Yesterday was the last regular season game for the Seattle Sounders. As in a few of the past games, I felt no will to drive to Seattle, watch the game, and drive back. I didn’t want to stay overnight in Seattle, I didn’t want to drive for 10-12 hours this weekend.

So I flew. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again. But I won’t do it again for 7:30 PM games, at least not like I did yesterday.

The plan:

  • Arrive at Spokane International at 3:00 or so, board at 4, depart at 4:30 and arrive at Seattle at 5:30.
  • Take the Light Rail to Qwest, kick starts at 7:30
  • Watch the game. Since it’s a soccer game, it’s composed of 2 45 minute halves (plus 2-4 minutes of stoppage time) and a 20 minute halftime. You can count on this. Game over by 9:30
  • Fly back to Spokane on the last flight of the day, departing at 11 PM

The reality was that I could not possibly get to that flight on time. I left the game at 9:30, but didn’t get to the Link Station until 9:45. I got there just as the train pulled out. The next one arrived almost on time at 9:57. It was caught in traffic lights along MLK Blvd (the irony). I didn’t get to Tukwila until 10:30. The plane is boarding. Fortunately, a wonderful couple took me from the end of the line to the departure area, so I didn’t have to wait for the bus.

I made my flight because of many wonderful people, all of which deserve my thanks and hopefully I managed to adequately thank them in my rush.

  • The group of young men standing in line in front of me that ushered me past them when I mentioned “my plane is boarding right now”
  • The TSA agent that allowed them to do it.
  • The Alaska Airlines gate agents that kept the door open until the last moment, even after they had already rebooked me for the next flight.

I don’t think I’ll be attempting that flight combo again.