It already promises to be a raucous scene at CenturyLink Field when the Seattle Sounders take on Toronto FC in Sunday's MLS Cup (3 pm ET | ABC, Univision, TUDN in US; TSN, TVAS in Canada), but the Sounders say their plan is to try and make it historically raucous.
The Sounders sold out the 69,000-seat venue within minutes of tickets going on sale to the general public, meaning it will be the highest-attended soccer match in the history of the state of Washington.
That's a nice bit of history, but speaking with reporters at Seattle's training session ahead of the match at Starfire Soccer Complex on Friday, general manager Garth Lagerwey revealed an additional milestone that the franchise is looking to add to the books — a message he got personally from Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan that he relayed to the assembled media.
"They are going to bring the decibel meter that is used at [Seattle] Seahawks games, and we are going to see if we can outdo an NFL game with our 69,000 [fans[ for MLS Cup final," Lagerwey said. "So, it should be pretty raucous, it should be a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to it."
If the Sounders faithful can pull that off, it would be no small accomplishment. CenturyLink is notoriously one of the loudest, rowdiest environments in the NFL for Seahawks games, with the home crowd known for creating a suffocating din of all-out noise that makes it virtually impossible for opposing players to communicate with each other on the field.
The Sounders have turned the venue into a well-known fortress in their own right, but they've also never had the platform of a championship match in their home stadium with this many people attending. The club's previous attendance record for a single match, which they're poised to break on Sunday, is 67,385 for a rivalry match against the Portland Timbers in August, 2013.
Of course, the Sounders have more important history on their minds with the knowledge that a win over Toronto would give them their second MLS Cup title in four years. But as we all get set to take in the spectacle set to take over the CLink, this is one subplot to listen for.
