Tag: seattle

“Soccer isn’t the same as Bach or Buddhism. But it is often more deeply felt than religion, and just as much a part of the community’s fabric, a repository of traditions” – Franklin Foer

On By HanneIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Sounder love.

The Sounders have been part of my life since 1994. Twenty-one years spent laughing, crying, cheering, angry, elated, frustrated, thrilled, disappointed, overjoyed and well, fucking pissed (I mean, losing to Portland in the playoffs? For the love of…).

I was a shy kid growing up. Like, painfully shy. So when I saw kids getting autographs from my favorite players, the ones I wrote about in my 3rd grade journal in Mrs. Rivas’ class, I wanted autographs too. Only I wasn’t brave enough to ask. I remember my parents sending me over, but I would hang back and as things started to feel too chaotic, I would turn back and shrug. I could get an autograph the next time. Or the next time.

In 1997, I started saving everything Sounders. Programs, ticket stubs, newspaper articles. I would search every page of the sports section until I found the tiny article, usually on the back page and cut them out. I remember going to Denmark that summer and asking the petsitter to save the sports page every day so that I didn’t miss anything. A few articles with pictures went on my wall, the way other girls has posters of JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas – the other JT wasn’t famous yet). My favorite was an action shot of Wade Webber and his bleach blonde hair.

meandcraigIn 2002 my dad and I saw Coach Schmetzer at Quest during the very first game at the new stadium. My dad suggested we say hello. I was too nervous, but my dad marched up and said hello and told him all about my scrapbook full of old Sounders stuff. The whole thing was a blur to me, but ended with an invite to the team practice at Memorial Stadium to have it signed by the guys. Thinking back on it, I can still feel the excitement radiating through my body. Coach Schmetzer waved us over and said I could go right out onto the field. I took half a step onto the turf and froze. I was terrified. I remember he eventually walked me around to the different groups of guys, starting the conversation for me and the players took it from there. They asked about me, about being a fan of the sport/team, they looked through my stuff and were really kind to me.

I hugged my scrapbook to my chest the entire ride home.

I arrived early before the next game, waiting by the entrance with a carnation forzs1each of the guys, thanking them for signing my stuff. When they approached, they remembered my name, would chat for a minute, take a picture with me and suddenly I didn’t feel so invisible anymore.

After the game I would wait with the rest of the fans wanting an autograph and I remember Scott Jenkins taking the time to talk instead of signing my program and moving on to the next. Viet once ran to the locker room and grabbed a game worn jersey and an autographed ball. And Craig always had the biggest smile and a hug for me (and still does today, 13 years later).

zs2This is why I support not only this team, but these guys (playing or not) so many years later. None of this was required by the team, the coach. This was never about being a publicity stunt or trying to gain more fans. This was about being nice. They did something nice for someone just because. And it taught me that you never know how much your kindness can effect another person. Today. Tomorrow. Or 13 years from now.

Sports fans come and go, but when you’re ‘Sounders Til I Die’, there is no end. Not the end of the game. Not the end of the season. And certainly not the end of any one players career. #EBFG

Craigandschmetzer

Even bigger foosh.

On By HanneIn Thursday Thrills1 Comment

Poor kiddo – Mind. Blown.

I don’t think he knew what to expect when I announced an extra-special adventure to the aquarium, but photo 5from the moment we got out of the car (two blocks away), he was humming with excitement. The old water front trolly tracks are still in place, despite the fact that the trolly no longer runs, nor is the track complete. But for Evan, it’s a chance to see some real train tracks up close. We walked along the tracks, stood on them, jumped off them, touched them, etc. I kept trying to encourage him to move along, but the tracks themselves were worthy of an adventure.

It was pretty cute to see his Thomas the train boots on the tracks, and he kept talking about choo-choos and tracks and more choo-choos and choo-choo boots, etc. Having a short section of tracks would be an amazing addition to parks. Kids like Evan would love to climb on them, or bring some toy trains to play with.

photo 1From there we crossed the street, and he attached himself to the fence to look out over the water, looking for fish. I kept telling him that we were going to go seefish, but he was very concerned about trying to find them in the (super nasty) water right off the pier. We watched a ferry come inand some seagulls fly above and eventually I convinced him that there was more to the adventure beside the trolly tracks and the water down below. It was sad to see the garbage floating just off the pier. It was a good chance to talk about how we throw trash in the garbage and not on the ground. #teachablemoment.

Finally convinced that there was more to see we headed to the aquarium. He was happy to stand in line photo 2with me until he caught sight of the massive wall tank that you first encounter after the ticket counter. He was ready to run overand I had to remind him a few times as he edged away, that he needed to wait for me. Once we were in, he ran to the tank and sat down with the rest of the kids. Aquarium staff was giving a presentation about the tank, though he wasn’t paying attention. When they were done, he slowly walked up and down along the tank, looking at all the fish and watching the diver feed them (“Foosh eat! Eat all!”) He was focused on a fish toward the bottom of the tank when the diver swam down to wave at him. He turned back with wide eyes and then returned focus to the diver, jumping up and down and waving until he turned suddenly shy and ran back to sit with me and wave from afar. Moving on, Evan ran to each and every tank with the same sense of excitement, yet with a determination. Looking at these fish was his job for the dayand he took it very seriously.

A couple tanks had simulated wavesand that seemed to bother him. We went to the touch tank where he seemed more interested in just putting his fingers in the water rather than actually touching the sea creatures. 

photo 3My favorite part is the Octopus tank.

