The 82nd Annual MTRWestern Sports Star of the Year Awards highlighted the poetic blend of old and new in the rich tapestry of this Seattle’s sports history.
Wednesday night belonged to Seattle Supersonics legend Gary Payton, who was honored with the Royal Brougham lifetime achievement award, and got a standing ovation as an oversized version of his No. 20 jersey was lowered to hang from the ceiling at the Paramount Theater alongside the jerseys of the five other Sonics greats who had their numbers retired before the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
But, there’s no arguing that 2016 belonged to the Seattle Sounders, who won their first league title in franchise history amidst a turbulent year that ended in dramatic fashion, with Roman Torres converting the winning penalty in the sixth round of a high stakes penalty shootout in Toronto.