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Episode 416: Getting to know Ballard FC
72 Plays2 years ago
Since their inaugural season of 2022, Ballard FC has taken the USL League 2 world by storm. Not only are they consistently filling up the 1,500-person capacity at Interbay Stadium, but they're winning a ton of games as well. In the recently concluded regular season, they finished 10-1-1 to win the Northwest Division and are now hosting the Western Conference quarterfinals and finals this weekend. You can buy tickets here.
To discuss their past and future, we brought on co-founders Sam Zisette and Lamar Neagle.
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Transcript
Introductions & Sponsors
00:00:00
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. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest.
00:00:21
Speaker
Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this. Thanks to Watson's Counter for sponsoring this episode. Located in Ballard, Watson's Counter is your neighborhood specialty coffee shop, brunch spot, and now, coffee roaster. Sourcing exclusively high scoring coffees, Watson's Counter has started their coffee roasting project to showcase amazing coffees grown around the world. Their first featured coffee is the beautifully complex washed Ethiopian Odola.
00:00:50
Speaker
Follow them on Instagram at Watson's Counter to keep up with all the upcoming releases or check out their website at www.watsonscounter.com. Whether you want to stop by for your daily coffee to go or sit down for delicious Korean inspired brunch, Watson's Counter has got you covered.
Ballard FC's Playoff Journey
00:01:16
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of No Audio Disc, sponsored by Watson's Counter and Fullpool Lines, as well as our subsex subscribers. I am Jeremiah Shannon. Joining me today is two people I am excited to have on representing Ballard FC who are hosting a
00:01:37
Speaker
a U.S.L. two playoff game or potentially two playoff games coming up this weekend. Sam's a set who is the co-founder and the GM as well as Lamar Nagel who I assume you would know from his sounders days but is also a co-founder of Ballard FC. Thank you for joining us guys.
00:01:54
Speaker
Yeah. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. So, uh, let's, let's get this out of the way first. Uh, and we can kind of backfill the story a little bit, but, uh, you guys are coming off or in the middle still of a very impressive season. You went 10, one, and one in league play, you head into the, into the playoffs, uh, having popped your, your division in USL league two. So what explained to me where we're going from here and what's going on?
00:02:24
Speaker
Yeah, so we start our USL League 2 playoff run this upcoming Friday. So it starts with the Western Conference quarterfinals. So if anyone remembers from last year, we had a similar story of getting into playoffs this year. Winning the division was an awesome achievement for us that we didn't do last year. So we'll host the Western Conference quarterfinals and semifinals at Interbase Stadium.
00:02:50
Speaker
Two teams will play on Friday afternoon. We will play on Friday evening, both games at Interbase Stadium. The winners of those two matches will play on Sunday afternoon at Interbase Stadium in that Western Conference semi-final.
Creating a Community-Focused Experience
00:03:04
Speaker
And then are tickets still available for these games? They are. They are indeed. Probably won't last the whole week, but they are available currently.
00:03:14
Speaker
And so let's, we may as well start there. So this has been a pretty impressive season from really any way you cut it. You came onto the scene last year. I think I'm not sure how many people really knew what Ballard FC was or what U.S.L. League Two was for that matter. But you guys drew really good crowds. Everyone I talked to,
00:03:39
Speaker
said going to games is a ton of fun. But then I think maybe more impressively, you backed it up with it seemed like even more excitement and even more like was it was the attendance even better this year? It seemed like every game I saw was a sellout, it seemed. Yeah, attendance was better this year. And I think I think that's one of the biggest things for for us as you know,
00:04:04
Speaker
A group trying to run this is like really creating a family atmosphere and really creating a community event that people want to go to. Right. That's it. That's a big draw that I think
00:04:16
Speaker
both of us realized what we wanted from this kind of venture from the beginning. So it's been amazing to see the numbers swell and people start to understand like Sam said maybe last year not knowing but now maybe recognizing the brand maybe having somebody that had gone to a game and that could actually tell the experience. So yeah each event we're trying to trying to create something special so that we keep got people coming back
00:04:41
Speaker
And so what is the, what, how would you describe a match at, at Valorative Sea? Yeah, that's, uh, I guess for, for everybody, it's probably a little bit different for me. It's different than somebody that's going with, um, you know, just some buddies that, that enjoy the brewery kind of lifestyle and are in the beer garden. I have kids.