My last visit to the aquarium I learned that they catch and release each Octopus that is on display, keeping them only a few months before returning them to the ocean and finding a new one. While being captured and brought to a small tank must be terrifying, it’s nice to know that they can return to a normal life. Today’s guest was on his first day in the display and was rather active as he explored his new (temporary home). Evan was unsure about this large creature and preferred to watch from afar. I did let him pick a postcard in the gift shopand he chose the octopus and requested to bring it to his crib for naptime later in the afternoon – so clearly it wasn’t that scary.

Surprisingly enough, the harbor seals, sea lions and sea otters were of little interest. While they’ve recently updated the harbor seal enclosure, the rest of them are seriously lacking.

By the end of the trip, it was clear that his poor brain was working over-time. Lunch was quiet and then we played for awhile, but when it came time fornap, he was rather emotional about cleaning up. It took a little gentle convincing (and being allowed to take his postcard to nap)but he was soon tucked in his crib, his eyes closed before I left the room.

It’s so fun to experience these places again from a child’s perspective. A place like the zoo or aquarium, while they never grow old, your perspective changes and that bright-eyed innocence fades (but never quite goes away – I did spend 6 hours in the Chicago Aquarium during my 2010 visit and was probably just as mentally exhausted afterward).

Thursday Thrills

On By HanneIn History, Thursday Thrills2 Comments

One of my 30 before 30 items is to spend a day exploring a local (Washington) town I’ve never been too. But there are also many areas in and around Seattle that I’ve never really explored. After walking one kid to the bus stop earlier this week, the little guy I watch was pretty adamant about going buh-bye. It was a pretty nice morning, with quite a bit of blue sky which is always nice (and fairly infrequent at times) in a place like Seattle. So we loaded up and circled through our favorite Starbucks for a latte and specialty ice water (because water from a starbucks cup is ten times better than the water in your own water bottle when you’re two), and then head out. I was aimed for Fremont, a fun artsy area, when I decided to swing out toward Wallingford first. It’s a cute little neighborhood and while I’ve driven up and down N 45th St. more times that I can count, I’ve never been inside the Wallingford Center that advertises ‘Life’s Necessities & Little Luxuries’.

photo 4

An old school building from 1904, this places oozes charm before you even head inside. The kiddo was excited to go inside and look around. We were greeted with a big display of cupcakes at Trophy Cupcake. But before he could do more than point at all the nummies, he spotted a train table in the middle of the ‘hallway’ at the north end. The place was pretty empty at it was just opening, but after a looky–lou around, there are a lot of open spaces available for rent. I get the feeling that most people come here for specific reasons – the pharmacy, the old Tweedy & Popp hardware store, etc. – rather than just to browse. It’s too bad, really. I think they could do a lot with this building to build up visitors to the area. I still have yet to explore the other stores on the street (there is a fun sock shop, but they weren’t open yet).  The kiddo is pretty good about keeping his hands to himself as we looked through a couple of the shops and then headed outside.

photo 33We circled the building and spent some time watching a small fountain that had a pink carnation bud floating around. The water was icy-cold so it was easy to convince the kid to keep his fingers out. We then walked up the street a bit, but a majority of the shops don’t open until 11 (and we were about 20 minutes shy of open).  Overall, it’s a lovely little area. Some of the shops outside the center look a little run down, but certainly worth a revisit once everything is open. And we’ll certainly return for a tasty cupcake sooner rather than later. Trophy has converted a couple of the old classrooms into a fun seating area.

The top floor has been converted into studio apartments. Google doesn’t provide many images of the way it once was, but more than anything I’d love to see the way the studios are set up. A building like this is as close to ‘old history’ as we have in Seattle. #historynerdsunite

Why I haven’t (and won’t) jump on the Seahawks bandwagon.

On By HanneIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I don’t like football.

It’s a 60 minute game that takes half a day to watch. I don’t see the skill beyond basic catch, or body slamming someone to the ground. The sport produces so many brain injuries, that a player killed himself but did so in a way that doctors could still look at his brain because he KNEW he was so messed up from repeated hard tackles. These men are getting paid millions to sustain brain damage at the delight of millions. I don’t claim soccer to be an injury-less sport. People have dropped dead on the pitch mid-game (unchecked heart issue), left with broken bones, concussions, etc. But unlike football, it’s not a massive epidemic of brain injury. Image

But even all that aside… it just isn’t for me.

Maybe I’m still bitter about the lack of attention the Sounders/soccer has received over the years. Since joining the MLS we’ve gotten more coverage and actual color photos, but there still isn’t a ‘soccer page’ in the Seattle Times the way they have one for football or MLB. I was at QFC the other day and they have Seahawks flowers. A bouquet of flowers dyed blue and green with a small Seahawks balloon in the middle. Where are the Sounders balloons? We’ve made the playoffs the past 5 years. Actually, I used to make Sounder flowers. I’d buy a couple bouquets of white flowers and dye them blue the night before a soccer game. I’d arrive 2 hours before kick off and hand them out to the players (and coach Schmetzer) at memorial stadium as they arrived. 

I don’t hate the Seahawks, I don’t hope they lose. But I do find this bandwagon business amusing. Amusing because I’m an outsider. I know what it’s like to love a team through the hard times and then watch as THOUSANDS descend upon your team claiming to be ‘hard core’ (I’m looking at YOU non-USL sounder fans). It’s insulting  irritating.

And hey Starbucks, where’s my ‘full -90’ .90cent coffee in honor of the Sounders?