Editor's Note: Long-time Seattle Sounders beat writer Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune announced earlier this week that the Sounders match versus New York City FC would be his final match covering the club.
After eight seasons as the paper's regular beat writer, SoundersFC.com caught up with Ruiz to talk about his favorite moments over the years.
SoundersFC.com: You’ve always been the one asking the questions, how does it feel to be on the other end of it now?
It’s been very weird! I sort of underestimated that. TheTimes has cycled a few reporters through and it’s just been a slap on the back, talk to the team and off you go, but I think this one is a bit different in that there’s not another person coming in behind me. This is a major media source in the Puget Sound region cutting back, which is disappointing for all of us who love soccer.
SoundersFC.com: What were things like on the beat before ‘09?
I was on the Washington Huskies beat before that and I remember I was covering a basketball game in Corvallis and my phone rang and my editor told me, “Did you hear the MLS expanded to Seattle?” And at that moment, I knew I had an MLS team with my name on it. We didn’t expect to have a full-time soccer writer back in those days. It was when the fans started turning out at 30,000, 35,000, 40,000 that we decided it was clearly a major league operation and should be treated like a major league operation.
SoundersFC.com: How have things changed since then?
The fans have continued to grow. There was a thought back then of, "Is this a novelty? Will it get down to 20,000 with the rest of the league once the newness wears off?" Now they’ve gotten over 40,000 and that’s been amazing. The big thing is not so much what has changed but what’s been true from the start, and that’s just what a first class operation this is. From day one it’s been treated like a major league thing and the fans have treated it like a major league thing as well.
SoundersFC.com: Do you have any stories that you’ll remember from your time covering the team?
I liked Freddie Ljungberg a lot. I thought he was interesting, and he was a good player. I remember we were here [Starfire Sports] once, it was the first year and he pointed to a building over there beyond Fort Dent park probably 200 yards away. And he said, “You see that building?” And I said, “Yeah,” and he said, “That’s about as close as media can get to us in Europe.” And I really appreciated that because it’s kind of the American way. It’s not the soccer way, and that I think added to how appreciative I am of how cooperative these guys are with the media.
SoundersFC.com: What match will you remember?
Oddly enough, it’s a loss. The U.S. Open Cup final at Kansas City was a game that just had everything. From the wildest weather I’d seen in a long time, to a controversial call, going down to PKs, everything from the Sounders point of view but the happy ending. That was a tremendous game from a writer’s perspective.
SoundersFC.com: Who’s your favorite player to interview all time?
We’ve been greatly lucky; the keepers have been spectacular. If I had to pick one, I’d say [Kasey] Keller because Keller was not only willing and personally friendly but he would go off script. If he was unhappy, he would mention it. He would get on himself if he screwed up and if the team screwed up he would get on them. Sometimes media friendly can equate to bland but he was both interesting and media friendly and that was terrific.
SoundersFC.com: The toughest player to interview?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that Eddie Johnson was the hardest but it felt like there were several Eddies running around and you didn’t know which one you were going to get. Bottom line, I liked Eddie a lot, but there was no predictability factor, which made dealing with Eddie an exciting thing.
