The 2009 season was Seattle Sounders FC's first in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of American soccer. It was the 29th season played by a professional team bearing the Sounders name, which was chosen for the MLS expansion team by a fan vote. An MLS franchise was awarded to a group from Seattle in 2007, including Adrian Hanauer, the owner of the second-division incarnation of the Sounders.