00:05:03
Speaker
But the kids end up loving it. There's always a ton of action. You're close to the field. So it feels like you're right on top of it. We have little games for the kids. So they're always running around. It really just feels like a community event that ended up being based around the soccer team. And the soccer team ends up doing pretty well last year and this year. That's from my perspective. I know for Sam, it's probably different.
00:05:32
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, we've tried to maximize both the family experience, but also the kind of younger professional or any people of all ages, but just like the kind of fun community event atmosphere. So, you know, the beer garden is obviously a major draw for folks. So being able to, you know, watch the match, like Lamar said, from five feet away from the sideline with a cold beer is
00:05:56
Speaker
You know, definitely a major draw, but also the family friendly environment, affordable, accessible tickets right in the heart of the city. You know, you feel like you're in the neighborhood when you're at the stadium is a big draw. You know, we also work hard to kind of like maximize the entertainment value beyond just the soccer side. So, you know, a fun halftime show.
00:06:16
Speaker
you know, pieces before the game, like oftentimes we'll have a live band performance, you know, we have music playing, we put, you know, cornhole and games and different pieces around the stadium. So we try to put a lot more into it than just the game, but it also helps that we do have a really good team and it's a really entertaining brand of soccer. You know, it's not
00:06:36
Speaker
All too different from the MLS level. Obviously the players are much younger. I think that lends itself to kind of a faster game in some ways.
Player Development and Recruitment Strategies
00:06:45
Speaker
The pressing, you know, the players really want to press hard. So there's a pretty high intensity to the match, especially during playoffs.
00:06:53
Speaker
So it's a really fun, high quality brand of soccer that definitely draws people in. And yeah, us having a very successful season, people like to see goals, especially down at the beer garden. And so when we can score a couple there, it's a guarantee for a good time.
00:07:09
Speaker
Yeah, I can imagine Seattle soccer fans lately haven't got to see a whole lot of goals at home games. So at least someone in town is scoring these days. But let's go back even farther. I am realizing that a lot of people might not even know what Ballard FC is. You guys were founded or your first year was last year. I think that's when you were founded as well.
00:07:35
Speaker
But what was the genesis of this? And how would you describe U.S.L. League 2 and sort of like the place in the market that Ballard FC occupies?
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah, I can start with that one. So Lamar and I, well, everybody knows the level that Lamar played at. I like to joke that the highest level I played at is the lowest level Lamar played at. But we got to know each other playing together at the Tacoma Stars. And both shared a similar vision for community and soccer, and particularly player development.
00:08:15
Speaker
Ballad FC first was started with the idea of player development and needing a club in Seattle to support, you know, our players who were right on the cusp of becoming professionals you know young players where these three months of their development are crucial, right.
00:08:32
Speaker
Heading into whether it's their fall college season, or maybe they're just just right on the cusp of signing that pro contract. Right. And so we wanted to start a club that was kind of player 1st and driven by filling a development pathway that was necessary for that type of player, but also creating a community atmosphere and experience of something that is both affordable, accessible and a lot of fun.
00:08:56
Speaker
Um, and so Lamar and I, you know, started working on this and then we're introduced to our third co-founder, Chris. And the three of us really just got working on it every day and worked with the league and started the club. And I, I don't think we expected it to have the type of response, you know, as big and as fast as it was, but, um, it was really amazing to see the community.
