A Championship Night in Seattle Sports

The Roanoke Park Place. Wednesday. Dollar taco night. On one TV, a scoreless Mariner game. On the other, a scoreless Sounders game. Who would score first?

"I'll take Seattle over the field," childhood friend Jason said.

We didn't lay odds, but he was right. The Mariners did score first, on a seventh-inning Bill Hall double. Two more runs in that inning gave them a 3-0 lead, enough for Felix Hernandez' 14th win .

Meanwhile the Sounders, who'd squandered chance after chance in their U.S. Open Cup final by aiming shots directly at D.C. United goalie Josh Wicks, finally broke through when Fredy Montero sent a rebound home in the 67th minute.

The goal was not as memorable as its aftermath: Goalie Wicks expressed his frustration by stomping Montero's chest. When the ref ejected Wicks, he had the audacity to aggressively argue the call.

"Goalies are psychopaths," Jason said. Right again. The Sounders soon scored another goal, with former USL Sounder Roger Levesque finishing a gorgeous Seba Le Toux cross. 2-0.

We began discussing whether to launch our agreed upon victory ritual, shots of Dewar's. Why Dewar's? Well let me push my glasses up the bridge of my nose and tell you.

In the 1910s, the U.S. Open Cup winner was awarded the Dewar Trophy, in what must be one of the earliest corporate sponsorships in American sports history. At some point Dewar's redirected its advertising dollar--probably at the behest of that dastardly Pete Campbell --and the cup adopted its current generic name. /endboringhistorylesson.

But just as childhood friend David was about to order the shots, DC upped the drama with a goal of their own off a free kick. 2-1.

The Sounders shifted to defense mode, and Jason, David, and I shifted to stare-at-the-clock-as-if-it-were-2pm-on-the-last-day-of-school mode. Finally, after an excruciating six minutes of extra time, the ref whistled the game over.

We ordered our Dewar's, against our better judgment, ensuring a tipsy trip home that, for me, would be exacerbated by using it to type this recap on my Blackberry. (Note to SPD: I was on foot.)

By winning the U.S. Open Cup, the Sounders become the first MLS expansion team to win a title since the Chicago Fire won the MLS Cup in their first season. The Sounders still have a chance to exceed the Fire's feat--they could still qualify for the MLS playoffs and win a rare double championship.

The Sounders' win also clinches them a berth in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League , a round-robin tournament featuring the top clubs in North and Central America. Draw will be announced next spring. 

The TV showed some Sounders players were holding the cup aloft and posing for pictures. Others were signing autographs for the 150 or so fans who'd made a memorable trip to DC.

We finished our Dewar's, cashed out, and walked into a warm, colorful Seattle sunset under a nearly full moon. A King Felix win, a Sounders championship, and as nice a night as the Northwest has to offer. Life is good.