In 1999 , the San Jose Clash had appointed Lynne Meterparel as team's new GM. She said all she kept hearing people talk about was the old NASL Earthquakes and when you hear that name over and again, I think its time to change the (Club's) name and that is what happened. They changed it because all fans talked about were the Quakes NASL days but not for their horrid 1996-99 Clash team who no one could ever relate to.
The main value in keeping the NASL-era Sounders name comes from the fact that the alternative suggestion the team was considering was "Athletico Seattle".
Ummm, they "connection" was so much that until they relocated to Houston, the team never once had a single season while named the Earthquakes that had a higher average attendance than any single season when they were named the Clash despite winning two titles and having the best player in US Soccer on their roster, as Andy mentioned. The GM's comment shows more than anything that people hear what they want to hear, regardless of the truth of things... something sadly NASL brand apologists have shown themselves quite good at.
Emerging 10,540 at Randall's Island is pretty impressive. If you drive from Manhattan you have to pay the full bridge toll even though the exit is yards from the toll booths. The bus runs every 20 minutes from East 124th St but is always packed and usually delayed, especially if there's an event. The third option from Manhattan is to walk over the bridge, which is the option I chose when I ran track at the stadium. But East 125th St at First Avenue is still one of the few areas of Manhattan you don't want to get stuck in, in the mid-seventies it must have been terrifying. If you live in Queens and have access to a car it's not that big of a deal.
So what. All or most fans knew , talked and thought about then was the Quakes of the 70’s and early 80’s. I live here and I can tell you for certain the impact set forth by the old NASL Quakes. League owned MLS , the Krafts and especially AEG cared less about the club but people then and now still recall owner Milan Mandaric , (future GM) Johnny Moore, Paul Child and George Best. It’s no wonder how the club recognized Mandaric a few years ago and the team’s trainer Dave Obenour was elected in the Quakes hall of fame just last week. How many people can anyone name that remember a trainer from 1974-79? I’m assuming none which brings us back to square one. If it wasn’t for that NASL team, San Jose and probably the entire Bay Area will have never known about the game. Unless you count the foreigners playing in the peninsula leagues founded by Umberto Ambronzino. "He was a huge part of this club...maybe even more important than all the players at times."This heartfelt story from Hall of Famer Johnny Moore is just one of the many reasons why Dave "Obie" Obenour's being inducted this Saturday!#VamosSJ | @Audi pic.twitter.com/jnVrsH7XGE— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) May 15, 2019 "San Jose Spotlight: Dave “Obie” Obenour goes from team trainer to Season Pass Holder" (SJEarthquakes.com - Friday, 6/8/18)
My cousin played against FC Seattle in 1988 Western Soccer Alliance championship game. The Gk made a killer save against him but I forget his name. I want to say Jeff Koch but not sure if he played that day and can’t find it online. Seattle won 5-0 at home..
Wasn't that our ladies team? I believe we were the Aztecs in the NASL days. Anyway, great post and very interesting reading in this thread the last few days.
Boston Beacons or Minutemen... New England Tea Men (two words). How dare you muddle the proud branding legacy of the Bay State's rich North American Soccer League heritage?
The LA Aztecs had great teams and players with Best and Cruyff but not many fans. The new LAFC should have went with that name but I think someone else owns it. I want to say an NPSL team.
And the deliciously ironic part of all is those same apologists who are all romantic about NASL1 would see their heads explode if MLS announced they plan in 2020 to institute 35 yard offside lines, shootouts to settle draws and award six points for a win plus bonus points for goals scored.
Although I never really cared for it, as time passes and in the playoffs anyway, I think I'd rather see the 5 second , 1 vs. 1 shootout as opposed to pk's. I believe it gives the GK more of a chance.
I always liked it. Much more entertaining. They tossed it out along with the countdown clock, which I admit I did not care for, in an effort to shut up the "we refuse to followMLS because theydon't doit like the Europeans do" crowd. Time has proven that those people did not, are not and will not show up no matter what you do. That was just an excuse. Now the excuse is prorel,but if you gave it to them they'd find something else to complain about. Trying to satisfy that bunch of turds is a fools errand.
Same. The only reason I disliked the shootout was that it was being used after every tied game in the regular season. In knockout situations where there must be a winner, I think it has more merit than PKs, which aren't all that traditional to begin with. The NASL introduced the breakaway-style shootout only 7 years after FIFA adopted the penalty shootout.
I’ve seen the 1 vs.1 shootout utilized in some preseason tournaments in Europe but they were only used in exhibition games for experimental purposes. Again , I’m not really a fan of it but for important tiebreakers, it’s still better than pk’s.
I still think that that whole thing was a big put-on, and that the team was always gonna be named Sounders, despite the efforts of many Sounders fans to persuade me that no, that's not true.
FWIW, the first time I even knew there was a sport called soccer was when a couple of Rowdies players visited my elementary school In Orlando in the mid-70s. We had an assembly, they played keepie-uppie, ran us through some drills and small-sided games. After that, I decided I liked this game and tried to keep playing (which was a challenge in Central and later North Florida at the time). Later on, it was a lot of those early Rowdies players that stayed that built the sport in the state. While the huckster owners from the second "NASL" deserve the ridicule, the players and people that built the original NASL deserve praise for helping making soccer in America what it is today.
Which Sounders fans are that? The belief that it was a put on is pretty common among the Sounders fans I've run across.. The advertising company they contracted with to manage their launch was infamous for that sort of campaign.
Interestingly, the first professional soccer match I ever attended was USA/SUI at World Cup 94. And Detroit still doesn't have a pro team.