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Listener Mailbag, July 14
2.3k Plays7 days ago
Aaron and Jeremiah answer listener questions in the first mailbag episode of July. They pondered answers for such questions as what tactics or formations would you tweak to optimize some of our underperforming positions, which trophies they personally want to see the team hoist this season, and which world cup team they enjoying watching lose the most.
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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which has been primarily listener supported since 2023. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction and Host Background
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners.
Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup Victory
00:00:21
Speaker
The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does just about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what a goal! Where's my copy? got bunch of them How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
00:01:08
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
Sponsorship and Community Connection
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Adientes on the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
Podcast Reunion and Upcoming Content
00:01:48
Speaker
I am Jeremiah Oshan. It is Monday, July 13th, and I am so happy to be reunited with my co-host Aaron Campo.
00:01:56
Speaker
We are going to be doing a mailbag episode today get us ready for this big game suddenly against Portland Jimmers. But Aaron, what have you been up to? I haven't, I feel like I, I, we have not done one of these proper shows in well, maybe two months. It might be two months. I don't remember. yeah I mean, the last one we did was I think the week ah was right after the the last game before the break. So,
00:02:19
Speaker
I think it would have been late May, right? um was Was the last one we did. Yeah, guess so.
Lack of Sounders News and World Cup Focus
00:02:24
Speaker
we'd We'd sort of hoped that we would do another one sooner because the Sounders would give us something to talk about, but they really didn't.
00:02:30
Speaker
and No, they did not. And lots of other people were were podcasting about the World Cup. So, um yeah, it's been you know it's been it's been nice. I'm happy to be back today. It was my first day back at work after a 12-day vacation, and I'm grateful to have had that time off, but I am...
00:02:47
Speaker
morning mourning the loss of that time off. So, you know, I'm i'm a little morose, but that's okay.
World Cup Ticket Price Misjudgment
00:02:53
Speaker
I'm i'm happy to be back and and talking with you. Well, did you, before we get into these questions, did you happen to get into Seattle for any of the world cup games?
00:03:02
Speaker
I did not know. um I came extremely close to getting tickets to the Iran Egypt game and said, you know what, I bet these are going to be cheaper day of. And that was,
00:03:14
Speaker
Very stupid thing to think, but you know i was doing the best I could at the time. i gotta admit, I gave some bad advice to people throughout the... like In the lead-up to this tournament, I had many people ask me, like are tickets really going to get more expensive? And I said, look, I don't know how much cheaper they're going to get. They're probably going to still be expensive, but I don't think you can really go wrong if you wait.
Seattle's World Cup Atmosphere
00:03:38
Speaker
Yeah, I think that that was solid advice at the time. i just think that the... I think people had, i mean, this, and this was for sure part of it with me, people had like very mixed feelings about this world cup with yeah all of the stuff, right? All of the stuff yeah everything that surrounded it.
00:03:55
Speaker
And once it started, the on-field stuff at least was so good. And I think especially the atmosphere in Seattle that people saw the U S game in Seattle. I wasn't, i was actually in Calgary when that happened and I had some serious FOMO about it. And I think that that FOMO kept the prices high. Yeah, I agree. um and Totally agree.
00:04:15
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I was but when the US Belgium game started, I was talking with some buddies and I was like, man, I just I couldn't have justified spending $1,500 on this. But I almost this hurts so much. It's so close and it just looks so incredible.
00:04:32
Speaker
And they were like, yeah, you know, you probably made the right call. But and then, you know, an hour later, these are Canadian folks, too, for context. They were like, so you still feel like you ah you're you're missing out on something? And and i I did not as much. But um no, I mean, I still got to enjoy, you know, the environment. I was up in Seattle a couple of times on in game days, but just hanging out.
00:04:53
Speaker
And then my wife and I spent the day up there on Friday. And even though all of the World Cup infrastructure is gone, there's still. all of the other changes that were made like on a municipal level are still very, ah very much there. And the energy in in the city is, is very cool right now. Hopefully that'll persist. Hopefully this will not be a fleeting thing. But it's, it's really the first time Seattle has felt fully like Seattle to me since the pandemic. So that's
FOMO and Civic Pride During World Cup
00:05:21
Speaker
been really nice to see. And we were, we were in Olympia last week too and saw where the viewing spot there was. And that, that actually would have been a really cool place. I think to watch a game right on the, right on the pier. Yeah.
00:05:30
Speaker
We see the, you know, where the where the peop tribe this has done the viewings all the time. So, yeah, it's it's it's been cool, even though I wasn't able to go get out to a game. um It's tangible, right? Like it's it's very much in the air everywhere you go. And it's been really it's been a lot of fun, mostly a lot of fun.
00:05:48
Speaker
Yeah, I happened to run into Peter Tomozawa. Like, this is a real story. I was biking around Pioneer Square today, just sort of like I was down at my at the office at the center, at Center Heart HQ.
00:06:00
Speaker
And I decided to to get some lunch and go for a little bike ride. And i run into, I literally run, like, see Peter Tomazawa, the head of the local organizing committee going into Dark Alino's, which is
Community Engagement and Podcast Support
00:06:13
Speaker
the a restaurant that has sort of been the folk, the center point of a lot of what's going on at, at Pioneer square.
00:06:20
Speaker
And so he's walking in there. I say, Hey Peter, what's up? And he turns around he exchanged pleasantries. And, you know, he, he used a line on me that I know he has spoken before because I have read him say it. Um,
00:06:32
Speaker
And so if there was like ah this cheese factor associated with it. But it was I felt like it was true. ah You know, he said something like we reminded Seattle of how good it could be or something like something along those lines. It was i don't know. I'm not doing the actual quote justice. I guess I could look it up and I would find it.
00:06:51
Speaker
But I think there's truth to it. I think Seattle really ah had maybe forgotten how great it could be in the in in the years since since COVID. And we had sort of lowered our expectations of what it was what a great city this could be.
00:07:09
Speaker
And the World Cup just brought it all back in. Ways that ah honestly I have never quite experienced, but ah this was, you know, I fell in love with Seattle the moment I visited it the first time as an adult.
00:07:22
Speaker
And so I've never been, I've always been a big defender of Seattle, but just being completely honest, this was a level and something I had not experienced. And it was, it was one of those things where you thought in your mind, maybe it could be like this given the right circumstances, but there does feel like there's real momentum here.
00:07:42
Speaker
And I'm, I'm glad to have played some small part in it, you know?
Sounders' Performance Issues
00:07:46
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Uh, that said, we got a bunch of questions and I'll remind everyone what a transition.
00:07:53
Speaker
I'll remind everyone that to get questions onto our podcast, you have to be in our discord. Cause that's where we get the, that's where you field the questions. And to get into the discord, you have to be a supporter of sound or heart at the $75 level above.
00:08:08
Speaker
above i if you are not at that level, I would urge you to get on that level because it's a lot of fun. There's a lot of chatter going on there. There are people always, maybe even too much ready to talk about the Sounders and debate just about anything Sounders related that you could ever possibly want to debate.
00:08:29
Speaker
Uh, but, can Also ask questions. And and more importantly, it it it's that supporter level that is really the lifeblood of this entire operation. And ah so hopeful hopefully you won you want to do that. You want to be part of that. ah But do you want to ask this first question or should I? I'll ask. and And these are two pretty closely related questions. I'll ask them both independently, but I think we can take the answer as one.
