The Seattle Sounders will honor former player Brad Evans prior to Monday’s first match in their Round One best-of-three series with the Houston Dynamo (6 p.m. PT; FS1, FOX Deportes, Watch free on Apple TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS) as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as the match will kickoff promptly at 6:00 p.m. PT.
Evans is a Sounders MLS original and one of the most recognizable personalities from the club’s modern era. He made nearly 250 appearances, which is fourth all-time, and helped lead the Sounders to six major trophies in his nine years in Seattle. He was also named to the club’s all-time Best XI in 2019.
His journey to Sounders immortality was a rather unconventional one. He had hardly finished celebrating the 2008 MLS Cup title with the Columbus Crew when he found out he was selected by Seattle in the Expansion Draft. He admits he had no expectations for his first season with the Sounders and was unfamiliar with the deep soccer history in the Pacific Northwest.
Evans grew up in Phoenix, Ariz., a place that had yet to have an imprint on the American soccer landscape. There was no professional soccer team at any level, and kids there had no local players to look up to or aspire to emulate.
“The vast majority of us [in Phoenix] watched the World Cup, and that was about it,” said Evans. “Soccer wasn’t on TV. Then to be thrust into a city and learning about the rich soccer culture and history of the northwest, and specifically Seattle, was something that opened my eyes. From that first game, it built this respect for this area. Soccer has always been a part of me, but then to land in a place where soccer was a part of other people and fans was really something special to me.”
Evans started and scored in the club’s inaugural MLS match in March 2009 in a 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls. The atmosphere of that opening game helped lay the groundwork for what would become a perennial contender over the next decade and a half.
“It gives you chills when you think about it,” said Evans. “If you talk to guys on the team now like a [Paul] Rothrock or a [Jackson] Ragen, a lot of these youngsters were actually at that game and watching. For them to be in the stadium now and playing, that’s what it’s all about, creating that fan culture. But you can’t do it without winning.”
Evans’ name in Seattle is synonymous with success. He brought his achievements in Columbus to Seattle along with Head Coach Sigi Schmid, who the Sounders named as their first MLS manager. Evans won six major trophies during his Seattle tenure including four U.S. Open Cups, a Supporters’ Shield and the club’s historic first MLS Cup in 2016.
“There’s no other club [in MLS] over the last 15 years that has racked up as many trophies as we have,” said Evans. “To be a greater part of that for the majority of the time was really special and ultimately laid the foundation for the guys who came after us.”
Evans admitted that the end to his playing career was a somewhat bitter one. Injuries plagued him for the final year and a half, and after a season-long stint with Sporting Kansas City in 2018 in which he didn’t make an appearance, Evans hung up his boots.
Upon retirement, Evans wanted nothing to do with the game. He traveled frequently and didn’t watch any matches on television or in person. He needed the break to disconnect and prepare for the next chapter of his life.
The first match Evans finally watched was a rivalry contest with the Portland Timbers toward the end of 2019 before coming back to Lumen Field for 2019 MLS Cup, in which Seattle defeated Toronto FC to capture its second title in four years. He got chills being back in the stadium again, and he was quickly pulled back in.
“What this club has meant to me in one word would be ‘love,’” he said. “I thought when I retired that I would step away from the club, but it’s left such a long-lasting impression on me that I’m just honored to be a part of it again in the capacity that I am now.”
Evans today is an ambassador for the Sounders and is active in the greater Seattle community. He helps out with the RAVE Foundation and coaches girls and boys high school varsity soccer, a part of his footballing journey he wasn’t expecting but is enjoying all the same.
“That has brought me a tremendous amount of joy,” Evans said. “I didn’t realize how much joy I would get out of it. With the RAVE Foundation and being in the community and being able to spread the love of soccer to kids who don’t have the resources to buy a soccer ball, we’re there to give them that one tool to hopefully ignite this flame. I would love to see any of the RAVE Foundation kids who received a soccer ball join the Academy and ultimately be a Sounders player.”
Relentless Since '74
Join us as we host the Houston Dynamo at Lumen Field on Oct. 28 in Round One, Game 1 of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
When it comes to being honored on Monday, Evans has mixed feelings. He doesn’t like being in the spotlight and prefers to do most of his work behind the scenes, but he recognizes that the celebration on Monday is as much about the fans as it is about him and a way for both to thank each other for the years of success.
“It’s the connection between the community and the players that ultimately builds that trust,” said Evans. “When you build personal relationships, fans are going to be there no matter what. That’s something that we have to continue to build and hold onto. It’s something that we can’t lose.”
That bond was what kept Evans in Seattle after retiring. Not being from the area originally, he didn’t have any familial ties outside of the firm roots he planted himself during his playing days. For Evans, the decision to stay was an easy one.
“No matter what, wherever I go, the Sounders will always be a part of me,” he said. “A Sounder is someone who, ultimately, wants to be here. We all want community, we all want to feel welcome, we all want to feel like we belong somewhere. In this community, if you just put your head down and work, you’re going to get rewarded.
“I wasn’t interested in going to a new place and starting over,” he continued. “I knew what I had here was awesome, and the people, community, connection was something I wasn’t willing to give up…This is home for me, and I don’t see myself ever living anywhere else.”
