Get to know OL Reign assistant coach Scott Parkinson in our first "Coffee & Valkyries" of the 2023 season. Scott talks about how he met OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, their first stint working together at Utah Royals, his time as head coach of Gotham FC, and reuniting with Harvey for 2023 and more.
Apr 12, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1
This is the mailbag episode ahead of Week 7 of the MLS season. If you'd like to get your questions answered in future episodes, please shoot us an email at [email protected] . In this episode, we answer questions about who has been a bigger surprise so far in 2023, what do we do with so many hot players and so little starting spots, and we wax poetic about our next matchup against those dudes to our South. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subsc...
Apr 12, 2023•54 min•Season 2023Ep. 381
St. Louis City SC came at the kings and they missed - big time. The latest to game the throne were flying high coming into the matchup with the Rave Green sporting a 5-1 record, 1st place in the West and sitting above the Sounders. Seattle pulled STL back to earth behind Josh Atencio's first MLS goal (a golazo/a banger/a wonderstrike/rightfully Goal of the Week) and left the visitors wondering what happened after that 3-0 rinsing. Raul Ruidiaz came off the bench and quickly doubled the lead leav...
Apr 11, 2023•58 min•Season 2023Ep. 380
St. Louis City surprised not only the pundits but even their own fans by starting the season 5-0-0, eclipsing the Seattle Sounders' record for best-ever start by an expansion team. Even after losing last week to Minnesota United, Saturday's match still offers plenty of intrigue. To get a better sense of the team the Sounders will be facing, we reached out to Matt Baker of the podcast Flyover Footy . He gave some real insight into what makes City tick. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If...
Apr 07, 2023•30 min•Season 2023Ep. 378
This is the mailbag episode ahead of Week 7 of the MLS season. If you'd like to get your questions answered in future episodes, please shoot us an email at [email protected] . In this episode, we answer questions about the quality of the Sounders opposition, the Sounders' midfield, what we should expect lineup-wise, the concern over MLS Season Pass subscriber numbers and decide who's the biggest complainer among MLS head coaches. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to bec...
Apr 05, 2023•50 min•Season 2023Ep. 378
The Sounders won their second straight game, again going on the road to beat the LA Galaxy. Again it was Leo Chu and Jordan Morris providing the offense and staking them to a 2-0 lead. This time, however, the Sounders had to hold on for dear life in the second half, narrowly escaping with a 2-1 win. Still, a win is a win, especially on the road and the Sounders will now be playing for first place this weekend when they host St. Louis City. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like ...
Apr 05, 2023•33 min•Season 2023Ep. 377
We caught up with Ryan Rosenblatt, our resident LA Galaxy expert and the author of ESPN's MLS Power Rankings, to find out what's going on with the once-proud franchise. We discussed the supporter boycott, Chris Klein's rocky tenure and who the Galaxy expect to have back this week. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here . This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columb...
Mar 31, 2023•24 min•Season 2023Ep. 376
We're trying out something new and making the question-and-answer segment its own episode. Let us know what you think. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here . This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)...
Mar 30, 2023•24 min•Season 2023Ep. 375
The Sounders finally ended their 10-game road winless run in rather emphatic fashion, over-running Sporting KC 4-1 behind four, yes four goals from Jordan Morris. Leo Chu was also credited with four assists, tying a league record, including three primary assists. This was all despite the Sounders giving up an early goal, but the Sounders pretty much dominated the match from the 5th minute forward and now head into this week’s match with the LA Galaxy feeling pretty good about themselves. Program...
Mar 29, 2023•39 min•Season 2023Ep. 374
It's a podcast miracle! Our tech provider was able to recover the lost QA audio! Here it is just in time for Saturday's game. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here . This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)...
Mar 24, 2023•41 min•Season 2023Ep. 373
Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here . This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)
Mar 24, 2023•20 min•Season 2023Ep. 372
The Sounders had a chance to score a statement win against arguably the league’s top team who was playing their fourth game in 10 days and 5th in 15, but ultimately had to settle for a 0-0 tie against lAFC. Watching the game back, though, I was kinda struck by just how good the sounders looked, especially in the first half. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here . This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "...
Mar 22, 2023•20 min•Season 2023Ep. 371
We caught up with friend of the show Alicia Rodriguez (aka @soccermusings ) to give us the lowdown on LAFC. While they won't be particularly well rested, Alicia thinks LAFC will continue with their mild rotation they've been doing through their first four matches of the season and will be looking at this game as a significant test. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here . This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "R...
Mar 17, 2023•29 min•Season 2023Ep. 370
Coming off two resounding wins, the Sounders were dealt a “humbling” loss -- in the words of Cristian Roldan -- when they went on the road for the first time, falling 1-0 to FC Cincinnati. I wouldn’t say it was bad loss, per se, FCC is expected to be one of the best teams in the league this year but it was a bit of a reality check that the Sounders aren’t just going to prance through the league schedule. They showed a bit of fight and even appeared to get the equalizer until VAR disal...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 2023Ep. 369
Whether you loved or hated Kasey Keller as a Sounders broadcaster, it would be impossible to deny his place in club history. Not only was his signing ahead of the 2009 season a signal of intent from the new MLS franchise, but he was an inarguably massive part of how they came out of the gates and won U.S. Open Cups in each of his first three seasons. He also won a MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in his final season. But Keller made an even longer-lasting mark by serving as the team’s color announcer ...