00:08:53
Speaker
First one is from Dan P. In Craig Weibel's presser, he left room for some signings this summer, especially in the attacking band, but he also stated something to the effect that we need to get talent that has performed in the past back to those previous levels.
00:09:06
Speaker
What do you think is the best way to realize our current attacker's potential formation tweaks lineup adjustments or just to wait for some better luck and spaceman spliff uh asks the 2026 sounders haven't been very exciting as an offensive team craig mentioned the goal is not um only not to only win games one nil two questions come to mind how would you change the team taskic tactics with the currently available players to improve and what positions or player archetypes would you target to add to the team this summer You know, this is going to be a boring answer, but I don't necessarily think tactics are the sounders issue. You know, if you look at and I think, you know, this is how I i think of tactics versus performance oftentimes is tactics are how you build XG and how you, ah you know, how, how you, how you create opportunities and performance is what you do with those opportunities.
00:10:02
Speaker
And by those metrics,
Striker Performance Debate
00:10:04
Speaker
the Sounders are doing pretty well on a chance creation basis. They are, you know, like they are right up there with the, not league leaders, but they're in the top 10 for x g But where they're really falling short is on turning that XG into actual goals. So like to give you an example, they're on 22.8 which I think ranks eighth in MLS.
00:10:32
Speaker
which i think ranks eighth in amelas but they only have 17 goals. And so they are underperforming their XG by, by almost six goals. Uh, that is the largest, that is one of the largest underperformances in the league.
00:10:48
Speaker
ah Minnesota United has more, the LA galaxy have more. And i believe that is it Yeah. Those are the only two teams that are underperforming their XG by more than the Sounders.
00:11:01
Speaker
And so what they need is to start converting those chances into actual goals. And I think you look, I don't think I'm breaking any news here, but I think you do have to look at the number nine position as the most egregious area where they are the most obvious area where they can, they can see improvements. ah You know, Jordan Morris famously, the Sounders do not have a goal yet from a starting number nine position. I it's been two months since I was able to use that stat, but here we are again. it didn't change while the centers didn't play.
00:11:31
Speaker
ah Jordan Morris has, has struggled to actually put the ball away. And yeah, there's a few chances here and there that it could look differently, but Danny Masofsky has not converted at nearly the rate that he had converted at last year.
00:11:45
Speaker
And Osozi De Rosario has looked good in moments, but has not been able to consistently put together results like or or numbers like the way he did last year. So, I mean, I think Craig is vaguely right in that the number nine, position they need better production out of their number nine position. And I would hope that they explore that one way. Yeah.
00:12:08
Speaker
I think it makes sense to give the guys that you have some opportunities to turn it around, but it can't be more than a couple games. And I realized that's not necessarily the best ah way to do things, but I do think that's sort of the situation the Sanders are in. And, and so I guess the short answer is tactically, I'm not super feeling like there's needs to be big changes, but yeah, they need, they need better production on other number nine.
00:12:33
Speaker
They do for sure. I mean, I think that that's impossible to argue with that. I think that, um, It's all well and good to say that you expect Jordan Morris to turn things around. And and for the record, I do. Like, i I don't think he's forgotten how to finish, right? He's getting decent opportunities. He's getting into good positions.
00:12:52
Speaker
He hasn't played a ton, right? Like he he has, he doesn't have a lot of minutes this year because of of injury. And I think if you just stuck with Jordan Morris at the nine this season, he's eventually going to turn it around and put the ball in the net.
00:13:06
Speaker
But you have to be preparing for the eventuality that he does not do that. You just you have to. And, ah and so I do think that they've, they've got to give him a short lease. the night leash The nice thing about Jordan is that he can play on the wing. So if you go out and you bring in another, ah number nine, it's not like you're taking him out of the lineup. Like he's going to get opportunities to turn it around.
00:13:29
Speaker
um But he he is like he's second on the team in XG per 90. And I think he's like fourth on the team in XG, which considering the minutes he's played is is is not too bad.
00:13:41
Speaker
But he's not putting the ball in the net enough. And ah and that's just that's just the fact. That's just reality. And he he's not like a role. Ruiz Diaz, where he's been so automatic his whole his whole career, where when he goes through a slump, you just have to assume he's going to come out of it eventually.
00:13:59
Speaker
um you just can't make that assumption, right? Because he hasn't, he just has never been that prolific of a scorer. So it's a huge concern. And i think you can believe that it will shake out and everything will be okay in the end and and that you're not going to need to make a move to to get production out of your nine while also but...
00:14:19
Speaker
but Just in case we need to have some targets that we're looking at. um I do think that that and and I think Matt Doyle made this ah this point today, and I think it was today might have been yesterday where he said what the Sounders really need is somebody who's going to create chances.
00:14:36
Speaker
And i think I probably agree with that more than I i would say you are, because they they are creating a decent number of chances. But they're certainly not as prolific as an offense as they were last year. Absolutely. g Agreed. Agreed.
00:14:50
Speaker
Totally. And as much as we can't assume Jordan Morris is going to, so you know, start scoring at the clip we expect him to, or Danny Masofsky for that matter, we also can't expect that Pedro de la Vega is going to come back and be healthy and everything's going to be okay.
00:15:04
Speaker
And right so, I mean, in that sense, like, I think they've got to bring in somebody. and I think it, yes who's performing at the time that you need to make a move, who's the best cultural fit, who's who's the guy that you feel most confident about to bring in.
00:15:21
Speaker
all All of those things are going to factor into it. But I just don't think they can get out of this transfer window without bringing in an impactful, maybe not starting quality, but impactful attacking player.
00:15:33
Speaker
Yeah, and I would... i would echo that too. I'm not arguing that they shouldn't bring in someone to be clear. I think that they, they have to, they have to bring in someone. i i think that, you know, i understand why,
00:15:49
Speaker
Craig worded what he said, what he said, how he said it, which is, look, we want to sign someone, but you know, he wasn't exactly guaranteeing he's going to sign someone. And I think the reason he's not guaranteeing it is because he can't like he, he ultimately doesn't control the budget.
00:16:07
Speaker
ah He needs someone to sign off. He needs ownership to sign off on whatever spend he has. And if he's only going into the, summer transfer window with whatever gam they have available, that's not going to guarantee an upgrade. So like they have to be prepared to spend some money.
00:16:25
Speaker
And I think that's sort of what he's trying to do is apply some pressure on the people who are writing the checks and to basically say, look, you might, and I think this is true. Like people are going to hold him accountable. Ultimately, whether if they, if they don't sign someone, I think there's a very good chance that he'll,
00:16:42
Speaker
lose the uh the gm vote whether or not it crosses the threshold that it becomes uh it becomes binding i don't know but i i think that's a pretty decent like likely outcome if they don't sign someone that he's going to be essentially held responsible by the fan base that doesn't really change the underlying problem which is he probably didn't have the budget to do much else so hopefully that right that happens hopefully money gets spent and ah and we can kind of go on getting mad about something else. And we don't have to talk about not making a signing in the last four summers or whatever it's been.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yeah. ah This is from Sam from what's the centers have played the least games of anyone, just 13 with almost two thirds of the season, plus leagues cup remaining and can in a condensed schedule, by the way, they have 24 games already on their schedule remaining over the last few months of the season.
