"I remember even before I was on the [Seattle] team and watching [CONCACAF] Champions League games, I wanted them to win the tournament and be the first MLS team to do it," the 28-year-old told ESPN.
Morris and the rest of the Sounders squad have accomplished at least part of that childhood aspiration, snapping a streak of 13 consecutive CCL titles for Liga MX teams. With a 5-2 aggregate victory at Lumen Field over Pumas UNAM in last May's final, Seattle made history as the first-ever Major League Soccer side to win the North American competition in its modern era.
On Saturday, that fairy tale will continue, and it could lead to a coveted clash against Real Madrid.
The Club World Cup, held this year in Morocco, brings together champions from each continent for a knockout-round tournament. The Sounders will debut against Egypt's Al-Ahly at Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier. The winner then faces Madrid in the semifinal round. On the other side of the bracket, African champions Wydad Casablanca tackle Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, who will then meet Brazilian outfit Flamengo.
Granted, with the MLS regular season not kicking off for another three weeks, the Sounders will playing their first competitive matches of the year.
"It's definitely been more challenging in terms of building fitness and building sharpness within the group," said Morris, who has spent a shortened four-week preseason with his teammates in the Spanish town of Marbella. "You gotta get up to fitness, speed and sharpness a lot quicker."
While other MLS sides are waiting to begin the regular season on Feb. 25, the Sounders have needed to expedite their efforts. They've done trainings in which players have been pushed more than normal, taken part in second sessions when needed, and played in two friendlies within a 24-hour time frame last Saturday -- a 0-0 draw with Austria's Wolfsberger AC and a 3-2 loss to Sweden's Hammarby That said, there were few complaints about their beachside location.
"Well, Marbella versus Tucson," joked head coach Brian Schmetzer about the difference in this year's preseason camp. "Not to put Tucson, Arizona, down, we've had some good days there.
"It just lends a little bit more flavor, a little bit more pizzazz, a little bit more team bonding when you're in a foreign country, it just feels different. The players are energized."
Veteran goalkeeper Stefan Frei was also content with his latest surroundings.
"The weather has been good, the pitches have been fantastic, the training grounds are really close to our hotel. So it makes everything very, very convenient," Frei said.
Whether the camp location was selected simply for its proximity to Morocco or for the idyllic nature of the Marbella area, it seems like the right move for Seattle considering the immediate buildup and expectations being placed on them as the first MLS side in the Club World Cup.
No longer watching from afar after Liga MX represented the CONCACAF region in every previous edition of the tournament, the Sounders will finally have a chance to boast what one of MLS' top teams can achieve on a global stage. Looking ahead, Schmetzer was open about this weight on the shoulders of his team.
"We don't want to spend all this time and travel, and all that, to come to Morocco and not play very well, not be competitive. There is that little added bit of pressure individually and collectively, for sure," he said.
With that pressure, there's also an immense amount of pride for the players being part of a changing soccer landscape in America. With the 2022 World Cup over, there's now a shifting focus toward the United States, which will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. In the early days of a new cycle, success at the Club World Cup could help kickstart even more growing interest for the sport in the country.
"I think it continues to add to the excitement and add to the growth of soccer in this country," Morris said, who was part of the USMNT's World Cup squad in Qatar. "To be the first MLS team to play in this tournament, to be able to represent Seattle, represent MLS, is something that is a big honor. ... It's a once in a lifetime thing."
