By Matt Gaschk

In June of 1980, “Funkytown” was the top song on the pop charts. Jimmy Carter was in the final days of his presidency.

A 17-year-old Brian Schmetzer also signed with the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League. Although the musical tastes may have changed since then, one thing that hasn’t is his feelings toward the Portland Timbers.

However, the derby between the Sounders and Timbers has grown exponentially since the days of the North American Soccer League.

“I think it’s grabbed more people’s attention. That’s the biggest thing I can say. In 1980, when I first started, there were 25,000 people in the Kingdome, but the rivalry wasn’t as big,” Schmetzer said. “On a personal level it was intense because I was playing reserve league matches down there and they had to come here. Now, you’ve got our 40-plus thousand. You’ve got their 20 thousand plus all the people that want to be in their stadium – if they had more seats, I’m sure they’d fill them.”

That growth started at the A-League and USL level, where the supporter groups of both clubs raised the bar. Once the clubs reached the MLS level, the rivalry was palpable, with both clubs selling out their home matches and travelling in great numbers to away matches, setting the standard for support home or away.

Because of that, Schmetzer says, the rivalry has been brought to the national stage with the first national network broadcast on NBC on Saturday when the Sounders face the Timbers at 12:30 pm Pacific at JELD-WEN Field.

“It’s local from a fan perspective and now it’s national news,” Schmetzer said. “This is the first NBC game. Why would they do that? It’s because of that.”

Schmetzer is the only member of the Sounders organization who has been an active participant in the organization on all three levels that the club has existed – in the NASL, the A-League/USL and in Major League Soccer.

He played 38 games with the team he followed as a fan since their inception in 1974, but then the club folded in 1983 and he moved to the Tulsa Roughnecks. After the 1984 season, he moved to the indoor game, where he starred for the San Diego Sockers and Tacoma Stars. He played one final season with the A-League club when they were reborn in 1994, then took over the coaching ranks in 2002.

In his first season as head coach, he led the Sounders to a 23-4-1 record and was named Coach of the Year. He would also lead them to the A-League championship game in 2004, where they fell to the Montreal Impact. In 2005, they finally got over the hump and won the championship, repeating the feat while also taking home the Commissioner’s Cup for the league’s best record in 2007.

After the 2008 season, he was named the top assistant to Sigi Schmid for the Sounders FC and has since played an integral role in Seattle’s successful launch in MLS.

He filled in for Sigi Schmid in one match, a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo at CenturyLink Field in 2009.