.