00:17:36
Speaker
They're basically going to be playing every twice a week. But anyway, yeah. Which players do you hope to see getting increased minutes over
MLS Cup Prioritization
00:17:42
Speaker
this period? In addition, now that our roster is taking shape and players health has become clear, how do you rank your personal trophy priority?
00:17:50
Speaker
Which are they most likely to win? um Personal trophy priority and which they're most likely to win. I think MLS cup is, is true of both of those. I think this team is really good knockouts. Um,
00:18:02
Speaker
I have a hard time imagining leagues cup is going to be as a big of a priority this year. Although honestly, it wasn't really that much priority priority last year until they got fairly deep competition until they got to the final. Yeah. So, you know, i just think that this is a team that can win in knockouts. I think that they're going to be better in the second half of the season and and we'll probably have decent table positioning when all is said and done.
00:18:26
Speaker
Um, and yeah, so I think that, uh, MLS cup is, is my answer for both of those. Um, in terms of which players I hope to see get increased minutes.
00:18:37
Speaker
I mean, with the obvious exception of Pedro, there's nobody that I look at on the bench because they've all been traded this point, right. Where I'm like, I really want to see more of that guy. Yeah. Um, you know, Tino Lopez, I like a lot, but like, do I really,
00:18:52
Speaker
Ideally want to see him starting over anybody else. They're probably not kind of the same with Stu Hawkins. Like I'd like to see Stu Hawkins get some minutes. But if we're talking about really meaningful games, I think I'd rather have Jackson or or Yamar or Alex in there.
00:19:06
Speaker
um So yeah, there's just really nobody that stands out for me. And maybe it's because it's been six weeks since I've seen the guys play. i don't know. But ah it it really is like Georgie, Reed Baker Whiting, Cody Baker now are are all the guys that I maybe at one point in time would have said, like, I really want that guy to get more minutes and and they're gone. So kind of a cop-out answer, I suppose. But I don't think it's a cop-out answer. i mean, I think I look at the roster too. And I, and I say like, which are these guys you really, like, if you're just looking at the guys who have not been regularly starting, you got like Paul Areola. So i don't know, maybe you,
00:19:43
Speaker
Maybe you want to see more of Paul Ariel. I don't know. But yeah enough he's not the necessarily the high upside guy that I think people have in mind when they say this. Right. Osase Derosario maybe could fit that. He's played.
00:19:56
Speaker
He's made 11 appearances, though, so I don't know how much more you're really going see him. ah But, you know, Hassani Dotson has already played 600 minutes almost. ah Sebastian Gomez maybe is someone who who fits that. but ah But then you're talking about like, you know, Stu Hawkins. Sure, I'd like to see more Stu Hawkins. He didn't get on the field at all.
00:20:15
Speaker
Peter Kingston. I don't know. Sure. yeah Like I wouldn't mind seeing Peter Kingston, but I don't know that the upside is really there. And then after that, I mean,
00:20:26
Speaker
You Suganome, you know, like these are not players who I think anyone thinks are going to turn the sounder season around. And so really the the improvement offensively, I think comes from one of two areas, either the guys that you have that have been playing, just start playing better or you bring in some new talent and, and I, and I just want to back something up that I said earlier, they are not eighth in raw XG. They are eighth in XG per game. So just to kind of impede, people are like, that's crazy. I know that they don't have that, but that's why, uh, uh, yeah. Okay.
00:21:07
Speaker
Yeah. Um, All right. Next one is from Danicus. We all watch the matches. We all form our opinions, but the fan base isn't as connected as you are with your access to practice. There's a reason I asked this one to you and not the other way around. If you had to choose one thing about the team that you wish the fan base understood better, what would it be?
Training Reflections on Performance
00:21:23
Speaker
ah You know, I think honestly, i don't hear this complaint as much anymore. i have to say, and i I'm going to say that this is maybe and i i an example of how our fan base has improved, but there used to be this sort of like ongoing belief in the fan base that these guys just aren't that good or that they don't have to compete in practice in order to keep their spots.
00:21:49
Speaker
And I, and I do think one of the things that I see at training a lot is for the most part, the guys who are performing the best in training are also the guys who are playing the most. And that there's very few examples of players who are just,
00:22:06
Speaker
blowing up on the training pitch and just can't get on the field. I would say Pedro de la Vega was maybe a rare example of that, who every time you watched him in training, you could see why coaches were enamored with him at various places and why they're so excited.
00:22:21
Speaker
And so it was really satisfying to see him turn around and start doing that on the pitch. But I would say that's maybe the best thing. ah Alternatively, i would say that when people assume that the mood is really bad at training, like, oh man, it just must be brutal down it.
00:22:42
Speaker
It's oftentimes not like these guys actually get along pretty well. And, ah you know, I, I do think, they ultimately like one another, i think is one of, know, for better, for worse.
00:22:55
Speaker
I think mostly for better. And so, yeah, I mean, I think I do like that people are able to get out to training some, like they've done a good job, I think of getting, of opening it up sometimes, not as much as it used to be, obviously, but I think people will see like training is, you know, it it humanizes, is it humanizes the players, I think.
00:23:18
Speaker
Yeah. little tracks and ah there have definitely been times when the players did not all like each other and they were a shitty mood all the time. so training so Absolutely. It is good to hear. i think that this group is um just from an outside perspective, they seem extremely confident in their ability to turn things around. And also just like, I know that they feel pressure to, to turn things around and to, to succeed and and perform well.
00:23:48
Speaker
but I think that they have like, this is such a veteran group. Yeah. That I think they're just able to handle it really well. um And that, I think that comes across pretty well their ending games.
00:24:02
Speaker
Yep. All right. This is from KW 2026. Which of these three is most likely to have the most and least goals by the end of the season, Morris, Musavsky, or De Rosario? So I guess really what this is, is,
00:24:17
Speaker
who of the like rank these three players in terms of most goals at the end of season? I think Jordan is the obvious answer. Danny obviously was a leading scorer last year. Um, but I think that he just hasn't like his XG numbers aren't anywhere near what they were last year. They're still very, he's still top of the team and actually, um, for 90. And I think just overall, but, um,
00:24:40
Speaker
not what it was last year. And he's just, as we've we've talked about, if he's not putting the ball in the net, he's maybe not the most ideal guy to have on the pitch. So um I think Jordan is just going to get more minutes. I think even if the Sounders go out and sign a nine, Jordan's going to be playing somewhere.
00:24:55
Speaker
i think he's going to be starting somewhere in every game. So I'll put him first. and And I'll probably put Dero last, just because I don't think that Musovsky can continue not putting the ball in the net with ah with the XG numbers he's putting up.
00:25:08
Speaker
um he's he's averaging over half of ah an XG per game for 90. um And that's just, you can't expect him to go over with those kind of numbers. So Dero, I really like his game a lot. I just don't think he's going to play as much as the other two. I think that's going to hamper him.
00:25:26
Speaker
um I'm assuming this is in in MLS, um right? Maybe if you factor in League's Cup, maybe Dero could sneak above Masovsky or even Morris, but um I think he's the, a lot of his value is not necessarily scoring goals, even though he he can score goals and has scored some big ones.
