Seattle Sounders

Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). Sounders FC was established on November 13, 2007, as an MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in the league. Fans chose the Sounders name through an online poll in 2008, making the Seattle Sounders FC the third Seattle soccer club to share the moniker.

The club's majority owner is Hollywood producer Joe Roth, and its minority owners are Adrian Hanauer, Paul Allen and Drew Carey. Two-time MLS Cup winner Sigi Schmid is the club's head coach. Sounders FC home matches are played at CenturyLink Field. Along with several organized groups, a 53-member marching band called 'Sound Wave' supports the club at each home match. Seattle competes with rival MLS clubs Portland and Vancouver in the Cascadia Cup.

Sounders FC played its inaugural match on March 19, 2009, winning 3–0 over the New York Red Bulls. Seattle has set MLS records for average attendance, led the league in season ticket sales, and qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in each of its first four seasons. Sounders FC has led MLS attendance since their inaugural season, consistently drawing an average of 50-65% more than the next highest-drawing team in the league, LA Galaxy. The club's announced attendance average was 43,144 in 2012.^[3]

In 2009, Sounders FC became the second expansion club in MLS history to win the U.S. Open Cup, and in 2010 became the first ever MLS club to repeat as Open Cup champions. Sounders FC won a third consecutive Open Cup in 2011, defeating the Chicago Fire 2–0. In 2012, the Sounders went to their fourth consecutive open cup final. However, they lost to Sporting Kansas City on a penalty shootout when regulation time finished with a 1–1 score.