In the theme of Growing Up and Growing Old with Sounders FC, SoundersFC.com sat down with Season Ticket Member Rikki Marohl and her children, Zach and Oliver, to see what the club has meant to them over the years. Below is a transcript of the interview, edited for brevity and clarity.
Season Ticket Members are reminded they can renew their tickets for 2017 and beyond now through September 1.
SoundersFC.com: When did you first get tickets and what made you want to become a season ticket member?
Rikki Marohl: My husband had tickets since 2009 and I would get lucky enough to get his extra ticket every once in a while. I really enjoyed the games, so when we were able to get season tickets for myself and the kids, we got our own set of season tickets.
SoundersFC.com: Do you remember your first game?
RM: It was one of the U.S. Open Cup games, actually, but it must have been a final because it was here at CenturyLink Field.
SoundersFC.com: What’s your favorite part about going to Sounders games?
Zach Marohl: That’s a tough one…I’d have to say having them score right in front of the ECS, right in front of us, that’s a really cool feeling.
Oliver Marohl: I like watching them score goals and cheering them on.
SoundersFC.com: What’s your matchday routine?
RM: We usually start pretty early; we always make a day of it. We make sure we’ve got our scarves and our jerseys. We usually carpool with another family that’s coming down as well. You can just feel the energy of the crowd as you’re walking down the street and it’s fun to see everyone getting ready. A lot of the games we’ve been lucky enough that we get to hold the flags on the field so we come down a few hours early for that and it’s fun to be able to watch everyone warm up.
SoundersFC.com: What do you like most about the atmosphere?
RM: It’s such a family friendly atmosphere. It’s a community. We’ve made friends with all the people who have seats close to us. We met the girl behind us, she just had a baby and we’ve become Facebook friends.
SoundersFC.com: What kinds of experiences have you enjoyed outside of an actual match?
ZM: We’ve done the walk out a couple of times, we’ve held the flags before the LA game. We’ve gone to the practices at Starfire Sports a couple of times.
RM: While we were at Starfire, Cristian Roldan actually came out and signed a pair of cleats and gave them to him [Zach] one time, which was one of the coolest things I’ve seen.
SoundersFC.com: You had mentioned that he [Oliver] was born in 2009, so have you had to buy Sounders gear in six or seven different sizes?
RM: Oh yeah. It’s kind of funny to do laundry and hang them all up. I’ve got an older daughter also so we’ve probably got about 15 in all different sizes, different colors. We try to make sure we all wear different versions of the jersey and then we’ve got friends we hand them down to.
SoundersFC.com: Eventually your kids will get older and move out, but do you see yourself staying a season ticket member forever with the Sounders?
RM: As a fan, I just think they’re a great organization. We’ve always really loved all of our experiences with them whether it’s been going to games or different events. I think we’ll be Sounders till we die.