00:25:46
Speaker
A lot of his, his values and the buildup and being a physical presence and a good set piece target and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. ah I would agree with that ranking. And I think it's mainly a playing time issue. I think those are the players that are most likely to get on the pitch and therefore the most likely to score.
00:26:05
Speaker
Yeah. ah right, this one is from Andrew. How much input into or influence over the roster does Weibel actually have? High-level acquisitions seem to be heavily restricted by Adrian's willingness to spend and to accept he's not the GM anymore, and depth decisions seem to be heavily influenced by who Schmetzer plays.
Craig Weibel's Role and Constraints
00:26:23
Speaker
You know, that's ah an interesting way of putting it. And I suppose you've actually made a pretty compelling argument for not as much as you might think, I guess it would be the answer. now But I mean, he still ultimately makes these decisions. Like, is he...
00:26:38
Speaker
is he limited by who he can go sign by the budget? Absolutely. Is he, does he feel compelled to move players if they aren't getting playing time? Absolutely. But he still has say, and he still is making those decisions. Now I don't, I'm not going sit here and say he's the most powerful GM in the league. I would say he is probably in terms of like the influence that he has over the roster. I would guess he's much closer to the middle, maybe even,
00:27:07
Speaker
ah you know on the on the lower third side of things in terms of like just explicit control but he has i mean he still is making those decisions uh but yeah you're i think andrew makes an astute observation which is his hands are kind of tied yeah and but what are you to about it you know right It's, I mean, that's the, that's the organizational structure, right? Wrong or indifferent. I mean, Ryan Schmetzer has earned the right to have a lot of input on what the roster looks like. Right. Exactly. He has made it abundantly clear over the years that he's going to play the guys he wants to play.
00:27:43
Speaker
um I mean, I, hopefully I'm not speaking out of turn by saying this, but I feel like that was one of the things he and Garth would maybe butt heads about. think that's absolutely accurate. Yeah.
00:27:55
Speaker
And, uh, Brian's still here. So, you know, right. Do without what you will. Um, I think that like a move like the Jesus Ferreira, uh, Paul Arreola deal that feels like the kind of thing that Craig is allowed to do I'm sure he has to go to Adrian and say I want to do this and Adrian can say you're not doing that what's wrong with you but I think in general he has the autonomy to make moves like that right um and I think in ah in a lot of ways like his remit is not that much different than anybody else's
00:28:28
Speaker
everybody's got a budget they have to work with. ah Everybody has to accept the reality of how much influence the coach has and and make roster roofs accordingly. But he's got Brian Schmetzer as the coach having a lot of input on on that side of things. And then an owner who is maybe not as willing to to spend on the other side. So he's probably constrained in those ways.
00:28:48
Speaker
um And I think there are some people who would say, well, part of his job is convincing Adrian to spend more money. And I think that that is a, really interesting way of saying you don't want to blame Adrian Hanauer for any of the problems that you see with the with the roster strategy.
00:29:03
Speaker
Um, I mean, yeah, I mean, I think that's true. It's, it's all true. I think it's your, I think you're right though, that it's like he, his job is to, uh,
00:29:17
Speaker
is to do is to kind of do the assignment, you know, to make the best with what you can. And, ah and, and look, it doesn't, it it's like, if you don't have the budget, then find a way to do it without the budget. You know, that's sort of, that's the job, right? That's what you signed up for. um So I don't know.
00:29:36
Speaker
I don't know if we totally answered your question, but I think it's a ah fair discussion. This is from a friend of the show, longtime Sounder at Heart a contributor. Of course, the founder of Sounder Heart as well, better than.
00:29:49
Speaker
If the Sounders were get to give 10% of ownership to a player, who would you pursue? So I'm going to answer this question pedantically, and then I'll answer it in the way that i think it was intended. The Sounders valuation currently, what was the most recent one?
00:30:06
Speaker
Call it a billion dollars for the sake of round numbers. So what soccer player do I think is worth paying $100 million dollars to in addition to a large playing salary in MLS?
00:30:23
Speaker
I don't think there is one. Like, I just don't think there's any there's a player alive that is worth that to an MLS team. You could go sign Kylian Mbappe. He's certainly worth that much money.
00:30:34
Speaker
on the, on the market. Is he worth that much to an MLS team? i I'm not convinced that he is. i don't think it's going to move the needle as much. um He's not lying. Okay. if you If you could wave a magic one, I'm going to, I'm going to let you answer this question, but maybe this is another way of thinking about it.
00:30:50
Speaker
It is. If you could sign any player that you feel like would actually move the needle in both a off field and on field way,
00:31:01
Speaker
Who do you think it would be? Like, I think that's the the way in which the question was the spirit of the question was intended.
Hypothetical Player Ownership
00:31:07
Speaker
Right. Yeah. um And like, don't maybe it's in Boppy because I do think he has that level of like name recognition. he's he's clearly like, he's,
00:31:19
Speaker
Maybe not because there's the whole joke about the Real Madrid Mbappe versus the France Mbappe. And boade so i would imagine playing in MLS is not going to. The dictator of that team is what you're speaking to, right? Right.
00:31:30
Speaker
Well, and also just that he's a different player for France than he is for Real Madrid. Like that. You know, it's so funny. I see people like i i like I think i I put this out on Blue Sky, but this is a little diversion.
00:31:44
Speaker
it's so weird for me as a person who mostly follows Kylian Mbappe's career by what people are saying about him and not so much watching his games. And to hear sort of like, he was bad this year. And then I look at his stats. He had 42 goals in 44 games for real Madrid. And then like ah Mark or another friend of the show, Mark Kastner,
00:32:03
Speaker
says, well, yeah, but only five of those came after May. And i was like, okay. So I looked it up and it's like yeah, you're right. Five goals in nine games. That's that's the pitiful performance of Kylian Mbappe. He only had five goals in his last nine games.
00:32:19
Speaker
He had 11 goals in 12 Champions League games. uh yeah i i think that the distinction people draw is that he seems to know well theres there there's that and like real madrid's expectations are obviously yeah sure totally but i do think it's more about like the level of effort he's willing to put in like defensively pressing yeah sure stuff but i mean he's still but i do think i've actually changed my answer and it's really not one that seems like the most sub i was gonna say that was sort of the i would think the the My assumption is that the players that are in this tier are what? Like Jude Bellingham, right ah Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe.
00:32:58
Speaker
like those are the Those are the category of players. I think Haaland is the one that would be most intriguing to me in part because I feel like his vibe feels so Seattle.
00:33:09
Speaker
Like I could see him yeah falling in love with Seattle. I could see, you know, the whole Norwegian thing. ay He, he seems to have like a self deprecating aspect to himself.
00:33:20
Speaker
Yeah. I could see him being, you know, a transformational star in Seattle. Now, does that mean he's worth ah giving a portion of the franchise to? I don't, I don't know if I'd that, but he's also 25.
00:33:34
Speaker
um So if you're going to do it, he sees seems like like that's that's the player I would pick. Yeah, I think he's the obvious answer. um There are a lot of good players that are, you know, that are of the right age and caliber. But I think between the position he plays, the style of play he has, yeah and and just like him as a guy, i think would be ah a great fit in Seattle for sure.
