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posted 05/10/10 10:00 AM | updated 05/10/10 10:00 AM
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Sounders Become the Nordstrom of Seattle Sports

By Seth Kolloen
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Hanauer: A modern-day John Nordstrom?

The founders of Nordstrom, famous for their customer service, were also the founders of the Seattle Seahawks. Yet despite their propensity for offering retail exchanges, I don't recall those successful Swedes ever doing for Seahawks fans what the Sounders did for theirs yesterday: promise a full refund after the team lost.

The Sounders uglied up a gorgeous afternoon at Qwest on Saturday, losing 4-0 to the L.A. Galaxy and falling into last place in the MLS Western Conference. The pain started when the normally reliable Kasey Keller let a shot go through his hands for a goal, and continued in the second half with some invisible defense.

"That wasn't Sounders soccer and it was quite frankly embarrassing, humiliating and the fans don't deserve that," said Sounders FC owner and general manager Adrian Hanauer in announcing the refund to season ticket holders, which will come as a credit toward next year's tickets.

"We want our fans committed for the long haul and we think this is the right thing to do for our fans," said Hanauer. It's no minor hit for the team's financials--with 36,000 season ticket holders paying an average of around $20 per seat, the Sounders are giving back around three-quarters of a million smackers.

Hanauer noted that, for the most part, fans stayed through the whole game and cheered the team off the field despite their awful performance.

I went to a similarly uninspiring Mariners loss on Tuesday, for which no refund will be offered. When the Mariners stink, fans leave early, and those who stay boo loudly. Why are we fans less angry at the Sounders for an equally terrible performance? Is it because the Sounders had such a good season last year? Or because we just don't care enough about soccer to get angry? Or is it that the Sounders management has been so accommodating to their hardcore fans, that we like them too much to be mad?

Whatever it is, the love affair between the Sounders and their fans continues to grow. Sounders management seem to be taking a cue from Nordstrom--and if they keep their fans as happy as Nordstrom keeps its customers, maybe they'll last 109 years too.

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maybe...
it's because the mariners have a long standing tradition of disappointment and the sounders haven't had time to build up that much anger and resentment in their fans? I was there for the sounders game and it was the first time (having gone to every home game this year) that i sat down and gave up. I think the score was 3-0 at that point.
Comment by morgen
2 days ago
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Why are we fans less angry? Lowered expectations.
Sounders fans have lower expectations.
Not that soccer isn't fun (or a "lesser sport" or something), but it's not as established and there is not that same level of commitment and passion from the average city sports fan (I fully acknowledge the passion of Gorilla FC, Emerald City Supporters and the like)

And let's remember that MLS is far from the highest level of competition for the sport. We're effectively watching Minor League Soccer. Tough to get that worked up about a second tier league. The MLS champion is no "World Champion" like they are in other leagues.

It would be fun if the Sounders won the MLS title some year, but it will be nothing like if the Mariners or Seahawks were able to do so. The stakes are simply lower.
Comment by Frank
1 day ago
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The stakes
The stakes are higher in another way, which is that fans feel they are involved in a generational struggle to put the sport on the map.

(Btw, what does it mean to say that an NFL team is 'world' champions--they are still champions of a league that has teams in only one country, are they not? And the only other countries that really give a damn about football besides us are the countries immediately to our north and south.)
Comment by Sgc
1 day ago
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Don't call it a refund
It's a credit toward a game next season, only if you're a season ticket holder and only if you renew your season tickets.

It's more like an airline that screws you and then gives you a credit toward a future flight with them.

Nice gesture, but once again the media is simply swallowing and regurgitating press releases. How about a little critical reporting?
Comment by bigyaz
1 day ago
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Come on, these are not higher stakes...
"Putting the sport on the map" is not "high stakes". It's a noble goal of supporting an underdog sport, but you cannot tell me that you would be crushed in the same way that a Giants fan is every October if soccer doesn't rise to the level of the Big 4 in the US.

Also, champions of leagues like the NFL call themselves World Champions because they are playing at the highest level of competition in the world. The best of the rest of the world in sports like Basketball, Baseball and Football come to the US to play. The fact that the cities that host these teams happen to be in North America is relatively meaningless.

Champions League victors could similarly call themselves World Champs even though they do not include North American (HA!) and South American soccer.
Comment by Frank
22 hours ago
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