Sounders teammates pose with Karen Balkin at Amber.
Greg Roth / NSS
Real estate consultant Karen Balkin knows how to throw a party for her clients and friends. Celebrating the Sounders' season opener, defender James Riley and Balkin launched a cocktail soiree last night at Amber, a restaurant in Seattle.
It gave the many new players on the team a chance to make new friends and contacts, enlarging their fan base as well as their friend-base.
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Balkin was gracious enough to let me attend and take some photos of the event. Among those in attendance were midfielder Sebastien Le Toux, striker Nate Jaqua, defender Taylor Graham, defender Evan Brown, defender James Riley and forward Roger Levesque. As many of you know, Sounders FC had a successful debut last week in front of 33,000 fans, defeating the New York Red Bulls 3-0.
I had a chance to chat with some of the guys last night. It was great to see some of our Sounders in a relaxed mode because we all know they have been working rigoriously to prepare for the season.I had a chance to speak to Le Toux during the party. It is obvious that he is extremely grateful to the fans that showed up and gave everything they had last week. Le Toux has a real strong connection with the Emerald City Supporters and fans from the USL Sounders.
I asked him if it was more difficult to focus during the game, given the size and intensity of the crowd. He said once he is in the flow of the game he is able to block the crowd out. But, on dead balls or play stoppage sometimes he would look up and see and feel the crowd. He would put his head back down though because he did not want to be swept up in the crowd and lose his game focus.
He seems to have enjoyed his adjustment going from primarily an attacking player to an attacking and distributing midfielder. His play on both sides of the ball last week was superb.
James Riley at Amber. Greg Roth / NSS
James Riley, who co-hosted the party, was extremely gracious. I know the guys just wanted to have a relaxing evening amongst some fans and friends, so I worked hard not to try to be too intrusive. All the guys were great, letting me shoot away and pose for pictures with the group.
Sounders Nation, you should feel good about your team not just for the talent they possess on the field but the quality of their character. I have had several occasions to meet and talk with some of our players and you are not going to meet a greater bunch of higher quality individuals that love the beautiful game, the fans and the city of Seattle. It is refreshing to see how a group of professional athletes connect to their community and fans.
On Opening Night
The guys were blown away by the event and the crowd last week but make no mistake, these guys are competitive and want to win every game. They are not thinking about last Thursday. They are thinking about the match coming up with Real Salt Lake on Saturday. RSL will provide a test for our boys in Rave Green as they are picked by many to finish on top of the Western table.
Le Toux poses with a fan. Greg Roth / NSS
On another note, Taylor Graham is still in a foot cast for another week but the cast comes off in a week and he will be ready to start rehabbing. He has been keeping fit by doing cardio and swimming.
I would like to personally thank James and Karen for a great evening and allowing me to attend the event to snap some photos for the fans that were not able to attend in person.
A special thank you to the Sounders that showed up and were gracious enough to let me take some nice photos with fans and attendees.
Read Greg Roth at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
