Sigi Schmid says the growing popularity of soccer in Seattle suggests to him that he has the best job in MLS.
The Seattle Sounders head coach witnessed another very strong crowd at CenturyLink Field last week when the USA beat Panama 2-0 in World Cup qualifying, adding to the brilliant average league attendance for the home of the Sounders, which is in excess of 40,000.
Schmid was buoyed by the success of the Juergen Klinsmann's sides visit to Seattle and said it reaffirmed to him that he has the most enjoyable job of all the managers in North America's domestic competition.
"I think it's tremendous. It just made me appreciate even more and fully understand that, as far as I'm concerned, I have the best job in America in the league, in terms of coaching here, because our fans and their support and how they supported the US that night," he said.
"And just to be able to sit back and see it, and not be on the field, because on the field you're sort of distracted sometimes - you're focusing on what's going on in the game and you're not focusing as much on the fans. But just sitting up top and watching the game and seeing everybody standing down below and seeing them into it and seeing the tifo (support displayed by fans) before the game and just seeing their attentiveness to the game, I can say they're a knowledgeable crowd that's cheering at the right times, that's oooing and ahhing at the right times.
"That's something that doesn't always happen. What were there: 100 Panamanians and 39,000-40,000 American fans there? Whereas when you look at some of the other past big crowds, it was 20,000 Hondurans and 25,000 Americans maybe. So having such a pro-US crowd, I think, was fantastic."
