It seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. From rumor to reality, Clint Dempsey is now a Seattle Sounders FC player.
Less than one week. That’s how quickly news surfaced of USA international Clint Dempsey signing with the Seattle Sounders. Almost from nowhere the potential for the move picked up huge momentum on social media and became an unstoppable force that seemed to will the transfer into reality.
Now officially a Seattle Sounder, Clint Dempsey’s move to MLS means so much for all the parties involved. For Dempsey, it’s a chance to again prove himself in the league that gave him his first chance as a professional. For the Sounders, they acquire a world class talent who will undeniably take the franchise to the next level. And for the thousands of Rave Green supporters across Seattle and the world, new and old, they have a new superstar (and he is a superstar in every sense of the word) to rally around.
The best way to tell this story isn’t through my words. It’s a tale that involves everyone above and how it captivated everyone in the U.S. soccer world over the last four or five days. So as the title suggests, let’s work in chronological order across the social timeline that was Clint Dempsey to the Seattle Sounders FC.
August 1 - It seemed to all kick off with this tweet from Keith Costigan. Could this seriously be a reality? No chance, right?
August 1 - Then this bomb gets dropped. Dempsey allegedly on a flight to Seattle? It seems almost too perfect.
August 1 - Things cooled a bit after it appeared that Dempsey wasn't on his way to Seattle. The twitterverse didn't buy it...and #DempseyWatch was born. (Click the link here for all the DempseyWatch tweets. Too many to go through!
August 1 - One of Clint's best friends in soccer, Sounders forward Eddie Johnson decided to chime in on the hype with this absolutely perfect tweet...and further cooled the rumors.
August 2 - The next day, the move was put down by ESPN's Doug McIntyre...much to the dismay of Sounders fans everywhere. Speculation continued.
August 2 - It didn't take long but Doug flipped the script on the whole thing.
August 3 - Then this. Dempsey's former team announced that it had officially sold the American captain to MLS. At the very least, he'd be back home.
August 3 - Needless to say, MLS was pretty pumped about the news...
August 3 - Of course that automatically meant he was coming to the Sounders. Ives Galarcrep speculated on the numbers involved.
August 3 - Whatever could we be teasing?!
August 3 - The injured goalkeeper was at the edge of his seat all day!
August 3 - Our rookie All-Star DeAndre Yedlin wanted to make sure Dempsey knew who was boss in the number situation.
August 3 - Then BAM! This one hits the interwebs. Clint Dempsey, a Seattle Sounder.
August 3 - Moments later, Dempsey took to the field and addressed the crowd at CenturyLink Field. Just wow.
August 3 - Needless to say @LIVESounders was very excited about the news. I also realize that I just spoke about my own tweet in the third person. It's whatever.
August 3 - The man speaks. You listen.
