Commentary: Likely headed overseas, Jordan Morris’s time with Sounders was remarkable, truly special

We start with the report from The Athletic that Sounders forward Jordan Morris is expected to complete a loan transfer to Swansea City in Wales this week.

If that’s the case, we might have seen the last of Morris in a Sounders uniform for a while. Because even if it is a six-month loan, it could turn into a permanent transfer or – best case for Morris – he plays so well that a bigger team buys his rights for significant money. That would be a financial boon for the Sounders as well.

But tonight, I’m less inclined to panic about what that means for the Sounders in the near term. We’ll have months to do that.

Tonight is about extending a whole-hearted thanks to Morris for everything he’s done.

What an absolute joy it has been to watch the development of a hometown player the last five years. Rather than beginning his pro career in Germany, the Mercer Island-native opted to stay home. In the process, he led Seattle to its first two MLS Championships in franchise history and four appearances in MLS Cup. It’s no surprise that the one year the Sounders failed to reach the title game was the season Morris was out with a torn ACL.

We had the pleasure of watching Morris develop for 121 games – more than that, if you include U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League play. We saw his 41 goals and 23 assists.

We also saw the ultimate moment of a local star celebrating an MLS Cup in his home stadium, filled with 70,000 fans.

And we saw his incredible commitment to giving back to this community, most notably as a role model to any young athlete who has Type 1 Diabetes. Every home game before the pandemic – win, lose or draw - Morris was on the field with a youngster recently diagnosed with diabetes. To meet up, to talk, to answer questions, to simply – I believe the Yiddish term would be – be a mensch.

We should be proud to call Jordan Morris a hometown hero. We should be grateful for this extended period of time we had to see him play for the Rave Green.

And Major League Soccer should be grateful that Morris helped establish the idea that young stars don’t always have to develop their skills overseas.

Whether or not we already follow international soccer, it should make all of us followers of Swansea City and its attempt to earn promotion into Premier League for next season. Morris should get ample opportunity to showcase his talents to those at the highest level of the sport. And many of us believe that it will ultimately lead to somewhere even more special than that.

Finally, for Morris, there won’t ever be second-guessing. He won’t be playing in front of 16,000 fans overseas thinking what could have been if he had just stayed home.

He got that Sounders experience for five remarkable years.

And now, for Morris and the rest of us, it’s time to see where the rest of his journey leads.