The Seattle Sounders' CONCACAF Champions League triumph isn't a story about a power shift. It isn't a story about a changed narrative, a new king of the region or a turning of the tide.
Those stories may someday be written, but they aren't the story of the moment.
Instead, the real narrative of the Sounders' success is one of consistency, of persistence, of building something that is both easy to copy but also impossible to replicate.
On Wednesday night, the Sounders sealed their place as MLS immortals, becoming the first team in league history to win the CONCACAF Champions League.
They ended Liga MX's 13-year reign in emphatic fashion, winning 3-0 in the second leg at home to seal a 5-2 aggregate win.
In some ways, it is fitting that the Sounders emerged as MLS' long-awaited winner as they have been MLS' model club for over a decade.
Since their inception, the Sounders have been almost impossibly consistent, making the playoffs in each year of their MLS existence.
In an American soccer system that promoted parity, the Sounders have proven almost parity-proof.
And they've done that by being smart, by building teams in the right way and, this year, this team proved the one that finally got MLS over the hump after years and years of heartbreak and letdowns.
On the surface, many of the Sounders' moves that constructed this roster are easily repeatable.
There are other players like Raul Ruidiaz on the market, and MLS clubs have proven more than willing to splash the cash on $10 million (£8m) strikers.
On Wednesday, it was Ruidiaz that scored the Sounders' first two goals, cementing his own spot in club history after proving himself as the star No.9 this club so desperately needed.
Players like Nico Lodeiro are a bit harder to find, but they're certainly out there.
The Uruguayan international is one of the best playmakers the league has ever seen, and his late goal all but sealed the win, while sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
"He's perhaps the best player in Sounders history, one that has been a focal point in many of the club's biggest successes," said head coach Brian Schmetzer after the game.
“He’s going to be up there for sure. In the NFL, they have franchise players. I call Nico a franchise player.”
Added Lodeiro: “We won in MLS and we compete every year there, but we were missing this title. It’s something we were working on and it means a lot to get it. It’s the icing on the cake.”
Teams in MLS hit on Designated Players all the time, especially the attacking ones, and the Sounders certainly have hit on theirs.
But the Sounders have also built their roster in ways that aren't so easily repeated.
It's not often a team can convince a hometown kid like Jordan Morris to forego European opportunities to suit up for their local club.
And, even when Morris did opt to go, he quickly returned after an ACL injury, one that proved unfortunate for Morris and Swansea but perhaps a blessing for the Sounders.
It's not often that a team can find a U.S. men's national team contributor in the middle of an MLS Draft, which is exactly what the Sounders did with Cristian Roldan. For years, Roldan has been the backbone of this club and he likely will be for many more.
And it certainly isn't often that an MLS team can convince the star player of a rival to switch sides. But that's exactly how Albert Rusnak arrived in Seattle from Real Salt Lake as perhaps the first true game-changing free agent in MLS history.
That's not to mention guys like Stefan Frei, who was recognized as the tournament's best goalkeeper, or the centerback duo of Yeimar Gomez Andrade and Xavier Arriaga.
Throw in Schmetzer, who has been the perfect coach from this club since the moment he took over from the legendary Sigi Schmid, and you have an almost impossible mix of having the right people in the right places.
How does a club put all of those pieces together? By doing things the right way.
The Sounders have built a culture that is hard to match, one spurred on by trophies and success.
It's also spurred on by playing in a local market that truly cares about the club, as evidenced by the 60,000+ fans in attendance for that crowning moment.
So, what does that moment mean going forward? Will we see more MLS winners in the future?
That remains to be seen. Given the league's spending structure, MLS will always be behind the eight-ball when it comes to roster composition.
Liga MX just has more money to spend from top to bottom, even if MLS can spend big to bring in players like Ruidiaz and Lodeiro in their primes.
The fact of the matter is that this is one year, one trophy, one win, and it is, honestly, very easy to make it more than that.
Given the U.S. men's national team's success against Mexico in recent years, it's easy to paint a picture of a power shift.
But, while that back-and-forth rivalry has learned towards America in recent years, it has never truly leaned towards MLS.
The rivalry between MLS and Liga MX is, in many ways, still in its infancy. And, as they say, a rivalry isn't really a rivalry until both teams prove they can win, with the Sounders the first team to do so in 13 years.
"We're the tip of the spear," general manager Garth Lagerwey said. "But there's a whole vanguard coming behind us.
"And with a league on the rise, the Leagues Cup competition becomes so exciting now because it's truly competitive.
"You've got the best generation of American players who come into play in the World Cup. It's just such an exciting time to be part of American soccer."
But, while that may be true, it is most exciting to be a part of Seattle soccer, as it has been for the past decade.
MLS Cup champions, Supporters' Shield winners, U.S. Open Cup dominators and, now, CONCACAF Champions League history-makers – the Sounders will always be remembered as the team that did it first and, perhaps, the first of many.
So, enjoy it, Seattle, and enjoy it, American soccer. This year, the Sounders are kings of North American soccer, but this is a battle that is only just beginning.