Mar 13, 2023•39 min•Season 2023Ep. 368
The Sounders are off to one of their most exciting starts ever, improving to 2-0 after dispatching Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Jeremiah and Aaron are understandably pretty excited and love what they're seeing both in attack and on defense. Aside from discussing some of the finer points of what makes "Highlife Soccer" they also weigh the possibility that this is the best midfield trio in MLS. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can ...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr•Season 2023Ep. 367
Craig Waibel took over as the Seattle Sounders' third-ever general manager during the MLS era about three months ago. Although he had previously served as the team's sporting director and as such played a significant role in the current roster build, he has put his fingerprints on the team in ways that fans don't usually see. Most of Waibel's work has been done behind the scenes, attempting to rebuild an office culture that took a hit during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that led to ...
Mar 06, 2023•37 min•Season 2023Ep. 366
The Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake have a lot of shared history. Right now, RSL seems to be getting the better of things, having won the last four meetings (including the penalty shootout in 2021). Once again, we caught up with friend of the show Matt Montgomery who has recently started a new project called Wasatch Soccer Sentinel (effectively what used to be RSL Soapbox), who gives us the inside scoop. Sponsors Full Pull Wines Watson's Counter This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle...
Mar 03, 2023•32 min•Season 2023Ep. 347
The Sounders got off to a pretty awesome start to their 2023 MLS regular season. The 4-0 win over the Colorado Rapids was every bit as convincing as the score suggested and we had a ton of impressive performances, highlighted for me by Jordan Morris brace and general involvement in just about every dangerous chance the sounders had. It's obviously just one game and the Rapids might be bad -- and were at least missing a couple starters -- but this was a very positive performance either way. Suffi...
Mar 02, 2023•57 min•Season 2023Ep. 346
After an odd preseason that featured the FIFA Club World basically in the middle of it, the Seattle Sounders are finally just days away from their MLS regular season opener. To help preview the season, Aaron and Jeremiah welcomed Sounder at Heart colleagues Susie Rantz and Mark Kastner to the show to help us. We discussed our outlook for the season and explained some of the tactical tweaks the Sounders are implementing that they hope can help get them back to their rightful place atop MLS. In th...
Feb 24, 2023•59 min•Season 2023Ep. 363
The Seattle Sounders will be playing Louisville City in their final preseason game on Saturday. To help give us a sense of what kind of opponent the Sounders are facing, we reached out to Vince Irvin. Vince is better known as a contributor to the Scuffed Podcast where he opines on the United States national team, but he's also a Louisville season-ticket holder. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBo...
Feb 14, 2023•51 min•Season 2023Ep. 362
The Club World Cup came at a particularly inopportune time for the Seattle Sounders. Despite being about midway through their preseason, however, the Sounders acquitted themselves well and actually looked like the better team for much of their loss to Al Ahly. We discussed this game, expressed some frustration with Brian Schmetzer's substitution patterns and looked ahead to the regular season while also taking a wide range of questions from listeners. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seat...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 2023Ep. 361
Don't worry, we understand that almost no one really wants to be talking about things like sponsorships right now. But the Seattle Sounders' decision to join forces with Providence on a wide-ranging "partnership" that also happens to include the Catholic healthcare provider's name being prominently displayed on their jerseys has made completely moving on rather difficult. Fans remain upset and the Sounders are still seeking to calm those tensions. In the last week, the Sounders have met with ECS...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr•Season 2023Ep. 360
We caught up with Sam Rogers while he was with the United States national team in Los Angeles. It's been quite a couple years for Rogers, who turned disappointment over not making the Sounders first team into a journey that now has him poised to win his first senior national team cap. We talked about that journey and how he's enjoying life in Norway. Note: This is the first of what will become a regular series of interviews. This is available to all subscribers, but we'll likely start releasing ...
Jan 28, 2023•33 min•Season 2023Ep. 359
Garth Lagerwey is out as the Sounders GM and was very quickly replaced by Craig Waibel, who joined the team about 18 months ago. We feel like this is a solid move, but understand that a lot of fans would like to see some proof. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0) Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twit...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 2022Ep. 348
They clearly aren't the two most popular picks for the United States' World Cup roster, but we are thrilled for Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris making the trip to Qatar. If you're inclined to defend those picks to anyone, we give you plenty of ammunition. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0) Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor...
Nov 10, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 2022Ep. 357
Will Bruin returns from a long time away from us to record what could be his final podcast with us. Will broke the news that his option was declined, but shared some thoughts on the highs and lows of 2022 and how a season with so much promise ultimately went off the rails. It's definitely worth a listen. Thanks to Fast Fashion brewery for hosting our recording session! Musics: "Bumped into Bigfoot" - Bedford; "Cutthroat" - prod. by Syndrome
Oct 13, 2022•43 min•Season 2022Ep. 8
The Seattle Sounders aren't quite dead, yet, but they are very much on life support after dropping two points at home against FC Cincinnati. We discuss how big of a deal it is that this 13-year of playoff qualification might now end. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0) Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can f...
Sep 30, 2022•52 min•Season 2022Ep. 356
Few would argue that Garth Lagerwey's eight-season tenure as Seattle Sounders GM has been anything short of highly successful. The trophies and finals and playoff appearances are all material accomplishments. But with him up for re-election and possibly other suitors lining up, now is as good of a time as any to reflect. He spent nearly an hour talking with us about the past eight years and why he's bullish on the future. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", W...
Sep 15, 2022•57 min•Season 2022Ep. 355
It's probably not healthy, but Jeremiah and Aaron are full back on the Sounders' bandwagon for at least another week. And even if this ends in tears, at least we had a wonderful moment against Houston. This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0) Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if...
Sep 08, 2022•51 min•Season 2022Ep. 354