The Wife Loves Kasey Keller

64,140. That is how many Sounders fans were at Qwest on Saturday night. Ok, maybe 100 of them were Earthquakes fans, but it doesn't matter. That size crowd for a single match (that is, one that is not part of a doubleheader) is simply staggering. Every time I go to a Sounders game I try to realize how lucky we are. It is always an amazing show.

For those of you who don't know, Saturday was special because it was Kasey Keller's last regular season home game. Every fan in attendance was there to honor the man who came home from Europe to captain this team for the first 3 years of it's existence. Unfortunately, one of his biggest fans, The Wife, was unable to make it. She was out of town since Thursday and did not arrive home until 630 Saturday night. With no time to get to the stadium, I had to bring a buddy. It was a lot of fun, but I have to say it wasn't the same without her. Simply put, she LOVES Kasey Keller and sometimes I think she wishes that he was her baby daddy. Anyways, after putting The Incident to bed, she got to watch the game and complied all her thoughts into one email. In my eyes it was good enough to post as is - I just wanted to make sure to give the proper background.

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1. I agree with Mike about Brad Evans (although is IS still very dreamy.) I don't think he's *bad* per se, I just wish he would fight a little big harder. Run a little bit stronger. Challenge for the ball, not just take a few steps for show and then back off. It seems like he's not playing with any intensity. Like he's trying to convince us all that he is actually playing without doing any real work. Compare that to Mauro Rosales, who comes in for 25 (ish) minutes, and changes the pace of the game entirely. Now, I understand that Rosales was only in for a short time, but I still with Brad would play with a little more vim, because I've SEEN him play that way. And he's good. Even though he was disappointing tonight, he is still VERY dreamy.
   
   
2. I love Kasey Keller. Hands down (or up, or sideways, or wherever he needs to put them to make the save.) The four consecutive saves he made after Ianni's terrible pass-back were AMAZING. I want to watch them again and again and again. I want it to be my desktop image, screen saver, and phone wall-paper. I want that clip to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. If we have a boy I'm naming him Kasey.
   
   
3. 64,000 fans is amazing. It feels amazing to know that the Sounders are at the center of US Soccer right now. We are at a critical time in the development of US soccer as a real, international force. Are we there yet? Certainly not. But we are making progress, and taking the US Open Cup seriously ensures us a spot in CONCACAF for next year which further elevates the status of not only Seattle, but US soccer as a whole.
   
   
4. Why does Fucito just sometimes seem so unimpressive? Is it inexperience? Lack of skill? Because he certainly tries really hard and often has moments of greatness. I wish he had scored on that nice back-post run in the first half.
   
   
5. We have Lamar Neagle's autograph in our house. When we first got it, we thought, "Who is this kid?" and then we didn't see him for a year and a half or so. Now, he's a key player for a really good team. Would he have gotten this chance without Zakuani's injury? Probably not. So while no one (NO ONE) wants to see a break like Zakuani's, it has really opened up the field and created future depth for the Sounders.
   
   
6. Umm...don't forget that the season isn't over. We still have a regular season game left and then play-offs. We certainly can't continue to rely on goals scored in the last 15 minutes. I'd like to see the Sounders figure out how to score an early goal or two as well. It feels really great to have that win, but... we are still fighting for that MLS Cup.
   
   
7. As I write this I realize two things. One: Apparently, I frequently ask questions and answer them myself. I do it a lot when I am teaching, too, and I think it's very annoying. Two: I find myself mimicking Rob's style. Will I start to look like him someday, too? I hope not. [editor's note: I think I should be flattered by the imitation...]

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Ok, one final note. They handed out 45,000 Kasey Keller Captain armbands and yet somehow I avoided getting one. Honestly, we did not see anything when we walked into the stadium. Huge props to Irish Mike's wife Terra for giving The Wife her armband. She wore it to bed last night. (kidding...or am I?)