00:09:17
Speaker
get super pumped about this and rally around it and really, you know, after we kind of started it really became kind of a community driven project where we were really responding to what the community wanted to see from this club and what the players wanted from this club and you know what we had a vision and an idea for it it's really been
00:09:36
Speaker
a lot more than just the three of us, you know, putting something together. It's really been a community driven experience that has been a lot of fun and we're continuing to try new things and learn all the time. But yeah, the Genesis really started with trying to create a club for players that are right on that cusp of being pros to develop to, you know, be the best they can be and hopefully sign that pro contract and then, yeah, make as fun and accessible of experience for fans as we could
00:10:02
Speaker
Yeah, and so just to follow up on that, this is basically the same level that the Sounders U-23s were playing at. I don't know that they were ever playing in U.S.L. League 2, but that was the PDL, essentially. And this is essentially the same level, correct?
00:10:19
Speaker
It's not only the same level, it's the exact same league. So the PDL was part of U.S.L. and they just rebranded, renamed the league from PDL to U.S.L. League 2. So it is the same exact league, just it went under a rebrand a handful years ago. Yeah, go ahead. And this was just to like reiterate the level like
00:10:42
Speaker
So I ended up playing for the Des Moines Venice when I was in college because I wanted to play at this level. I mean, my freshman year, as soon as the fall got over, I knew that I wanted to play pro and that I was serious about it. And so you immediately have to have to get as many games, play against the best competition as you can. And I would have loved to have come home.
00:11:05
Speaker
And do that, but there wasn't a team in Seattle kind of at that level at the time. And so I went, you know, across the country to find a team that I could play for. And so to be able to bring a team at that level with the amount of talent that we have in this area, we knew, you know,
00:11:22
Speaker
it would be competitive across the country because guys would want to come home and play in front of a big crowd, in front of family and friends, instead of traveling across the country to find a team. And so these are mostly players who are in college or just right out of college. Is that right? Mostly, yeah. Sam keeps trying to get me to put a jersey on, but keeping it the younger guys, for sure.
00:11:50
Speaker
And these are, this is, is it all amateur or is it just, is, is it team by team that's, that's professional or amateur? It's all amateur. So that's both a league requirement that all teams, um, you know, have to be full amateur status, but it's, it's mostly driven by NCAA rule, right? That you cannot pay players to play the game if they're in college.
00:12:14
Speaker
So let's talk a little bit about the player pool that you're drawing from. If you look at the roster and you're familiar with the Seattle soccer scene, you probably vaguely recognize quite a few of these guys. But who are some of your top players? And where are you drawing players from? What would you say is kind of the general profile?
00:12:38
Speaker
So the majority of our players are from Seattle originally, but that's certainly not all. We've been drawing some players from both college players from different states, but also just drawing players from around the country who are outside of the college scene as well. But starting with that kind of like bulk of our roster, which are
00:12:57
Speaker
Players who grew up in Seattle and are currently playing in college some play for local schools like University of Washington Seattle you and then some players are from Seattle, but have gone to play for other colleges like University of Pennsylvania and others.
00:13:15
Speaker
So we have a lot of former Sounders Academy players who are now playing in college and will come play for us for the summer. And then we have some players who are on a different path where they've graduated or haven't gone through the college route, who are on the cusp and working towards being professional players, who have gone just on a slightly different pathway or are outside of college and still working to find that pro contract.
00:13:44
Speaker
but the majority of our players are gonna be kind of through the college system and that this is their kind of in between seasons club that they can play for to keep developing. And so you are carrying the title of GM is how much of that is recruiting?
00:14:00
Speaker
Very little. I joke all the time that my title is very deceptive and probably needs to be changed at some point pretty soon. A lot of the recruiting is done by the coaching staff. Lamar and I do a little bit, but the coaches really drive recruiting. My role is really mostly about running the business and the day-to-day.
00:14:23
Speaker
and the operations of it all. But Lamar and I both have a lot of fun with the recruiting. It's a pretty rewarding experience to find a player who we think would be a really good fit, talk to them, bring them in, and then see them have a great experience is a really, really rewarding thing for us. So I try to spend as much time as I can recruiting, but oftentimes that's very little because there's a lot of other important work to be doing.
00:14:49
Speaker
So you mentioned the
Coaching Dynamics
00:14:51
Speaker
coaching staff. You guys had a change in coaches, I think basically mid-season or recently. What was that process like and what's the current status of the coaching staff?
