Dear Marc,

Many sincere congratulations on your performance this evening, and many sincere thanks for the effort that you and the entire team showed in bringing the first ever MLS Cup playoffs win to this city. We are proud of this team, and we believe that you are capable of bringing us an MLS Cup victory. This was a tremendous first step.

But right now, we are not especially proud of you, Marc. At least on a personal level. You see, NBC's cameras caught you saying something pretty horrible this evening, and, well, let's just go to the tape:

So yeah Marc, you said that. There's really no two ways about it. And you just can't do such a thing, not in a Sounders shirt.

Look, I understand that there's a lot that happens on the pitch/field/diamond that goes unrecorded that would offend damn near anyone. It's a different world out there. And based on your community involvement since joining the Sounders, I know you're not a bad guy. Far from it, you seem like a legitimately great guy. And in the heat of the moment, even the best among us say some pretty awful stuff. I get it.

But that's not an excuse Marc, and it doesn't make it okay. This isn't a city that has much time for such things, as off the cuff as they may be. There's a lot of things you could have said on the pitch in anger that wouldn't have elicited much in the way of a reaction from myself or anyone, but that word isn't one of them. Especially not in light of recent events.

Do the right thing, Marc. Apologize. You're a good man that got caught at the wrong moment saying the wrong thing. We're a forgiving bunch, just so long as you show some contrition.

EBFG -

Aaron

UPDATE: Burch issued an apology for his "horrific choice of words."