00:34:00
Speaker
he's he's he's the He's the guy, I think. but Yeah, I mean. Yeah. And look, it's not my my ownership shares. Yeah. i don't like If they want to do it, i' like I don't think he's going to do that. But if it were on the table, do I think that's a good business decision? Probably not. But I don't get... like Not my money. you know like um But the caliber player you're talking about is like a guy who would be making... You're basically paying $100 million dollar transfer fee for player.
00:34:32
Speaker
Yeah. and I mean, and he's probably worth... More than that, if we're being honest. He might be worth $200 million dollars on the transfer market. Yeah, what did I say about him? That said, i i I wouldn't say no to any of the players on that we just talked about. I would ah i think I enjoy watching Kylian Mbappe the most of all those players.
00:34:55
Speaker
like i just I love watching him play. I i i do. he Yeah, he's he's incredible. bell I love Belliname, too. he' He's just... a the least English English player of all time, maybe.
00:35:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's probably. yeah very Transfer market has Holland's value at 227.86 USD. So they'd have to give him 20, about 25. Yeah. club Yeah. So that he he's really out of reach is what you're saying. Like even more so out of reach than we.
00:35:26
Speaker
They would have to give him like they would have to give him Paul Allen's share of the right. Exactly. To make the math work. Yeah. Yeah. All right. All in a state here that if you just give your share to Erling Holland, maybe we can get them over here. It is, you know, all of the the money that comes in for those, for for the ownership stakes of Paul Allen sports franchise holdings is supposed to be reinvested back in the community.
00:35:52
Speaker
What better reinvestment back into the community? Then I mean, that's a great question. I guess like art and early childhood education. What does the Allen estate do with $9.6 billion?
00:36:02
Speaker
I mean, the honest answer is they give it to some really cool stuff. But. What's 227 million of that? You know, yeah it's nothing like exactly. How much money does the Vera project need?
00:36:15
Speaker
Does the Vera project need $10 billion? dollars i' I'm not convinced that do. No.
00:36:22
Speaker
Sounder at Heart has been around in one form or another since 2009. In 2026, though, we make a pretty significant evolution when we go analog. Yes, that's right. In the year of our Lord, 2026, we are publishing a real life magazine. We're calling this thing 4, as in Sounder at Heart 4.0. But we're stylizing it as i IV because we absolutely love Roman numeral. And if you want to refer to it as IV, that's cool too. The first issue has a comic book style cover that was hand drawn by local artist Kevin Newbern. Features by Tim Foss, Susie Rance, and Charlie Bohm. A statistical deep dive by Kat Bush. A Q&A with Brian Schmetzer. A column by G. Willow Wilson. And photographs by Noah Reif, Max Aquino, Mike Russell, and Jane Gershowitz. I could not possibly be more proud of the work everyone put into making this and I think you're gonna absolutely love it. If you'd like to get your hands on one of these limited edition copies, we're currently selling them for $15 on our website. Get yours now. Nos Adietes admittedly is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild.
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Speaker
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00:38:12
Speaker
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00:38:19
Speaker
All right. Next one is from Mindy. ah Will we see much of Sukunome this season? He hasn't dropped down the Defiance recently, and we haven't really seen him with the first team. You are correct. he has not He is still training with the first team. i At least i have seen him training with the first team.
00:38:37
Speaker
I did hear at one point that there was a possibility that if they needed the international roster spot that they might cut him at midseason. I suppose that's still...
00:38:49
Speaker
Possible. I don't, I have not been able to confirm that, but I would say that that's, that's one possibility. i I honestly don't know that if I was to weigh the two extreme possibilities of Yusuke Nome being cut or Yusuke Nome working himself into a regular role on the first team, I think it's probably more likely that he's going to get cut.
00:39:13
Speaker
That's not to, That's not a value assessment or value judgment. That is just a understanding that for whatever reason, Sukunome has not gotten onto the field yet for the Sounders. And i don't know it would take for him to get on there.
00:39:30
Speaker
ah He plays positions where the Sounders feel like they have much better options. And i don't know. i I'm not holding out much hope for him getting into the first team.
00:39:44
Speaker
Yeah, i I think we've talked about this specific point before, but I do feel like sometimes giving these players a first team deal is less about we expect you to be a first team contributor and more about we've got to have somebody taking up this roster spot and this is like a reward, get you a little more money, allow you to put the fact that you played in MLS on your resume um and, you know, hopefully set you up a little better for the future.
00:40:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's also somewhat about messaging to future defiance players, right? Like you want to look, if you set the franchise that you sent the organizational record for goals in a season, which is what Suga Nome did last year at 21 goals last year. it was an amazing year.
00:40:28
Speaker
If you, perform at an extremely high level like he did, like a broad Delia Rodriguez did before him, like, uh, like Sam a dinner and did before him, you're going to get a first team contract. That's the agreement that we are making with you. You, we are signing you to to defiance so that you can earn your first team contract. Now, what happens once you get to that first team contract,
00:40:53
Speaker
that we can't guarantee because you still got to impress the coaches there. You still got to get yourself onto the field, but this is your opportunity to take that, to give yourself that chance. Right.
00:41:05
Speaker
And, and I think that's really what this, that this mechanism is about is that they're going to keep signing, their broad Delio Rodriguez is and the use who can om is in the salmon denrins. And some of them are going to work out and some of them aren't.
00:41:18
Speaker
And that's just how it goes. But like, they're going to keep signing. You're going to have like one of those guys on the roster for as long as they're getting those kinds of performers. So, uh, you know, that it does, but it doesn't care. certainly doesn't guarantee him for 10 minutes. And all three of those players found that out. Right.
00:41:38
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's a, it's a good cultural thing. I think.
Pedro's Potential Playoff Impact
00:41:43
Speaker
ah This is from W. If Pedro only ramps up for the postseason and is available for 60 minutes per match in route to the MLS to an MLS Cup with him carrying the club to the championship, is that a successful season for him and the Sounders?
00:41:56
Speaker
And yes, I'm including the postseason in the season. ah I mean, if if the Sounders win the MLS Cup, that's definitely a successful season for them. um I think that Pedro's met measure you know for that is a little different just because he's got the rest of his career to think about.
00:42:13
Speaker
um if he barely plays this year at all, that's not going to look good. That's that's a lot of time he's missed in a young career to injury. um And, you know, i I have not been especially concerned about Pedro because his last injury was a freak injury. And, um you know, one of my things that I always hammer is that players are injury prone until they're not, and they're reliable and durable until they're not. There's really no way of knowing. It's not super predictable.
00:42:43
Speaker
But Pedro, I mean, having more setbacks, apparently, like it's getting to the point where. There is a point with players where their bodies just can't handle the the load.
00:42:56
Speaker
um And this is about the point in players careers where that becomes more apparent, I think, um you know, Brad Evans was a guy that got knocked for being pretty injury prone, but he just had a habit of like picking up muscle strains a couple times a year, right? He he didn't miss like huge chunks of seasons and and have constant injury setbacks, right? And then he became a very durable player as he as he got a little further in his career.
00:43:21
Speaker
um I'm not saying that I'm freaked out about Pedro and that we should write him off as just being a guy who's never going to be able to stay healthy. but it's entered my mind more recently than it had in the past. I will say that for sure. And and i I hope I'm wrong.
