We Have Paul Rothrock

Those were Brian Schmetzer's words when he talked about the best team in all of North America playing against the best player in the world's history.

As the final minutes wore down in Lumen Field on August 31, 2025, Paul Rothrock finally shone through. Receiving a pass from Alex Roldan (who ended up with a well-deserved MOTM after getting two assists and a penalty goal), Rothrock worked up the top and simply knocked the ball past Oscar Ustari, across the mouth, and into the other side of the goal.

It was a long time coming for a player who had looked excellent all game, connecting beautifully with everyone around him – be that Ferreira, Alex, Cristian, or anyone else. And when he finally sunk that goal, Lumen Field went nuts.

I wouldn't be surprised if it registered on a nearby seismograph. The PaulQuake was palpable, even in a sound-buffered press box. After Alex' penalty, it was pretty clear Seattle was probably going to end up on top, but Rothrock struck the dagger. Even the furthest seat beneath the steel rafters was shaking to the thumps of Seattle's jumping fans.

The only quiet section was that far northeastern side where the Miami fans were stuck in stunned awe.

For his part, Paul was his typical humble self in the postgame media scrum.

"It was kind of a typical goal that I score. It's a scrappy ball, it comes to me at the right moment, I take a good touch forward," Paul said. "I was happy to get redemption for that earlier one that I missed."

But I refuse to be humble. That's nine trophies in the MLS era alone. 17 if you count all editions of the Sounders. The next most successful Seattle professional teams are the Storm (four WNBA championships), the Reign (three NWSL Shields and one Women's Cup), the Seawolves (two MLR Shields), the Tempest (two WUL championships), the Seahawks (one Super Bowl), the Supersonics (one NBA championship), and the Majestics (one Tier II IWFL championship).

That's 15 professional championships combined. The Sounders have more trophies by themselves than other Seattle pro teams have between women's basketball, women's soccer, men's rugby, women's ultimate frisbee, men's football, men's basketball, and women's football – and also men's baseball, men's cricket, and men's ultimate frisbee, since the Mariners, Orcas, and Cascades haven't won anything.

At the current moment, I will confidently say – and I will confidently own it if it ends up being a jinx – that the Seattle Sounders are the best football team on the North American continent. You could make an argument for Cruz Azul, except for, you know, The Maquina Massacre: The Greatest Half the Seattle Sounders Ever Played.

Seattle beat Miami 3-0 with no Jordan Morris, no Paul Arriola, no Ryan Kent, no Albert Rusnák, no JP, no Nouhou, and no Moosiah. Either this Sounders team is incredibly good, Miami are the Pink Phony Club (they most certainly are), or both (that's the real answer).

They're without a doubt the greatest American soccer organization of all time, no offense to the Seattle Reign or Ballard FC (but very much yes offense to the Timbers, sorry Jeremy and Charlie).

I'm going to revel in this victory for a little bit, but let's not pretend this is the mountaintop for the 2025 Seattle Sounders. They still have an MLS cup to compete for and winning it would bring them to the decade mark in MLS-era trophies. There's an outside chance at a Supporter's Shield, but that's probably not in the cards.

For now, Paulie Primetime sits atop Leo Messi. To quote Louis Armstrong – what a wonderful world!