Despite it being just Seattle Sounders FC’s seventh season in the league, the club has a rich history with the San Jose Earthquakes that predates Major League Soccer. The meetings between the now Western Conference foes actually began in 1974, when both clubs joined the North America Soccer League (NASL) as expansion teams along with Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The Earthquakes would eventually become the first team in Major League Soccer to retain the same name as a predecessor NASL club, with Seattle following suit several years later.
“Going back to the NASL, it’s always been a competitive rivalry,” said former Earthquakes player and current broadcast analyst Chris Dangerfield.