It’s OK Seattle, you still have the Sounders

Seattle sports fans are heartbroken all over again as their once beloved Seattle Supersonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, have reached the NBA Finals.

The media has been all over it from headlines about the “Sonics” achievement and polls whether Seattle basketball fans will be rooting for this team, once their own, in the chase for the championship.

While the Thunder has moved on from Seattle, leaving history and success with the city in their rearview mirror, Seattle fans shouldn’t forget that they still have a championship-caliber team right to still call their own: the Seattle Sounders.

Since joining the league the Sounders have been the blue print for success.

They’ve reached the playoffs all three years in the league. This year they are in third place in the Western Conference.

They will once again participate in the CONCACAF Champions League, reaching the group stage of the regional tournament. They will attempt to be the first MLS-side to win the whole thing.

They also just won their game in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. They defeated Cinderella story Cal FC 5-0 and move on to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Should the Sounders win it the entire tournament they would become the first team in history to win it four consecutive times.

So if you’re keeping score, the Sounders have a chance to win three titles, compared to the Thunder’s one chance.

Want even more excitement? The Sounders will take on UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea of the English Premier League in a friendly in July.

Seattle fans may be upset the Thunder skipped town, but that hasn’t stopped them from supporting the new boys in town. The Sounders have had the highest average attendance for each of the past three seasons and are currently the leaders this season as well. The Sounders have averaged over 30,000 fans per game in each of the past three seasons, nearly doubling what the league average is.

While the Thunder’s run to the NBA Finals will force Seattlites to watch and wonder what could have or what should have been, the Sounders will influence them to rally together and root for the new king fo the city.