Sharktopus FC caught everyone’s attention during the 2024 US Open Cup Second Qualifying Round - their unique name and wild badge stood out and we knew we had to reach out right away. As we’re preparing this, other do-gooders in the Lower League soccer community are hard at work as well: Olive & York have a kit they’ve put together to help Sharktopus look slick in the future and our good friends at US Soccer are working on an article about the club as well.

Leo Ohannisian, the manager of the club, responded immediately to our DM and was as thoughtful as he was quick with his reply to our questions about Sharktopus. Here’s to hoping they make it to the Open Cup proper and we get to cheer them on along their journey.

What's Sharktopus FC's origin story? Who started the team and why?
“I took over Sharktopus about 4 years ago after playing on the team for a few years. The team had existed for many years, handed down from generation to generation, but was never playing in the higher divisions. I joined looking for connections in Seattle, which are super hard to come by. Winters here are hard socially, but you can play soccer year-round. At the time Sharktopus was registered in the lower, recreational divisions (think cleats up, D4). We moved up from D4 to D3 to D2 to D1 over the years as I started solidifying our management team. We got better every year, and started winning D1 championships around 2021.

The core of our group was formed by playing small-sided soccer when there were no leagues during covid. At the time, that was our bubble. We fantasized about playing in the open cup, and we made a promise to try one year. That's the same core that started winning the GSSL (Sundays) and RATS D1 (Thursdays) leagues in 2021. Our group is as diverse as they come in Seattle - embodying the culture of the club to create a space for people moving here to have some community. It’s what I wanted when I moved here in 2017. We have guys from Asia, from Africa, from countries that don’t exist anymore, refugees, Ivy League graduates, and D1 scholars. A mixed bag of sharks and octopi. From all kinds of socioeconomic backgrounds. That led us to seek a sponsorship over a year ago from Octopus Bar.

I had been covering players' dues who couldn’t pay, and the costs added up. That’s when we formed our partnership with Octopus Bar in Seattle. They have helped us cover tournament fees and ooze peculiarities, which we love. That’s because we are also peculiar :). They also help cover league fees for players who can’t pay due to being students or lacking disposable income.”

Sharktopus FC enjoying some social time at Octopus Bar in Seattle.

Tell us about your badge and colors – what is the inspiration?
“On the name front: we don't know where the name came from. It was handed down from generation to generation of manager. It is part of the Seattle culture to be obsessed with magnificent beasts. Maybe it's the dark winters. Hikers have tales about Sasquatch, Skiiers have the Yeti, hokey players have tales about Kraken, and socialites have tales about the Seattle freeze. Soccer players tell the tale of a half-shark-half-octopus with 11 tentacles to control the ball and a tenacious fighting spirit. When we got serious about competing in national tournaments some team members (who will not be named) asked about changing the name, but we held firm. It embodies who we are as a team: Chaotic, messy, scary, inclusive, and fun. We leaned fully in and sought sponsorship from organizations that matched our vibe. Octopus Bar was the first and only sponsorship email we sent. It was a match that seemed out of a fairy tale.

In colors: I am Uruguayan, so I've always had a strong place in my heart for sky blue. Vamo arriba la celeste! Pink came about when we were buying our first Jerseys. Jimmy (our goalkeeper) and I met in the office in 2018 and he immediately joined the team. We told a coworker of ours about the team (Rich Barringer) who loved our name, so he designed our first logo. See below:

We needed a color to match the fun, peculiar nature of the logo and the name and we could think of no better color than pink. This is when the squad officially switched from neon green to pink. We upgraded the badge in 2022 when we first got sponsored by Octopus bar and they offered to buy us new jerseys.”

We see you've entered the 2024 US Open Cup Qualifiers, but what league do you play in, or plan to play in?
“We play in the Seattle RATS league. Our first D1 league was GSSL on Sundays - the pre-established incumbent for top-flight recreational soccer in Seattle. We also joined the Seattle RATS league at the time where I had been managing other teams (Low Hanging Fruit, Mouses). Anyhow, after we won our first D1 championship as a team in 2021 for GSSL, they did something that threw Men's soccer into a tailspin. They created the "Premier" league on Thursdays (to directly compete against RATS, which we also played D1 in on Thursday). Men's teams were forced to pick one or the other because as a result, GSSL Sunday D1 stopped being an emphasis. After two seasons in "GSSL Premier Thursdays", we orchestrated a move of all the top teams (WAC, Washed Up, Painters, FTI, etc.) from GSSL to RATS because GSSL was not providing 3 refs for our games and called our league unprofitable. Some irrelevant but fun drama. RATS is super committed to keeping a D1 men's program alive. They are led by Carrie Lewis (a legend in women's rec soccer in the area) and Larry Metz (who runs the Sno King referee group). They have gone above and beyond to ensure the most competitive league possible and it has prepared us for the open cup in so many ways. There are such great teams in the league with us! Star Brass Lounge, WAC, Washed Up, and FTI are our biggest rivals at the moment. All have extreme quality in their squads and could all win some Open Cup games. It's the perfect situation of playing local games to Seattle, keeping costs low, and playing intense games.

We are considering entering more leagues in 2024 - we're looking into UPSL, Cascadia Premier League, NPSL, etc. It all depends on how much money we raise and what the guys on the team want to do. The leagues we're currently in allow us to have day jobs, and that matters. Bellevue Athletic has been advising us a bit on an upcoming move; we are super grateful for their entire management team helping us out.”

The Sharktopus FC kits by Olive & York
also, a glimpse at their previous logo… we all gotta start somewhere.

Those shirts by Olive & York look really nice, do you have any other merch or plans to drop some?
“We've been humbled by the love we've received from fans in the past few days following our Open Cup second-round win. We can't emphasize enough how much this means to the team and the ability to fulfill our dream of Open Cup glory. Our bank account was down to $5 after our game, and I was backed into a corner trying to find more sponsors. Costs add up: field space costs $120 per hour with lights, we had to buy official balls for the game (we lost 2 of them in the bushes, ouch), matching shorts and socks, renting the stadium....it's a lot! The request for merch has been awesome, and we are so thankful that @vdgraph designed such a work of art for us. We also have other merch up in our Shopify store here: http://sharktopusfc.com. We want to thank everyone who has supported, from the bottom of our hearts. We are considering adding more after the next win :)”

Aside from a kit or a scarf, how else can people support the team?

“After buying merch, come to our came and watch the live stream on October 21, 10 AM PT. We would love to pack Interbay Stadium to the brim. Wear pink! We also plan on doing a fundraiser at Octopus bar before or right after the match. Details to drop on our Instagram soon (@sharktopus_fc).”

If there were one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?

“Oh, great question. For me personally, it would be the Seattle Sounders. I want to defend my fellow countryman, Nico Lodeiro. I think I could shut him down, but mostly to invite him to an "Asado" with me and the guys after. The second would be Ballard FC. We are close with Ethan O'Neil (their coach, he has played on our squad in the past) and would love to see how we fare against the best USL2 team in the country. We've flirted with the idea in the past, but the timing didn't work out this past summer. We also share the same home stadium with them.”

Follow Sharktopus FC on Instagram HERE
And on X / Twitter HERE