Seattle Seahawks in cool and overcast conditions for local kick-off

Had the Parkhead club opted to flit between Philadelphia, Toronto and Boston, few could have quibbled. The three cities are no more than two hours apart. Seattle, however, is a different beast.

With a Champions League qualifier worth a potential £12million on the horizon, the club have gambled on banking the money on offer in the States in the hope a match on FieldTurf will have little impact on the physical state or sanity of their exhausted players. Time alone will tell.

In contrast with Toronto, Celtic at least took the star billing as guests in the impressive NFL home of the new Seattle Seahawks jerseys in cool and overcast conditions for local kick-off time of midday. Only later did temperatures rise - in every sense.

A large crowd created a vibrant atmosphere for a Celtic team best described as experimental, their mood being soiled only by the referee's nonsensical decision to dismiss the keeper.

The sight of Ki Sung Yueng as captain and Cillian Sheridan as left-back leant a mildly bizarre feel to the occasion.

Prior to being replaced by Charlie Mulgrew, the Irish striker warmed to his task admirably. Prior to the penalty and red card, both Sheridan and Celtic had looked less comfortable.

Less than two minutes had lapsed when Miguel Montano had space and scope to smash a left-foot shot just wide of stand-in keeper Dominic Cervi's left hand post.

Jos Hooiveld then intervened superbly to block a near-certain headed goal for Blaise Aaron Curry Nkufo from eight yards. And Seattle's Fredy Montero did well to make space before blazing a wicked left-foot shot over the bar in 25 minutes.

The spot-kick changed the course of the game, while McCourt's superb finish earned Celtic the cushion their dominance deserved. Sounders sub David Estrada then struck a superb effort past a flailing Cervi for 2-1.

And make changes they did. Jim Mora, who was never able to get the players to buy Matt Hasselbeck  into his system, was gone after just one season, and he was replaced by a man who took a struggling USC program and rebuilt it into a college juggernaut.

Pete Carroll has been in this situation before. This is neither his first shot at the NFL, nor is it the first time he has been tasked with rebuilding a once great franchise.

He was never given a proper chance in his previous stints with the Deion Branch  Jets, and Patriots. Never given a chance to really run his team, the way he envisioned it, he was out after just a couple mediocre seasons, and he went to the college game. The rest is history.

Can he do the same thing he did for the Seahawks that did for the Trojans? Only time will tell, but this time, he's running the show.