Seattle Sounders FC is a team in Major League Soccer (MLS) that plays in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 2007 and began playing in 2009. Their name, which comes from the name of two older teams in Seattle, was chosen by fans in 2008. The club's majority owner is Adrian Hanauer, and its minority owners are the estate of Paul Allen, Drew Carey, and a group of 11 Seattle-area families that includes Russell Wilson, his wife Ciara, and Macklemore. Many fans are in groups and also a 53-member band called Sound Wave plays at every home game. Their rivals, the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps, play against the Seattle in the Cascadia Cup every year. Brian Schmetzer is the team's head coach.
The team was the 15th MLS team and first played in the 2009 season. At every Seattle game, all of the seats were sold and the fans set a new record for average (or middle) match attendance, while the team also sold more season tickets than anyone else in the MLS. The Seattle Sounders FC finished their first year in the MLS playoffs, but lost in the semi-finals. The team did win their first trophy, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and became the second team to do so in their first year. The Sounders went on to win the U.S. Open Cup in 2010 and 2011 as well, becoming the first team in over 40 years to win that competition three straight times. They won again in 2014, also winning the Supporters' Shield. In 2016, Seattle won their first MLS Cup; they returned to the final the following year and lost.
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- ↑ Expandable to 69,000.[1]