00:43:37
Speaker
hope that that's not not something to worry about. ah To address specifically the question, though, I would say that, yeah, i mean, if he comes back for the postseason and he's a meaningful player in the postseason and he leads the Sounders to some sort of postseason success, I think that's probably going to go down as a reason, like successful. And I guess i guess the the question I guess I would ask is like,
00:44:01
Speaker
who like who's asking, like, what are we trying to determine success for? What's, like, are we saying that he's worth, he is that makes it worth giving him a another deal?
00:44:12
Speaker
I don't know. But like, I think if he brings, if he plays well in important games that justifies his being on the roster, uh, but I don't know how much it changes his future prospects. You know, we'll see.
00:44:28
Speaker
He's got to, but like the biggest thing is he's got to stay healthy and I really like him when he's healthy. And I, I understand why people are getting frustrated that he's not been that. ah And we don't know when he's coming. We still don't know when he's coming back. And that's the right but truth. We still haven't seen him in a full training session.
00:44:44
Speaker
Maybe I'll go out to training tomorrow. Maybe he'll be out there. I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. Yeah, I think given that there was some hope that he would be, you know, maybe starting to ramp up before the World Cup break and now yeah World Cup break is over and he's not seemingly any closer is very concerning. Yep, totally agree.
00:45:05
Speaker
ah Next one from Bard, to looking back at the World Cup, what team did you enjoy watching lose the most?
00:45:13
Speaker
Man. I feel, you know, it's frustrating is the teams that I've been rooting against hardest, have narrowly won a lot of games.
00:45:23
Speaker
Like we, I really wanted to see England suffer a bit against Mexico. I wanted to see them, you know, sweat it out against a couple of teams and they've done that. They, but they've come out victorious. So it's like, click you know, as we record England is still, well, yeah, you, you're going to hear this tomorrow.
00:45:40
Speaker
ah Probably. So England's still alive in this tournament. And I don't even know if I'm rooting against them at this point. ah Argentina, another team that I was really enjoying, ah like seeing how much they've suffered, but also was like wanted a little more payoff there, you know, like they've they've suffered a lot, but they still come out victorious every time.
00:46:01
Speaker
I guess Brazil maybe? Brazil losing was pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Like I don't, I'm trying to think who else I even took joy and lose. like Like I like a lot of Portugal's players. Oh yeah. Okay. I have a, I have a good buddy who's Portuguese and he was pretty upset and I hated to see that.
00:46:20
Speaker
But Ronaldo is my least favorite footballer of all time. Even him. I feel like them going out when they went out was like not as satisfying as I wanted because they still got to let the quarterfinals. Right.
00:46:32
Speaker
True. No, no, they no. They got knocked down around 32. Yeah. Yeah. run sixteen And they they're a team that I think if they had played anyone other than Ronaldo up top could have won the tournament. Their midfield is absurd.
00:46:45
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Portugal definitely was, I guess. So the fact that it was his last world cup, he never won one. ah and that he was the main reason they got knocked out, I think makes them the most enjoyable when Neymar making it all about him. ah also made that enjoyable.
00:47:03
Speaker
um But Argentina, I think, is the team that i most want to lose now. um I love the Mimartinez to death, but i'm I'm very tired of watching them do what they do.
00:47:15
Speaker
Spain, I find, like, I don't have any moral issues with them. I just hate watching them play. So um I don't really need to see them in a final. So it's England and France for me at this point. And I actually like this England team pretty well. So I know. you see I'm rooting for them at this point.
00:47:34
Speaker
It's funny how England has sort of the, the, the worm has turned. I don't know if I'm using that right, but like I was rooting hard against England for at least a couple of like hard. I really want, like I really wanted Norway to beat them. I really wanted Mexico to beat them.
00:47:48
Speaker
I think even DR Congo was before that. If I remember correctly. Yeah, I was ah all three of those. I was all in on like, let's see some England go down. And now i'm like, you know what?
00:48:01
Speaker
Sure. Harry Kane sounds like a Muppet and, uh, you know, Alan Gore, Alan, is it Alan Gordon? No, Alan Gordon. No, Alan Gordon was the guy that played for the earthquake. Yeah. Who it's the, what's the Gordon guy that is their winger?
00:48:14
Speaker
Oh, uh, Anthony Gordon, right? Anthony Gordon. Yeah. All right. He seems like, ah like these guys seem like they're so English and, um, but Jude Bellingham is a fun player and,
00:48:27
Speaker
Sokka is a fun player and yeah, they've got like, you know, there's some interesting Marcus Rashford on the team. He's a, he's a cool guy. Yeah. I mean, couple of Villa players, which is a big for me.
00:48:38
Speaker
Sure. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. I think they are. I'm not rooting against them anymore. I guess is what I'm saying. I don't want to win the title, but like I'm rooting for him against Argentina. Yeah. I'm going to regret this the same way I did when I rooted for the Red Sox, but I'm kind of ready for them to get theirs. And so we can stop hearing about it. and as soon as they do, it's going to be insufferable. And I know that. So I should know better. Oh, come on. little strict in the book.
00:49:05
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's true.
00:49:08
Speaker
All right. ah This is from dudes B. What's the first thing that comes to mind when that was unexpected or surprising to you during the world cup break could be world cup or sounders related.
00:49:20
Speaker
I think that the biggest thing for me is that um not only did i not think that the expanded world cup, the number of teams in the world cup expanded format wasn't like, didn't dilute the quality. I think it added to it.
00:49:35
Speaker
um I think that, and, and, you know, people are allowed to disagree, but when I hear people saying like that, there were worse games in this world cup than other games, I just did not no see that at all. I thought that there were a lot of really interesting teams that probably, you know, never would have been here. Otherwise, Cabo Verde is the the most obvious example, but you know, there were, there were a lot of teams who looked like real threats to get like into the quarterfinals that, you know, maybe wouldn't have qualified in past years. um
00:50:08
Speaker
And I think that, One of my pet theories is that the floor in in soccer has been consistently being raised faster than the ceiling. and And I think that that sort of, you know, was born out in this World Cup. It was ah was a lot of fun. There were a lot of crazy games. Some of the worst teams to watch from just like a you know, stylistic perspective for me have been some of the the best ones, right? The objectively the best teams.
00:50:34
Speaker
um Switzerland, I thought, was awful to watch. Spain was is not my cup of tea by any stretch of the imagination. And then some of the teams that you know didn't really have a puncher's chance, but showed up and made some teams sweat, they were they were a blast to watch. So I think that's the thing that was really surprising because I was nervous as somebody who really wanted the expanded format to to work.
00:50:54
Speaker
um I was nervous that it was going to be everything the critics expected, and I was quite pleased that it wasn't. Yeah, it is funny for all the... competitive games and the favorites that got pushed to the brink and all that kind of stuff that we are that like we're stuck we're not stuck we are we have the four best teams in the world by the FIFA rankings now I think most people would even agree like the four best teams in this tournament so far maybe not I mean i guess talent wise yeah they might be the four most talented teams and
00:51:26
Speaker
And that's who we end up getting to the final. ah But my biggest surprise, and I will agree with you. I think that the quality of play has been better. I will say that the, the one complaint I have with the format is that we had more games in the group stage where it didn't, it wasn't,
00:51:43
Speaker
Whether or not they were literally dead rubbers, there were a lot of games that just didn't feel like they had as much consequence because of yeah how many teams advanced. But that's that's more of a quibble than than a real complaint.
