Though less documented than tactical shifts and contract values, the importance of psychology is a growing field in the world of professional sports as a whole. It is time the Sounders hop on the bandwagon and ride it into greener pastures.
After the recent match against three dinosaurs and some other guys sporting sky blue, Brad Evans had a few things to say. The most noteworthy—other than his overall body language and facial expression, which was unmistakably downtrodden—was when he essentially called out some of his teammates for not caring or not trying enough.
In a sport that is often summarized through diagrams of Xs and Os, of passing and shot metrics, and of larger-scale tactical philosophies such as possession-based or counter-attacking styles, this was an interesting development.