Another theory is a bit more abstract. Maybe Seattle, Portland and Vancouver are so dedicated to their counter-culture archetypes that they will like a sport merely because the rest of the country doesn't. Maybe it makes perfect sense that soccer would be imported into this city as well, the single sport the rest of the country so readily and often vocally rejects. It fits in with the ethos of the region as neatly as indie coffee shops and scratch cocktail bars.

But these are still fans acting like fans. They don't all have master's degrees in poetry, or if they do, they're not showing it. They passed out "Song Cards" for both matches, featuring lyrics such as "you've got health care / we've got tanks" (for the match against Vancouver, of course) and "We came to drink / We came to sing / Burn, destroy, wreck and kill." Chants about violence and nationalism? Soccer really has come a long way in America.