Sounders seek return to glory on new turf

A walk through the yard in Everett can jog the memories of former Seattle Sounders forward Pepe Fernandez.

The thoughts of his days in the 1970s with the Sounders bring forth a bright smile and a hearty laugh. Those were the good old days of soccer in Seattle.

Like many area soccer fans, Fernandez hopes the Sounders opening the Seahawks Stadium today will be the birth of another surge in popularity.

Fernandez, now 59, constantly conjures up images of opening the Kingdome with his Sounders teammates in April 1976, in front of 58,218 fans. The North American Soccer League exhibition against the New York Cosmos and Brazilian star Pele ended in a 3-1 loss for Seattle, but it's still a fond memory of a prosperous time for pro soccer here.

"Those were some fun times and very memorable games," said Fernandez, who opened Everett Soccer Arena, a place for indoor soccer leagues and clinics, in 1984 and still owns it along with first-year Sounders Coach Brian Schmetzer.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The Seattle Sounders experienced huge success in the North American Soccer League from 1974-83. During a span of eight of those years, the Sounders averaged 20,183 fans. A look at where some players from those teams are now. PLAYER YEARS POSITION Roger Davies 1980-82 Forward Now?: Owns pub in Darby, England, with his wife. Frank Barton 1979-82 Midfielder Now?: Lives in Snoqualmie, manages the service department at Bellevue Lincoln-Mercury; also coaches Lake Washington U-17 boys Crossfire Sounders team. Brian Schmetzer 1980-81, ’94 Forward Now?: First-year coach of Sounders, who own the A-League’s best record at 17-2. Pepe Fernandez 1974-76, ’78-79 Left wing Now?: Retired in Everett and part-owner of Everett Indoor Soccer Arena for indoor leagues and clinics since 1984. Jimmy Gabriel 1974-79 Mid., assistant, coach Now?: Lake Washington Youth Soccer coaching director; U-12 boys coach; University of Washington assistant coach since 1997.

"I always think about the Sounders. We had between 20,000 and 25,000 after we opened the Kingdome," Fernandez said. "Every game at Memorial Stadium was sold out. It was amazing the relationship and communication we had with the fans back then."

Fernandez equaled a single-season NASL record with 30 goals in 1968 (a record that held for 10 years), but none of his individual career accomplishments equal the feeling associated with the soccer boom in Seattle during the 1970s. Fernandez broke his foot in 1974 and never was the same, but his enthusiasm for the game was buoyed by memories of the Sounders' success.

"We play more soccer here in Seattle than any other place in America," said Fernandez, a native of Uruguay. "There should be more people supporting soccer in Seattle. There's no reason there's only 2,000 people watching the Sounders now."

Frank Barton, who played midfield with the Sounders from 1979-82, believes this year's Sounders club, which is off to a 17-2 start, is better than the best Seattle teams of the 1970s.

The Sounders reached the NASL's Soccer Bowl twice during the franchise's best run. Seattle fell to the New York Cosmos 2-1 in the '77 Soccer Bowl, then they were a victim of the Cosmos again, 1-0, in the '82 Soccer Bowl. In 1980, the Sounders finished the regular season with a league-best 25-7 record under Coach Alan Hinton.

"The Sounders are as good right now as they have been in many years," said Barton, now 54. "They are every bit as good as when Alan Hinton was the coach from 1980 to '82."

The popularity of soccer in Seattle has never caught up to its heyday from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s.

During an eight-season span from 1975 through 1982, the Sounders averaged 20,183 fans and 16-plus victories when their following grew to its largest.

Former player-coach Jimmy Gabriel remembers playing in the kickoff game at the Kingdome in 1976.

"Pele scored and we got down 2-0, so Coach John Best threw me in there off the bench," said the English-born Gabriel, now 61. "I went in there to get them out of their rhythm. I remember Pele wasn't pleased with me.

Vancouver at Seattle When: Today, 8 p.m. Where: Seahawks Stadium

"The Cosmos had some good players who were showing off with their passing, so I went in there reckless and threw a few heavy jabs. That got them all ruffled up."

Gabriel later became the first Sounder to score in the Kingdome.

The current goal is to rekindle some of that magic today when the A-League's Pacific Division-leading Sounders host the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first sporting event at Seahawks Stadium.

The Sounders of the past, the players who drew big crowds with the NASL, will be honored during a halftime tribute to individuals who have made a contribution to soccer in Seattle.

The former Sounders will sign autographs from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the new stadium before the game.

"John Best brought me over here from Bournemouth, England, and I ended up bringing my family here," Gabriel said. "When I first came, I thought I was only going to be here a year. But all my experience in Seattle was positive, so I ended up staying."