00:15:05
Speaker
Yeah, so, you know, just like it is for our players, you know, ballot FC is and will always be that stepping stone club, right? Or I should say clubs at the USL league two level are always stepping stone clubs. And, you know, that's true for players as it is for staff. We had front office staff who, you know, we had a staff member last year who's now working for the MLS. He's moved to New York City and he's working for the league at the league office level.
00:15:32
Speaker
We encourage that and support that and we actually, we take a lot of pride in that, that we can see players move on to the next level, coaches and staff.
00:15:44
Speaker
Yeah, Jason Farrell, our head coach from last year and through the majority of this year, was offered a different opportunity. And that was something that the timing of it, of course, we wouldn't want it to happen during the season. It's not what our preference would be, but we understand that's the reality of it. And again, we're kind of excited that we get to be a club that does promote people onto the next level and to great opportunities for them.
00:16:13
Speaker
Jason step away for a new opportunity and then one of our assistant coaches ethan o'neill who just today was in the national final with one of his united clubs actually has taken over interim head coach and he's doing a fantastic job tremendous job.
00:16:31
Speaker
First two games, two league wins against very tough opponents. He's been he's been awesome and we have a great support staff around him as well with assistant coaches. Amadou Sanyang, who played for the Sounders and Ben Willis, another assistant coach. And so, you know, we have a fantastic staff beyond just Ethan who are who are supporting. And really, this is an I know Lamar would say it's a player driven club, really, right? So there's a great team culture through the players and the and the and the leaders on the team. So
Future Plans and Community Legacy
00:17:00
Speaker
you know, the coaches are facilitating it all and putting it together, but there's a lot of culture within the players that are really driving this thing forward. And so what are the aspirations of Ballard FC? Is it to stay at League 2 and sort of just see how this goes or is there, you know, is there other things out there that you guys are sort of have your eye on?
00:17:26
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'll chime in and Sam can give his opinion as well. We've talked a lot about that. Like we said, when we first started this, we didn't think that it would be as big and get the reception that we actually got. So this question has popped up probably a lot sooner than any of us would have thought is what are the aspirations? What do you guys want to do? What could you do? That's still a very good question. What could we do? There's a lot of different angles we could go, but I think
00:17:52
Speaker
for me it keeps going back to the why we created the club and we created the club in order to be like Sam was saying kind of a stepping stone developmental club and I think once you start to change that you start to change a lot of things about the organization and you have to be careful with that and we're still only the second year in we've seen some success but I think we want to see you know a lot more but
00:18:16
Speaker
We're always open to looking towards the future and seeing what's out there, but that's a question that we kind of answer daily and we take kind of year by year right now.
00:18:27
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I would imagine it's a, it's a pretty significant step from where you are to, I mean, I suppose the next progressive level would be, uh, USL league one, but that's a pretty monumental step to go from really a regional, a hyper regional, uh, league where you, you have, you know, you're, you're only operating for what, three months, essentially you have games, but three or four months a year, uh, to something that is like league one operates like a fully professional.
00:18:55
Speaker
full season national league yeah like that change from usl one to usl championship probably isn't as big right but i would think it's relatively small compared to yeah yeah i mean it's like i mean in a way i would think it's almost big if to like conceptualize it it's probably a bigger move to go from usl league two to usl league one than it would be to go from usl championship to mls
00:19:22
Speaker
In terms of it just being a totally different beast, I guess is what I'm trying to say. You're not just changing the scale, right? You're changing the whole model. Operations, the whole model is absolutely different. I'll let Sam give his opinion on that if you got to add anything. I don't really have much to add. I think that's it. Of course, you've got to
00:19:48
Speaker
you know, keep eyes on the future and how the American soccer landscape might change as well. You know, if we ask this question six, seven, eight years ago, you know, there, there wasn't a U S L league one. There wasn't a, the landscape's changing all the time and we've got to be able to be, you know, nimble and, and, you know, keep up with those changes. But honestly, for us, if in 10 years we are selling out inter-base stadium, um,
00:20:15
Speaker
You know for our US League two team continuing to win, you know, Northwest division titles and competing in the playoffs. That is a massive success because what we know about soccer at this level is not many teams can do it for a very long time.
