by Manly Stones
In a landmark trade, Sounders FC and Cascadian rival Portland Timbers have become the first clubs to trade a non playing member of staff within the MLS system. Sounders FC announcer will be moving down the I-5 to his former club as part of a unique deal.
When Costigan was unveiled as lead announcer, some Sounders fans reacted negatively towards the appointment because of Costigan’s playing career with the Portland Timbers, not to mention his oft cited proclamation that he is still a Timbers fan. Others were concerned that Costigan was continuing to work for other organizations and was in fact only a part time Sounders employee.
A third group commented that he was still going to live in LA and just fly to Seattle on match days while a fourth group was just unhappy at the exit of his predecessor Ross Fletcher. A fifth criticism was that the man who had performed mostly as a color commentator on national broadcasts was being hired as a play-by-play, a talent that requires a completely different skill set.
That criticism only increased after his first away match, the 2-1 loss at Salt Lake, where the lack of chemistry between Costigan and regular color commentator Kasey Keller was evident and Keller sounded so bored that he sounded like he wanted to stay in the bar at half time with a bottle of Fireball.
The move comes just days after Costigan somewhat controversially declared himself Voice of the Sounders on twitter, a move that wrong footed Sounders PR who had studiously avoided giving him the title in their PR.
Traditionally, Sounders FC have given the sobriquet “Voice of the Sounders” to their lead announcer.
When Fletcher was appointed the press release was entitled:
“Sounders FC Hire Ross Fletcher as “Voice of the Sounders FC”.
In February 2010, the club’s release about hiring Fletcher’s predecessor Arlo White ran:
“The Seattle Sounders FC today announced Arlo White as the club’s play-by-play announcer. The “Voice of the Sounders FC” will be heard on all television and radio broadcasts.”
Even the Sounders Women called talented local announcer Jon Billings the Voice of the Sounders Women, although Billings in fact, though blond and nearly beautiful, is not actually a woman nor has he a woman’s voice. Even Bob Rondeau way back in the NASL incarnation in the 70s was given the term.
However, when Sounders PR announced Costigan’s hire on February 10, the phrase was noticeably omitted.
It therefore came as somewhat of a surprise that Costigan decided to give himself the title earlier this week on twitter having been asked by a 20-year-old child Steven Agen. It is unknown whether Sounders PR authorized him to do so or not.
Sounders announce Ross Fletcher in January 2012
There is no evidence to suggest that the move to trade Costigan and his tweet are related.
These trades normally take time, especially given how long it takes Gavin Wilkinson to answer a simple text message. There is even less evidence to suggest the Timbers would have had any desire to alleviate Sounders FC of this PR kerfuffle.
Both clubs were reluctant to provide further information on the trade, with Portland PR sending a short email which ignored the question completely but finally addressed an inquiry we’d sent three months ago, and Sounders PR emailing back “how many times do we have to threaten you before you tow the line?”
Despite the official silence, rumors of the trade have been circulating on social media and more importantly in bars, with one popular theory running that Costigan has been traded for allocation money and a set of training cones.
There is another more solid rumor, given Costigan’s nationality, that he has been traded for an international slot but with a typically Wilkinsonesque catch – Sounders FC have to use that slot for another Irishman.
This has reignited interest in a previously discussed trade swap which would see Robbie Keane join the Sounders and Clint Dempsey move to LA Galaxy, where he would fit in well with all the other overpaid, clapped-out former EPL stars living on past glories – seemingly a prerequisite for joining the California club.
The advantage of this move would be that Joe Roth would not have to fly to Seattle to drool all over Dempsey and the Galaxy could sell thousands more shirts to gullible schoolchildren. Dempsey could also go back to being able to walk the streets unrecognized like he was in England.
Dempsey was not available for comment but Keane himself was lukewarm:
“I’m playing for Ireland in the EUROs in June and my sole intention is to cruise through the MLS season and not get injured. At Galaxy nobody gives a shit because we can make the playoffs in our sleep and Bruce lets me skip games if I can’t be arsed. Besides, I only just got away from that gobshite they just hired.”
In Seattle, Sounders have decided to fill the short term gap by promoting Matt Johnson from his highly respected play-by-play work on the radio. Johnson has been a well known voice around Sounders FC since they joined MLS, and lives in Seattle. He is both front-office friendly but respected by independent journalists. Especially his voice. Inside the Sounders organization.
In the long term, the Seattle club has many decent options at play-by-play. Johnson himself, Billings, Colorado’s Richard Fleming, Jon Yardley, Shep Messing, JP Dellacamera and ESPN’s Derek Rae are all excellent play-by-play specialists. None are Timbers fans however and that might preclude them. The deciding factor in any appointment will be how much money it will save, now current Sounders FC policy on every decision except executive salaries.
Costigan’s exact role in Portland is yet to be determined.
They have just appointed Jake Zivin as their play-by-play man and Costigan’s more natural role at color commentator is currently occupied by “pretty boy” Ross Smith, the only man with even more accents than Costigan.
The Oregon club could always use more staff patrolling owner Merritt Paulson’s twitter account.
After all, at least Costigan now knows a cringeworthy tweet that should never have been posted when he sees one.
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