What a wonderful performance from the Seattle Sounders last night!
Cheered on by 33,000 scarf-waving pale green maniacs, the world’s only division-one soccer team that plays its home games on an isthmus (a thin connecting strip of land with bodies of water on both sides) ripped and roared to an ecstatic 3-0 first-game-ever triumph over a flat and lukewarm New York Energy Drink.
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In doing so, they pretty much proved the Designated Player is a needless luxury in MLS, which is a pity since they’ve already splashed out a sixth of their salary cap on an injured Freddie Ljungberg. Yeah, I’m sure the guy will have his moments, but there was nothing wrong with Seattle’s supposedly undermanned attack last night.
The Jersey Juicers were horrible, and certainly that helped. But there was such heart, joy and commitment in the way the Sounders played. Their third goal, an unassisted midfield steal, scoot and score from Colombian ace Fredy Montero, perfectly summed up the difference between the two sides on the night. Seattle, simply put, were ready and willing to do whatever it took. New York – defending defeated MLS finalists – were not.
But these slick, soaring Sounders will still have to overcome a lot in their first season back in the top flight. The roster is thin, and Ljungberg – even healthy – may struggle to play in a league where world-class distributors aren’t putting the ball right on his boots as he bursts through to net.
And they also have to overcome – their uniforms.
Hey, I like the look! Light green, medium-dark blue – in a league where almost every team wears all white all or part of the time, these candy-coloured nor’westers look great. But …
In the long and varied history of North American pro sports, no team wearing green and blue (or blue and green) has ever won a title.
In the National Hockey League, it’s been attempted three times:
- The Oakland Seals were, by far, the least successful of the six 1967 expansion teams. For their first three seasons, they wore green and blue jerseys, with a logo of a seal that looked more like a fish, holding a hockey stick and leaping through an “O” for Oakland (or a “C” for California, because they could never decide what the team should actually be called). They are one of the most obscure and pointless teams ever, and their 1968 jersey hangs on my living room wall.
- The Vancouver Canucks were born in blue and green, and were terrible for most of their first decade. The very year they changed their colours to black, orange and yellow, they went straight to the Stanley Cup finals. They made a full-time return to blue and green this season.
- The Hartford Whalers wore Green and yellow in the old WHA, but switched that yellow to blue when they joined the NHL in 1978. They fluttered and sputtered for years, before finally winning the Stanley Cup – as the red, white, black and gray Carolina Hurricanes.
National Basketball Association:
- The Dallas Mavericks were the worst team ever when they joined the NBA as a green and blue expansion team. They’re damn decent now – in blue and black.
- The Minnesota Timberwolves have never been good news, unless you’re playing them and need a win. Lately, their colours are Black, teal and who knows? They’ve still never won anything.
National Football League:
- On the rare occasions I care about the NFL, I’m a Seattle Seahawks fan. The blue and green looked gorgeous, I always thought, but they didn’t get to the Super Bowl until they were wearing all gray.
Major League Baseball:
- Has never had a team wearing both green and blue.
North American Soccer League:
- The old Seattle Sounders made it to a couple of Soccer Bowls, but never won. The California Surf did less than nothing in four long-forgotten seasons.
Teal (an awkward combine of green and blue – kind of turquoise with teeth) started popping up in pro sports in the late 80s, and was all the rage for a long and ugly time. Baseball’s Florida Marlins are the only teal team to reach the top, but it was just a trim colour.
The only exceptions to the rule I’ve ever been able to find are both Jr. A teams:
- The Swift Current Broncos of the WHL hoisted a Memorial Cup in their blue-and-green era. They also had to endure a fatal bus crash and a pedophile coach.
- The Peterborough Lakers Jr. A lacrosse team won the Minto Cup in 2006. Nothing bad happened to them … before, during or since.
It’s one of the most enduring, longest-lasting uniform stories out there. Green and blue uniforms win the hearts of fans like me, who cheer loudly for obscure and largely pointless teams. But forget about winning titles.
The only story that tops it is the direct correlation between wearing orange as a new NHL franchise, and winning the Stanley Cup. That one’s amazing – but will have to wait for another day.
Well done, Sounders!
Onward!