Having just completed an epic trip to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame with my father (read Part I of that story here), I booted my phone back up when the plane landed to the usual deluge of notifications. One was from a trusty Sounders supporter and podcast contributor @LikkitP, notifying supporters that the Seattle Sounders might be in luck with a huge signing, and that he may just be on a flight to the Emerald City that was landing soon. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, and was exhausted from our early morning flight.

While walking to meet our ride, I walked past a familiar face in one of the Sounders’ talented photographers Jane Gershovich, and gave a quick hello without realizing why she might be there, full camera kit at the ready. I was preoccupied trying to find my sister, when I turned around and realized that I must have walked right by the Sounders’ President of Soccer, Garth Lagerway. The dots were connected in my head, and my dad and I obviously decided to wait and greet the prospective new Sounder.

Nicolás Lodeiro is a Uruguayan national team player with plenty of caps under his belt and plenty of good years left. The Sounders are on the verge of irrelevancy this season, and having just confirmed that they are parting ways with the club’s only coach in history, Sigi Schmid, are in need of an urgent spark for the rest of this season and seasons to follow.

Well, Lodeiro has landed. I was able to get some shots with my camera and immediately knew I needed to get the news out, despite feeling a little bad about stealing the Sounders’ marketing department’s thunder. Clearly not bad enough though, as I took a shaky phone picture of the actual camera shot, and tweeted away. At the time of writing this, that tweet has garnered over 12,000 impressions that include both Sounders supporters celebrating and Boca Juniors supporters from his former club lamenting.

It’s been a fun ride today, and just goes to show what can happen when you’re tied into your favorite club’s local presence on social media, even minimally. Whenever a social media post happens to spread well, including the reaction to my first post on this site detailing the Emerald City Supporters’ trip to Mexico City , it engenders such an amazing feeling of being involved in the community. Friends were linking to me on Facebook, local outlets were asking to use my photos, and all because of a mix of dumb luck and just enough fandom to know when my luck is working.

-Tom has Midwest roots but grew up in the Pacific Northwest during some of the best years for the Sonics, Mariners, and Washington Huskies. Always the hometown fan, now you can find him avidly supporting the Seattle Sounders FC (and following them wherever they may go), or driving his converted purple and gold kegerator-laden bread truck, striving for the ultimate tailgate tradition on the shores of Lake Washington for Husky Football. Tom is intrigued by the human experience of being a fan, the social bonds in sports fandom, the importance of sports in our cultural traditions and exchange, and those sports often considered ‘fringe’. has Midwest roots but grew up in the Pacific Northwest during some of the best years for the Sonics, Mariners, and Washington Huskies. Always the hometown fan, now you can find him avidly supporting the Seattle Sounders FC (and following them wherever they may go), or driving his converted purple and gold kegerator-laden bread truck, striving for the ultimate tailgate tradition on the shores of Lake Washington for Husky Football. Tom is intrigued by the human experience of being a fan, the social bonds in sports fandom, the importance of sports in our cultural traditions and exchange, and those sports often considered ‘fringe’.