Sigi Schmid, the rotundiest of all MLS head coaches, disagrees with you, and me, and the 21,000 (now more) soccer fans that pack BC Place whenever we have the chance to swear at the Seattle Sounders. Sigi Schmid likes boring soccer. Or, at the very least, “easy” soccer. Those are the only reasons I can possibly fathom for him announcing his desire to “…not play the Whitecaps 100 times” this season.

Now, I’ve always been a selfish kinda guy. I mean, I’m nowhere near Trump levels of selfish and/or pigheadedness and I like to think I’m actually quite compassionate in my own way. But I’m a fellah who likes what I like, will do what I like and I’m gloriously unapologetic about that.  That’s more or less why I don’t have money-burning and time-sucking children. And one thing I do like, is Sounders vs Whitecaps.

It seems a strange statement for the Seattle skipper to make just days before the two Cascadia rivals kick-off their season series this Saturday at CenturyLink Field.  The first two weeks of the MLS season have penned a startling story  for the two clubs – both are winless, both have had performances that produced more questions than answers and both are underachieving.  Certainly, then, both are desperate for a win.

I’m not a big subscriber to the whole “bulletin board material” theory, and perhaps I’m reaching a little bit here, but if I were, then this statement would be one I pinned up on my hypothetical corkboard.  If he hates facing us so much, let’s show him precisely why we relish each and every opportunity to play against him.  And nowhere better to impose our will than on their turf, in front of their downtrodden fans.  Yeah, I probably am reaching, but the circumstances in which the Whitecaps find themselves lend well to the idea that anything that potentially provides an advantage should be explored.

Its also entirely possible (and plausible) that Sigi simply meant that too much of a good thing is detrimental to the product. The sheen wears off, much like the NHL’s gluttony of outdoor games in recent years. Nobody really cares anymore. Sure it’s fun to look at for a while, but the pomp and circumstance surrounding the event(s) have long since faded.  Cascadia games are, however, in stark contrast to such occasions in that they aren’t built up to be a show, they simply are a show. They are not “made for T.V.” exhibitions, they are authentic competitions built upon years of rivalry and competition between athletes and fanbases that have evolved into the spectacle we see today.

So , about that “100 times a year” idea, Sigi? Sign me up.