00:20:31
Speaker
was part of a club, you know, that was an awesome legacy club in this country that unfortunately folded. And so for us, we are trying to build something consistent that can stand the test of time. So one day I can take my kids to a valid FC game and, you know,
00:20:47
Speaker
In 1520 30 years down the line we have people who multi generational ballad FC fans that is really at the core of what we want to build with this and not trying to do too much too soon and lose sight on why we started the club in the first place so.
00:21:02
Speaker
To me and to us, longevity and consistency is really the number one goal. And if we can do that, we've succeeded. It's not always about getting to the biggest and highest level. To me, it's about, can you do what you're doing at a good level for a very long time? I don't think that we should lose sight on that. And I know that's what we're all keeping our eyes focused on is that consistency over time.
00:21:28
Speaker
Yeah. And just to say this, like I've been, I've been here for close to 15 years. And even in my time, I've seen a lot of teams that have played at this level and just kind of come and gone. And it's because a really hard, like to even have the amount of success you guys have had through two years, I think is, is pretty amazing. Uh, just that you're drawing, you know, 1500 people on a regular basis to inter-base stadium, which I think is just a great little, I don't know how many, I'm, I'm imagining a lot of people don't really even know what inter-base stadium
00:21:57
Speaker
is because you can drive past you can you know drive down uh jeez what is the name of the the main drag that uh inner bay and uh you could drive down inner bay and you would never see the stadium you can even go into magnolia and you would basically easily miss that there is a soccer stadium there can you just kind of describe the inner bay stadium experience just real quickly
00:22:23
Speaker
Yeah, I love talking about Interbay. It is just a little hidden gem in our city. It's a soccer-specific stadium as well, which is very rare, as we know, in American soccer in general, but specifically at this level, where a lot of teams are playing on high school football stadiums and such. It's a beautiful stadium. It's an awesome capacity and size, and yeah, being soccer-specific.
00:22:50
Speaker
right tucked away on the north side of the the inner bay golf course the driving range so you know every so often we will find a golf ball in the pitch or someone on the eighth tee at the inner bay nine hole will watch the game which i i think is probably the best seat in the house if you just book a tee time right before our kickoff um but it's it's an amazing stadium and you kind of everyone descends upon inner bay stadium right before kickoff and fills in and um
00:23:17
Speaker
It's just a really intimate, awesome viewing experience for a soccer game. You can't find a seat in the stadium or a spot in the beer garden that's not within 30 feet of the sideline, which I think makes it really unique and fun.
00:23:32
Speaker
You got a lot of great local businesses around. Our supporters group, they call themselves the bridge keepers, will do their pre-funk at a bar called the Ladies just up the hill and they'll take over Dravis Street and walk down, do their march to the match, taking over one of our busier streets in the neighborhoods. It's an awesome location for us. We really love it. It's just over the Ballard Bridge as well. It's a pretty great experience for sure.
00:24:01
Speaker
Yeah, and a place that has some history too. The Sounders, I have played some open cup games there, and it's just like a fun little gem in the Seattle soccer community that I don't, if you play soccer, I'm sure you know of it, but if you don't play soccer, it's a pretty easy one to miss. That said, I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the idea of this Seattle center, this new memorial stadium is getting redesigned,
00:24:29
Speaker
Is there like do you guys look at that and say like maybe someday that would make sense for us? Or is that is is that too far away from from the home? Go ahead sam you guys are just jumping on that one. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good question. I think um You know
00:24:49
Speaker
It's obviously going to be amazing to see Memorial Stadium rebuilt. I played some of my Ballard High School soccer games there. I should also mention I was in the Ballard High School marching band, so I had some great homecoming shows on that field. But obviously, amazing location.
