TORONTO — The Seattle Sounders opened their final training session to fans on Wednesday before flying to Canada to face Toronto FC in the 2016 MLS Cup on Saturday, Dec. 10 (5 p.m. PT; FOX, TSN, UniMas, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM), and the support the Sounders received from the more than 100 fans who showed up really hit home for the players.
“They’ve been with us the whole way through thick and thin this year,” said midfielder Brad Evans. “We feel the love. I don’t want to say today’s practice was abnormally intense, but a bit more intense than usual [because the fans were there].”
Head coach Brian Schmetzer joked that some of the players trained a little harder than usual because they didn’t want to look bad in front of the fans up close. Roman Torres even decided to play forward and soaked in the fans’ applause after he scored.
Schmetzer also called Wednesday’s sendoff another chapter in the book that the fans have with the players, another opportunity for the team to connect with the community.
Although the match won’t be held at CenturyLink Field, where it would have been had the Montreal Impact defeated Toronto FC in the Eastern Conference Championship last week, the players still recognize what it means for Seattle to finally get over the Western Conference hump.
“The fans have been waiting for a long time,” said defender Tyrone Mears. “They deserve the final.”
Evans mentioned, though, that just reaching the final isn’t good enough. Reaching MLS Cup is a great accomplishment, but it’s not the goal. The ultimate prize is bringing the MLS Cup trophy back to Seattle and getting to share the title with everyone who supported the Sounders all year.
“[The fans] stuck through the whole season, through the lows and ups,” said midfielder Cristian Roldan. “We can’t thank them enough for all that they do for us and today was just another example of why our fans are the most incredible people in MLS.”
