With the prematch festivities kicking into high-gear at CenturyLink Field last Sunday, an excitement was visible in the eyes of former Sounders Adrian Webster, Davey Butler, and Dave Gillett.
For Adrian Webster, the former captain of the 1977 Sounders Soccer Bowl team, the opportunity to return to Seattle and see how the city has adopted soccer as an integral part of the community was something he couldn’t turn down.
“It’s been 26 years since I’ve last been in Seattle and to come back and see this and to go down to Pioneer Square, meet some of the fans, and then to be awarded the Golden Scarf is incredible,” Webster said. “I think what they’ve done is they’ve taken it to another level. To come back and see this is amazing.”
Former defender Dave Gillett, who now resides in Woodinville, echoed Webster’s sentiments.
“Look at the number of people and the quality of the stadium,” Gillett noted. “I had some of the old players down at training the other day, fantastic facilities, real professionally run, and I felt the club was so welcoming to the old players, it was amazing. We love coming here.”
Webster and former forward Davey Butler also recall the intensity of the rivalry with the Portland Timbers during the early years of both clubs. Sunday’s match against the Timbers will be the 99th meeting between the clubs and Butler has a unique perspective on the rivalry.
“Mine is a double-edged sword because I actually went to the Timbers after leaving Seattle after five seasons,” Butler recalled. “They were all damn hard games really, a true rivalry as we say in England – a derby. That’s what I remember. You usually get excited for every game, but oh man you used to get damn excited for the Portland games.”
Across five competitions spanning four decades, the Sounders hold a 50-35-13 advantage over the Timbers. With the Timbers winning MLS Cup in 2015 and the Sounders claiming their first league championship just eight months ago, the rivalry has reached new heights.
Furthermore, the Sounders and Timbers enter the weekend holding the top two spots in the Western Conference drawing even more importance to the league’s top rivalry.
Even with 26 years between visits to Seattle, the Sounders-Timbers rivalry hasn’t changed in Webster’s eyes.
“It was absolutely the game to look forward to. The thing about it was like the buildup of our team with a lot of English players, there was a lot of English players playing for Portland that we either knew or knew of so it was a tremendous rivalry.
“I always stood up for the game because I knew one or two of the players from the other team. We knew it was always going to be a battle and it’s great to see that the rivalry is still strong.”