00:25:11
Speaker
really awesome to see what the plans for the project are, how it impacts us. I'm not sure. I just gushed about Interbay Stadium for 10 minutes there. It is such a perfect stadium for us, so it's hard to imagine leaving. But what we talked about before, we
00:25:34
Speaker
We are kind of a never say never crew, and we keep our eyes open on all things, but we keep our feet on the ground. And so I think we can kind of walk and chew gum at the same time and keep our eyes open and ears open to opportunities, but also just try and do the best job we can with what we have right now, which is a really awesome thing going. 1,500 people consistently at Interbase Stadium doesn't need changing, doesn't need fixing.
00:26:04
Speaker
And so it's a balance, you know, we're not going to just shut our ears to a cool opportunity like that. But it's hard to say, you know, why or if we would leave Interbay because it's just such a cool space for us. So another. Oh, go ahead anymore.
00:26:22
Speaker
Yeah, I was just going to say it's got to fit right with. Yeah, we, Sam and I have had conversations about this. I mean, I was a ball boy at Memorial Stadium, so to then have a team that's playing in there, it's going to be amazing regardless, but needed to be renovated for a long time. So to see about 40 years. Yeah.
00:26:41
Speaker
So like to see a soccer team in there, you know, whether it's the women's or men's team, like it just be an awesome experience. And if we could be a part of that, that'd be cool. But it also, like Sam said, it just has to fit and has to be right for us. The same as, you know, moving up a league, it has to fit and it has to be right for us. We're not going to jump just to jump just because we can if it's not the right step for us.
US Open Cup Ambitions
00:27:03
Speaker
So one more cart before the horse type of question. What is the process, if you guys were to get into the US Open Cup, what's that process look like? And is there a possibility of a future Ballard FC Sounders match in for real stakes?
00:27:20
Speaker
So we had two on field goals when we set out to start ballot FC one was to win a US League two national championship at some point, and the other was to qualify and compete in the US Open Cup.
00:27:36
Speaker
You know the the way the process works is us soccer determines how many teams from usl league two will get to qualify and then it's up to usl league two to allocate those spots and that happens you know later this year i think towards november or december
00:27:56
Speaker
The U.S.L. has already determined their process, which is they take all of the league, the divisional champions, and then they rank them based on points per game, and then they'll allocate spots based on that order. So, we're right now, we just finished the season as a divisional champion, and we're ranked fifth on points per game. Historically, U.S.L. League 2 has been given anywhere from 9 to 12 spots. So,
00:28:25
Speaker
If we're looking at history and using that as a gauge, obviously this hasn't been determined yet and we're not putting the cart before the horse, but if we're using how the league and US soccer has done this process for years, we will have qualified for next year's US Open Cup again.
00:28:44
Speaker
processes and systems change year to year. As we know in this American soccer landscape, things can change all the time. And so while nothing is guaranteed, all signs are pointing pretty positive towards us being able to compete next year's US Open Cup, which is very exciting if that were to come to fruition. And then, so the US Open, the part where the league two teams would enter the tournament is before your season would normally start. Is that right?
00:29:13
Speaker
Yeah, the first round traditionally has always occurred at the end of March for the US Open Cup. And so then what would you guys just basically have to throw at like, how would that work? Are these things that are, am I getting way out of myself at this point? No, I love nerding out about this every day. This is great. The NCAA just changed their rules last year.
00:29:39
Speaker
to allow college players to be able to play in their seasons. So forever, the rules were if you were in college, the NCAA, you weren't allowed to participate in what was called outside competition. So anything that wasn't your college team. But that was just changed last year. Obviously, the college coaches have to approve it and be OK with it, which that might be a big challenge for them in their busy spring seasons.
00:30:08
Speaker
So there's going to be a balance, I believe. And we'll learn a lot more over the coming months about this process. But there's a good chance that we could have a decent amount of our current players with us. But we definitely will have to draw players from outside. I've already told Lamar he better start training now because he's leading the line for us come March for that first round match, for sure.
00:30:38
Speaker
I think after watching the TST and watching all the guys that are tired play, I think I could get a few guys interested in joining up, especially in the area. So we might have to look at that if the time comes. Brad looks like he's still in playing shape. Yeah, Brad's a perfect example, man.
