One hell of a soccer match took place in Seattle last night. The MLS playoffs got off to a flying start as the Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders battled to a scoreless draw at Qwest Field in front of 35,000 fans. While the soccer wasn't always pretty and neither side was able to put away their chances when they came, the atmosphere was electric, the competition fierce, and the drama intense.


Both teams left all they had on the field, and there's not a better setting in MLS for a match of that gravity than Qwest Field with it's 35k.


I'm sure Don Garber and the leadership of MLS wish they could bottle what we saw last night. Imagine if every playoff match, hell, every match period, was like that one; MLS would jump from fringe league with a solid core of support but little real relevance to a major part of the American sports scene in a matter of a few years.


Alas, Seattle's playoff atmosphere is unique. Although there are other clubs around the league that have fantastic support and might even fill their stadiums, no one can match the number we saw in Seattle last night. That doesn't mean, of course, that they can't be just as electric and fun to watch; I fully expect the Dynamo faithful to represent next week, and Robertson should have a intense feel all it's own. If the two side put on another show (perhaps with finishing this time) like they did last night, the league will be better for it.


Last night was a perfect example of how a nil-nil draw can be incredibly entertaining; while I doubt many did, I really hope more than a few American sports fans, perhaps looking for something to watch after the World Series game has finished, flipped over to ESPN2. There's reasonable chance, if they were either open-minded or misplaced the remote, that they found themselves the enjoying the game. Wouldn't that be nice?


Although it's not really about those average-joe American sports fans. The goal should be to attract confirmed soccer fans, people who watch the game on a regular basis but are still ignoring MLS. Last night's game was far from pretty, and I'm sure many a snob turned their nose up at it last night for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that it just didn't look like an EPL match; but if you are a fan of soccer, a fan of sport, and don't have a "beautiful game" label stick shoved you-know-where on a regular basis, then you should have thoroughly enjoyed Sounders-Dynamo in front of a proper crowd.


Here's to hoping that last night's match set off a trend of highly-competitive, enjoyable, and well-attended playoff matches around MLS. RSL-Columbus, LA-Chivas, Chicago-New England; all of the first legs of those series have potential, with the "SuperClasico" being the most intriguing of the batch. I can't think of any reason that all of those matches won't be sold out (it would be terrible if one or more wasn't), so atmospheres should be good. It's up to the clubs to follow the example of Seattle and Houston and play like it's, well, a playoff series.


If the first match of the 2009 MLS playoffs is a harbinger of what the 2009 playoffs will be, there's reason to be excited.