00:51:55
Speaker
ah The thing that I think I was most surprised by is just how... robust the fan culture is and how even that it's like you couldn't put up enough blockades to keep people from watching their teams but especially like filling these that that we are so close to sold out stadiums everywhere around this like that that the prices just didn't matter as much as i thought they would that the that the uh
00:52:29
Speaker
politics of it didn't matter as much as I thought that they would that the
00:52:36
Speaker
that the vibes were just ultimately really good like I was all that was shocking frankly to me and I'm we glad I'm glad that it worked out this way and it's a reminder that that people want to have fun that people want to love each other and that they want to be surrounded by good
World Cup Hosting Success
00:52:54
Speaker
energy and that if we give them the opportunity that you know, and they'll often that, you know, oftentimes our better angels prevail. And it's been really nice seeing that even as politics continue to go crazy and, and and sort of this, ah that the, that the world cup seems to exist in this sort of alternate universe or something.
00:53:15
Speaker
Yeah, I do think that it's a pretty clear example of the idea that the US is a much better place than its leaders would have you expect. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I think that that, you know, as much of that, I hope, as much of that as possible, I hope came across with with the way things have gone in the US. Yeah.
00:53:35
Speaker
And I don't expect anybody to care, right? Like if you live in a country that's been targeted by us, you know, like I don't expect you to give a shit about that. um But it's a good reminder for us, right? That like, hey, i think it's yeah exactly we don't actually deserve to live in hell. Like we can we can have some good times.
00:53:53
Speaker
All right, next one is from Josh. ah We get so few apples to apples comparisons to help measure and mls MLS's global relevance in contrast to other top leagues, but the World Cup is one of those events.
MLS Impact on World Cup
00:54:05
Speaker
Via the very fun dashboard by ah Discord user Dondo, ah we can see MLS had the sixth most players rostered in this World Cup and the sixth most minutes played.
00:54:17
Speaker
How do you interpret this best of the rest milestone for MLS? Is it even meaningful given how large the gap to fifth is? And I will also say that this this is a cool database that Dondo put together here. Some cool info in there. But yeah, MLS, sixth most minutes.
00:54:31
Speaker
That is cool. i think it i think it's more illustrative of... what we've been sort of saying for a while, which is MLS is still a, it's like a pretty relevant league in terms of yeah the talent that it brings in that the quality of play.
00:54:48
Speaker
And, you know, like I would imagine if you did the median player in the league, it probably is skewed. It's skewed a lot probably by, Leo Messi's, but not not entirely. And I think that yeah to, is to the point, like once you get outside of those top five leagues, it's like the,
00:55:06
Speaker
the gap from five to six is huge, but then the gap from six to probably 12 is, is relatively small is my suspicion. I, i have not actually looked at this biz. I should probably do that. But, uh, what was the question?
00:55:22
Speaker
I think just generally like, does that, does that surprise you? How do you make that? what do you make of it? Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I think it's the MLS is a good league and that the main problem that we have is not,
00:55:35
Speaker
the baseline quality it's the way that we package it and sell it. And I think we still have, you know, there's still get, I think getting into that top five though is, is pretty important to, I think MLS really breaking through, ah sort of the ceiling that it's running up against right now.
00:55:54
Speaker
Yeah. I think, I think that's, uh, it is skewed by a few players to some degree. but like the same is true. So right behind the U S or are the Saudi leagues, right? 48, uh, 48, uh, players. And then I think also like right behind in the number of minutes, I found it.
00:56:13
Speaker
And a lot of that is because most of the West Asian teams are players that play exclusively in the Saudi. Most of Turkey's players play in Turkey. and that's not as much the case. Like there's players from all over there playing in the U S now,
00:56:28
Speaker
The interesting thing is that at least two of the players that that qualify as played in U.S. leagues do not play in MLS. They play in USL. So that is one consideration. So in terms of, ah you know, by number of players, U.S. s and and Saudi Arabia are tied, I believe. But um still, I think it is like it's meaningful, right? um The fact that twice as many players that play in U.S. s leagues as played in Liga Emeki is pretty interesting, right? Mm-hmm.
00:56:59
Speaker
Um, so I don't know if you can use it as like an absolute takeaway for MLS is the fifth best league in the world. Right now. I don't think anybody's is making that point. Um, but I do think that it's, it's gotta to be harder and harder for people to make good faith arguments that MLS is not a relevant league that's up there with, you know, a lot of the second or third tier European leagues, um, and, and right behind other leagues and in the Western hemisphere.
00:57:28
Speaker
if not on top of most of them.
00:57:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I like to my point, I will, I will, I, now that I've looked at this, the premier league is by far the most, you know, but like to my point,
00:57:47
Speaker
There's about 6,000 minutes or sorry, 7,000 minutes gap between Italy and the United States in terms of minutes. And the gap from U.S. down to almost the bottom is about the same size.
00:58:05
Speaker
Right. Yeah, there's there I mean, there's a very clear hierarchy that MLS is. way behind um the the S tier of leagues. Right. The MLS is probably in the, I would guess B tier, right? There's the premier league. Then there's Spain, Germany.
00:58:22
Speaker
Right. And then we're in that, you know, in that C tier or B, however that there's tier, A, B. So we're like, b I think it would be C tier because I would put like Italy and France above MLS, obviously.
00:58:37
Speaker
but below Germany and Spain. Okay. I see what you're saying. yeah um Although I don't know, maybe not anymore. Maybe the Italian, the Italian leagues. Yes. um But maybe France has popped up to that second year. Anyway, I think the point you made is ah better and less convoluted. So we'll just stick with that. That MLS is sort of in the running for most of the rest of the leagues in the world.
00:59:03
Speaker
Yeah. And clearly better than a bunch of other ones as well. Right. right. This is from c sin. Aside from keeping the grass pitch, what is one thing from the world cup
FIFA's World Cup Execution
00:59:13
Speaker
games hosted at Seattle stadium or Seattle field?
00:59:17
Speaker
Actually, i think it's just, it's Seattle stadium or just field. I believe is the, yeah is the proper nomenclature. What would you like to see continue for their home games? ah Putting effort into the game. The experience would be a good one. um There is a lot of effort that I, FIFA does a man. FIFA it really does do a good presentation.
00:59:37
Speaker
I got to admit, like. They're extremely good at what they do. and I mean, there's the unfortunate side of a lot of what they do mean really nasty stuff, but. Everything they do, they're pretty good at, I would say. So at least in terms of what they're trying to do.
00:59:52
Speaker
Yeah, I've been I've been trying to make fetch happen with this term, I believe. But I'm going to go. going to throw it out there again. Grossly competent, like they make you feel gross about what they're doing. But you ultimately have to just admit that they are super, super competent at what ah what it is like. Right.
01:00:12
Speaker
FIFA knows how to put on a show, you know, and, and, you know, FIFA puts all these crazy restrictions and makes these, all these demands, but, I got to admit, like taking over the whole concourse and expanding it into the parking lot and then taking over the WAMU center to make it a hospitality space.