00:31:00
Speaker
could have almost an alumni squad. There you go. There you go. So, and then, um, I, I, I realized this is like, we're, we're ahead of ourselves here, but then how many games would it take? Like normally I know they'd even, they'd even set the whole field for the U S open cup. So we are very much talking about hypotheticals, but how, how many games theoretically would you be away from a potentially like playing a, uh, an MLS team?
00:31:27
Speaker
So yeah, again, just going off of kind of historical how it's always worked, because we don't know what next year is going to be like. The MLS teams enter in the third round, typically. So in the last few years, the Sounders have come in at the third round. So typically, the first game for amateur teams like us would be against another amateur team.
00:31:50
Speaker
a local you know it would be as local as possible and then the second round is where usl championship and usl league one teams enter so you know it would be a match against a you know a professional team likely on the road at their place which would be a very challenging game to go and win whether that's going to sacramento republic or oakland roots or san diego loyal you know that
00:32:15
Speaker
or potentially Spokane if they enter into the US Open Cup. I think they're the US League one team would so that's where the second round would be and then potentially as early as the third round would be where the sound enter and that's where that match could take place.
00:32:30
Speaker
Yeah, and in case people were wondering, the last time, the sound, the closest thing to something like this happening was, what, 20, gosh, 2014? Was that right when the Sounders played Kitsap? It was 2016, and I was a player for the Kitsap Pumas that year, although I was very much a bench warmer. I never saw any meaningful game time in that season, so, but...
00:32:58
Speaker
And that even Kitsup was kind of like a semi. They actually had professional players, right? They were the last team to be able to have paid players on their roster before the league changed their rules to do away with that.
00:33:13
Speaker
That was the game that Scott and his brother, Daniel Scott, played against each other. That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that was a fun one, if I remember correctly. The goalkeeper for Kitsap was... Why am I blanking on his name now? He was a sounders player, right? Wasn't it... Oh, man. He was a backup for a long time. Was it Islander?
00:33:43
Speaker
No, it was the, this makes for great radio. He ended up getting, he eventually, the last thing he played for I think was Miami. He was playing, am I making this up? I'll have to go back and I'll put it in the show notes. It doesn't matter. But anyway, this is a, I just love this idea of the, I would love, like, I think everyone loves the idea of the sounders maybe traveling to Interbay Stadium.
00:34:10
Speaker
And I'm playing a game against Ballad FC in a real competitive match. It sounds like that's the stuff that the US Open Cup is all about.
Playoff Promotion and Ticketing
00:34:17
Speaker
But now that we are through all the hypotheticals, let's do one more plug about what you guys got going on this weekend. Where can people get tickets? And how does this process work?
00:34:35
Speaker
Yeah, so if you go to goballardfc.com slash playoffs, we've got the playoff schedule, tickets available, information about the whole weekend. So that's just goballardfc.com slash playoffs. And that's where we got all the information there.
00:34:52
Speaker
And then are you guys already selling season tickets for next year? Not yet. No, that information will be coming out probably in a couple months. But for now, yeah, our last tickets we'll have available here are for this upcoming weekend. So it's a short season. It is a short season.
00:35:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's the thing that always, I keep saying, I wanna go out to a game, I wanna go out to a game and then I'm like, oh, the season's over. But one of these days I'm gonna get out there. It seems like a ton of fun. You guys have put together a pretty amazing project out there. And it's been really exciting to see it evolve and see it change and see you guys growing the way that you're growing. So congratulations on everything.
00:35:38
Speaker
And hopefully, you guys got a few more games in you. Appreciate it. Thanks, Jeremiah. Yep, thank you. I am Jeremiah Shan, signing off for Sam and Lamar. This is No Saudi Ates, and we will catch you next time.
00:36:01
Speaker
Thanks for listening to another episode of Nos Adietes. As you may know, we are transitioning to becoming a primarily listener supported podcast. One of the perks of becoming a paid subscriber is getting the full version of interview episodes like this one. If you're interested in hearing the rest of the interview and supporting independent soccer media, head over to nosadietes.substack.com and become a paid subscriber.
00:37:20
Speaker
Let's win another one!