Round one of the Concacaf Champions Cup starts this week. If you're unfamiliar with the CCC, it's the perpetually renamed version of the thing that the Seattle Sounders won in 2022 when it was called the Concacaf Champions League. Previously under the CCC banner, the USL Sounders were the first U.S. team to qualify. The Galaxy and D.C. United won the CCC-named tournament at points in time too, albeit in different formats.
This year's CCC is larger and starts so early in the season that two of Canada's qualifiers can't use their home stadiums – both Cavalry (Calgary) and Vancouver Whitecaps are playing on Vancouver Island.
Other sites may try to tell you the tactics and rosters for the teams (read ESPN for that), but there are 27 teams and as a Seattle soccer fan my sole interest in the 2024 CCC is setting up the Sounders for a better showing in the 2025 Club World Cup than the 2023 CWC.
Tuesday's matches are on FS2 and FoxSports.com (authentication required). Don't fact-check me, but the Sounders have played all four teams featured on Tuesday. With two Central American sides hosting two Liga MX teams the easy thing would be to root for the Central American sides. Do That! Comunicaciones and Real Estelí haven't hurt you like Monterrey and Club America have.
Wednesday has three matches, only available on ViX. That is going to make it hard to watch the Vancouver Whitecaps play a home match in Starlight Stadium. It's a 6,000-seater about 30 minutes west of Victoria. Tigres gets to experience Victoria. All-in-all this seems like a lot of fun to experience for both teams. I hope Tigres players get to have high tea at the Empress, fish & chips at the houseboats and a walk or water taxi around the Inner Harbor.
Forge is the best CPL team ever. They're basically the '90s Yankees of that league. They're going to get absolutely crushed by Chivas. No, Chivas isn't the grand team they've been and they have a long distance to travel. But it's a CPL side against a Liga MX team. Hamilton, and it's just below freezing temps, will have no magic for Forge.
Herediano and Toluca is the other match. Don't get hung up on it and default to rooting against the Liga MX team unless you have a personal connection.
The rest of the first legs of the opening round don't take place for another two weeks.
Which gets down to the real way to hate-watch the CCC – root against Concacaf, where the points don't matter and the rules are made to favor the revenue-generating leagues of MLS and Liga MX. The rules certainly aren't made up to have a fair competition.
– Dave
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Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Did you step away from the computer for the weekend? Here are our latest stories.
- How the Sounders got younger, cheaper and, arguably, deeper
- USMNT will play one World Cup 26 group stage game in Seattle
- Kelyn Rowe at peace with retiring as a Sounder
- Recap: Sounders beat IFK Norrköping 3-0 in preseason
Nos Audietis will be doing a live podcast recording on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at Project 9 Brewery in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. The show should run from 7-8 PM, but they are planning to do a little trivia night that will start at 6:30 PM. This is doubling as a fundraiser for BF Day Elementary's fifth-grade science field trip, with $1 per pint sold helping fund the endeavor. There are no tickets required and this is a first-come, first-served seating situation, but if you'd like to pre-purchase a pint so that we have a better idea of how many people to expect, you can do so here.
Looking back at the weekend's news
Everything else you need to know.
MLS Monday kickoff features a preview for the Sounders. They predict Seattle to finish between 1-3 in the West.
2026 World Cup schedule reveal: FIFA picks New York for final, Mexico for opener, West Coast for USMNT. Missed the schedule reveal because you were excited about Seattle? It's right there.
Messi, Beckham booed after superstar sits out Hong Kong friendly | Football News. That world tour isn't going well.
New Minnesota United coach better be worth the wait. Someday the Loons will have a head coach. That day isn't today.
Katie Harnetiaux left Amazon to run USL Spokane. Learn more about her in the Spokane Journal.
Mathieu Flamini: ‘Football needs to stand up for climate change’.
Bar Bacetto spices up Waitsburg's culinary scene with James Beard nomination. This pasteria is in a tiny town outside of small town Walla Walla.
UW Women's soccer starts their spring exhibition schedule with a match against Seattle Reign on March 6.
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