Steve Kelley Interview

15/30 INTERVIEW – STEVE KELLEY

Steve Kelley has been working at the Seattle Times since 1982, and has been a columnist since 1983. He covered Sounders’ games for the Daily Olympian in 1975-76. Previously he covered the Portland Timbers for the Oregonian. He is happily married to Carole who is Program Director of America Scores Seattle, a soccer and literacy charity.

He talked to Prost Amerika about the past, present and future of both soccer and sports journalism in the Pacific Northwest.

PROST AMERIKA: The sport of soccer has come a long way since you started following it. How did it all begin for you?

STEVE KELLEY: It began for me on a Saturday afternoon in 1961 watching the F.A. Cup final between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City (both incidentally former clubs of Kasey Keller). I was amazed at the skill-level, the build up, the tough-mindedness of the players and the passion of the fans. I remember watching Gordon Banks, who was the Leicester keeper. It was the sport that most reminded me of my true love, basketball. I drove up all the time from Wilmington, Del, to Temple University Stadium to watch the NPSL Philadelphia Spartans though in 1967.

Still there was very little soccer for me to watch and it wasn’t until the NASL came to Philadelphia in 1973 that I was able to see soccer on a regular basis. The Philadelphia Atoms won the championship in 1973 at Vet Stadium. (Dave Sims, who now does the Mariners broadcasts, covered that team by the way).

PROST AMERIKA: Did your love of football follow you or did you follow it?

The Success of the Sounders will Help the Whole League
Photo: Greg Roth

STEVE KELLEY: I came to Seattle and the Sounders came into the league the year after I moved here. And, after I went to the Oregonian, I covered the Portland Timbers and really got consumed by the game. I covered Soccer Bowl when Cosmos Steve Hunt stole the ball from Tony Chursky and scored the first goal of that game. The atmosphere that day at Portland’s Civic Stadium was magical.

“The MLS Has Done it Right”

PROST AMERIKA: Can soccer succeed this time round where it has failed before?

STEVE KELLEY: I believe the NASL died because it was poorly managed and poorly promoted. The league foolishly spent money on washed up European superstars like Gerd Mueller and George Best and didn’t do much to promote the game in the U.S.

PROST AMERIKA: What factors may make the difference?

STEVE KELLEY: The MLS has done it right. Slowly, with an eye toward developing home-grown players. The U.S. national team has improved, which is really important. The new stadiums are dazzling. Television coverage is good. I don’t think the people who run this league will get greedy. They have a sound business model and they’re sticking with it. The early success of the Sounders, I think, will help the whole league.

PROST AMERIKA: What is the best and worst thing Sounders FC has done so far?

STEVE KELLEY: My only criticism so far is that I think all weekend games should be in the afternoon (unless network TV dictates a change.)

PROST AMERIKA: There is much talk about the Pacific Northwest becoming a hotbed of soccer due to Portland and Vancouver’s 2011 MLS entry. Is this overstated?

STEVE KELLEY: It remains to be seen, but yes, I remember the rivalries among the three cities in the NASL. As a matter of fact those rivalries really were the only ones in the league. I think Portland and Vancouver will learn a lot from the way the Sounders have been marketed. It appears they have good people running their teams, and Portland especially seems hungry for another major league sport. I think the MLS needs regional rivalries like that. I don’t sense there are any now. It’s not like Dallas and Colorado are the next Roma and Lazio.

“The Internet has Changed Everything in Sports Journalism”

PROST AMERIKA: When did the combining of soccer and journalism begin for you?

STEVE KELLEY: I was working in Portland and I was the lowest guy on the staff. We called it the “ing editor.” I covered all the sports that ended in ing — boxing, auto racing, bowling, fencing, etc. We covered the Timbers home and away and the guy who was covering them got tired of the travel. I volunteered to replace him. They gave me the job and I just threw myself into it.

I went to every practice. Picked the brains of the coaching staff (Don Megson, Neil’s father, was the head coach). They had guys on the team like the late Clive Charles, who went on to have success at the University of Portland and also was the 2000 U.S. Men’s Olympic coach. They were great teachers and let me hang out with them. I only covered them one season, but it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in the business.

PROST AMERIKA: How has sports journalism changed since you started?

STEVE KELLEY: The internet has changed everything in sports journalism. It has made it more interactive. It’s forced newspapers to be more creative. To engage the readers more. To get information out to the readers (by the web site) quicker. But I still think the heart of our job is to take people, even a lot of bloggers, to places they can’t go. To give them a feel for what is happening behind the scenes and tell them why it is happening. My job, as a columnist, hasn’t changed as much as beat reporters’ jobs. The job description still is to a) tell people what is going on and b) tell good stories.

PROST AMERIKA: Has the vibrancy of the matchday atmosphere at Sounders games surprised you?

STEVE KELLEY: Yes, although I think it was muted a little bit at the Kansas City game. Tod Leiwecke told me a year ago that coming to a Sounders game was going to be a total entertainment package. I was worried it was going to be all schmaltzy and loud like NBA games, but now I see what he means. Opening night really felt like a European game.

PROST AMERIKA: How about those Mariners, eh?

STEVE KELLEY: I think the Sounders were lucky to come along when Seattle sports were reeling. The city needed something to get excited about and the Sounders provided that. But I also believe that the more success the other teams have the better it will be for the Sounders. If the Mariners surprise people, like they did in the first week of the season, it won’t hurt the Sounders. It will just make more fans excited about the state of sports in this town.

“I Should Call it Football”

PROST AMERIKA: Your wife is involved in the America Scores Seattle charity, please tell us a little about that.

STEVE KELLEY: Seattle Scores is an after-school program serving 200 elementary school-aged kids in the ethnically diverse communities in south Seattle. It combines writing, soccer and community service and is designed to teach kids to be more successful in life and to be leaders in their schools. It increases literacy, leadership and team work skills while bonding students to their schools and their communities.

Activities include weekly soccer matches, jamborees, poetry slams and community service projects such as adopting a nursing home and visiting the residents, or being part of an anti-litter campaign. I should add that FC Sounders have been very supportive of Seattle Scores and have partnered with Scores on several fund-raising events. Coach Sigi Schmid, players such as Nate Jaqua and Kasey Keller and GM Adrian Hanauer have attended matches. Hanauer has been a long-time supporter of Scores.

PROST AMERIKA: In the privacy of his own home, does Steve Kelley call it football or soccer?

STEVE KELLEY: I should call it football, but no matter what the name, the game is the same and in this country it will always be soccer. The name of the league here is Major League Soccer, so I call it soccer.

April 15