Anyone who has watched the Sounders, Seahawks, Kraken, or Mariners, knows how captivating a city sports team can be. But what if that sports team represented something more local, something like a neighborhood? And what if that team supported local businesses, brought “the beautiful game” to a community, and showcased local talent? When Sam Zisette, Co-Founder and President of Ballard F.C., first decided to start a brandnew professional sports team, those questions made up most of his “Why” category, a section of the three-step plan he used to create the team.

In late April, Zisette came to speak to the zesty seminar class “Social Media and Sports Marketing,” and I had the privilege of sitting in on the meeting. Throughout the discussion where Zisette regularly engaged students’ voices, he walked the room through an exercise he said was similar to his original process of creating the team. There were three questions about the business that he originally set out to answer: What did he want it to do, how did he want to do it, and why did he want to do it?

Addressing the room in a casual tone, he drew three concentric circles on the board and asked where he should put each of the three guiding questions. Most agreed that the ‘how’ and ‘what’ sections should be the biggest circles; surely creating a brand and managing the logistics would be the most time-consuming part. But Zisette told us that was exactly what he didn’t want to do. He knew that he could never create ‘what’ he wanted or even think of ‘how’ if his ‘why’ was not rock solid.

So, he went on explaining ‘why’ he decided to start the club. Mainly, he wanted to bring his own love for the game to the intimate community of the Ballard-Fremont area. He also wanted to showcase local talent while providing a unique soccer experience that builds community. ‘What’ he wanted to create, was glanced over; he simply put it as a soccer club that was also a small business.

He first acted on his answers to these questions in 2021, founding the club alongside Chris Kaimmer and former Sounders player Lamar Neagle. Two years later, the team would go on to win the National Championship in the fourth tier of US soccer in front of a sold out Seattle stadium. To recognize this local support, he helped create the “Fire and smoke” 2024 away kits. Inspired by a flare lit by the fans during the National Championship, he once again put ‘why’ he wanted to create the team first, demonstrating ‘how’ to successfully create ‘what’ small business you wanted to.