Ahead of this Saturday’s second-annual Pride Match at CenturyLink Field, SoundersFC.com's Sound of Soccer podcast sat down with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, who will be receiving a Golden Scarf at the Seattle Sounders' first full-stadium match of 2016 against NYCFC on Saturday.
Murray spoke on the show about what Pride Day means in the Emerald City this year and his hopes for the city’s march, which will be Sunday.
"It’s the city’s march, but it’s really the state’s biggest march, too. If I had one wish, it’d be that this is the biggest march in the history of Seattle," Murray said. "I can’t think of a better message to send to the world that we are not afraid. That’s my hope.
"One of the things that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community does well is we celebrate diversity. The diversity in that Latino Night in Orlando was incredible. This community, through the height of the AIDS crisis, back when gay bashing was so big and people were murdered—including in this city, cases that have never been solved—this is a community that came out and marched and celebrated its diversity. We have been in pain before and we have been able to celebrate. It is my hope that in spite of our pain and grief, we will celebrate on Sunday at the march.”
Following Saturday’s match, Roger Levesque, Taylor Graham and several Sounders players will march with SoundWave in the Pride Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. PT at 4th and Union Street in downtown Seattle. Keep an eye out for Brad Evans, Aaron Kovar, Jordan Morris, Jordan Schweitzer and Stefan Frei on the parade route on Sunday, and check out this list of what to expect at Saturday's Pride Day at CenturyLink Field.