01:00:29
Speaker
Genius. Like those are that's great. Like, man. ah No, they're they're extremely good at what they do. And even like the just outrightly immoral stuff, like they make the business decision. That is correct.
01:00:44
Speaker
Pretty much every time. Like the and ticket prices are maybe the best example. Yep. Like, look, I find it deplorable that FIFA charged as much as they did for the tickets.
01:00:57
Speaker
But can you honestly look at what their ticketing strategy was and say it was wrong? Maybe it was illegal. It may have been illegal. Right. and Hey, I applaud all the attorneys general who might be going after FIFA, but,
01:01:11
Speaker
from a business perspective, what did they make the correct calculation? i mean, it sure seems that way. It sure seems that way. I think that FIFA is the closest. A lot of people get to being able to see how huge multinational corporations function in the real world. They just have more visibility to it yeah because they see the decisions. They have insight into the decisions and the trade-offs and the things that happen. ah And, uh,
01:01:40
Speaker
uh yeah i mean why did you charge five thousand dollars for that ticket because we could because we thought someone would pay it that's the answer absolutely hate it and i it sucks but and i hope i i really do hope that fifa gets busted for illegal pricing strategies or something but yeah no it'd be great be great but it seems very unlikely but yeah yeah all right last question for lax which sounder and mls era brian doesn't count ah would do the best job on a house project, like staining a deck, which sounded MLS era. Well, okay. So this is also cheating.
01:02:17
Speaker
There's a few cheats here. So right ah Cam Weaver, I believe is actually a, I believe he's a ah house builder. So I'm going to go assume that Cam Weaver is probably the most qualified ah former MLS era sounder the,
01:02:34
Speaker
do any house project that you have uh marcus honneman maybe that's what was gonna say could definitely i would trust him to do just about any diy project at home and then after that i don't know i don't know who else is on the list but those two for sure are like the s tier uh diy project guys Yeah. Will Bruin and Brad Evans both strike me as guys who know how to do stuff like that?
01:03:01
Speaker
They might. ah That's possible. yeah Like, i'm I'm maybe more skeptical. have that personality, but i I still have a hard time envisioning either one of them swinging a hammer. Will, by all means, come at me.
01:03:19
Speaker
Well, if they're swinging a hammer while they're staying at a deck, theyve everything's gone to shit. It's a great point. That's a great point. But I take your I take standing a deck, and but like standing a deck, I guess is pretty low hanging fruit. Like it's just effort. It's not.
01:03:33
Speaker
Yeah, there's not a lot of like skill involved here. So I guess shitty job of it. But like if you actually follow the instruct, like you have to be negligent to mess it up. Like.
01:03:48
Speaker
I don't ever want to do it again, but but like I've done it before. It sucks to do, but yeah. ah Who else would I think? Okay. So if we're to go off the current team now, i think it's maybe a little more interesting to go off the current team because these are players yeah who have spent their entire adult lives as athletes. Like they have not had to have second jobs where they were working construction or whatever. Right. And from the current crop of players, I'm going to say,
01:04:19
Speaker
something about Alex Roldan strikes me as real salt of the earth, capable of doing real work that i like, I would trust him to, I could see that. I could, I think I would trust him the most.
01:04:32
Speaker
Yeah, I could see that. Trying to think who else would be in there. Steph, maybe. like I mean, Steph sth seems more like ah like a like a guy who's giving direction than someone who's going to get down on his hands and knees. And if you wanted him to like, if you wanted your deck to have a cool design on it, he'd be great guy. Yeah. um I mean, he knows his way around a paintbrush. That's good. Sure. Good point.
01:04:57
Speaker
um Valid point. So maybe that's maybe that's a guy. um
01:05:03
Speaker
I think Pedro would. I think Pedro would be up for doing it. Yeah, probably. Like he seems like a guy who would be game for helping out his buddies, even if he wasn't the best at it. Yeah. You know, I could see that.
01:05:18
Speaker
Like he seems like a guy where you're like, hey, man, I'm going to get a couple six packs and order some pizza. We're going to knock this out. he'd be Like, yeah, I'll do it. Yeah. OK, I like that. I like that thinking for sure. I appreciate that. That's.
01:05:31
Speaker
ah Consider it. I absolutely would agree with that. Yeah.
01:05:37
Speaker
Anyone else in here that we... No, literally nobody else I can see. like like There's a lot of players on there who i think would be bad, who would or refuse. and And there's no shade. Like I said, it sucks to do. And if I made the kind of money these guys make, you there's no way my ass would ever be staying in a deck. You kidding me?
01:05:56
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. But yeah, I am i'm have a hard time seeing other people on here. All right. Well, Ziggy would have been good at saying in a deck.
01:06:09
Speaker
Yeah, I can see that. Yeah.
01:06:16
Speaker
Anyway. all right. Well, that's, that's it. That's the show. Uh, look at that coming in right around, right around an hour. If you're keeping so track at home,
01:06:26
Speaker
bad ah So a couple of things I'm just going to shout out. I wanted to note that the Sounders just sent out their season ticket renewals. And I had a kind of lengthy conversation with Taylor Graham, who's one of their business guys, former player as well.
01:06:43
Speaker
And i would urge you to go look at that because there are big changes coming. Not necessarily bad changes, but like, of course, there's this seven game package and then there is a for the sprint season because it's only 14 games.
01:06:59
Speaker
seven games only in that home package. And then there is an additional 18 game package that is for the 27, 28 season. They're going be changing ah platforms from ticket master to jump. So I would look in your email and find that stuff and get educated on everything that goes into it.
01:07:17
Speaker
I don't want to, I'm not going to, tell you what to do with that information, but I will let you know that that's, that is going on ah this week. I believe we're also going to have a, the induction ceremony for Casey Keller, Siggy Schmidt and ah Peter, ga Peter Gabriel. No, not Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Gabriel, Jimmy Gabriel, geez, into the Sounders circle of legends, eternal Sounders circle of legends.
01:07:47
Speaker
it should put Peter Gabriel in there too. They should put Peter Gabriel in just for his contribution to the Seattle, ah vibe scene. Right? Yeah. Why not? That's a, that's a say anything reference, I believe.
01:08:01
Speaker
Uh, so anyway, uh, be on the lookout for all that stuff. I've heard some other rumblings. There might be some more pregame ceremony stuff that would be cool if it came off, but I don't want to, want to spoil anything. So,
01:08:15
Speaker
Let's get out of here, Aaron. It's been great hanging out.
01:08:20
Speaker
give another house yeah Give another shout out to our Discord community for submitting these questions. And another plug, if people want to get into the Discord community, just become a supporter of Sounder at Heart. That's $75 a year level.
01:08:34
Speaker
If you are already a member and you aren't in the Discord, just send us an email and we'll get you in the Discord. And if you aren't a member, but you want to get become one, just go to Sounder at Heart and ah click on your your membership page and you should be able to upgrade that.
01:08:50
Speaker
All that said, let's get out of here. i am Jeremiah Shan signing off for Aaron Campo and our producer, Lick It. This is No Sardietes, part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network, and we will catch you next time.
01:09:29
Speaker
Let's go and Sounders.