December 2018 – PTFZine

What a season.

Wow. Losing Caleb Porter shortly after the end of the season last year was like a gut punch. We were first in our division, and if not for losing 4 starters in an incredibly unlucky stretch of injuries in the Houston series, we were looking good. It must have been emotionally draining for Caleb, but it was still a shock that he chose to leave so soon after getting a contract extension.

Who had high hopes for 2018 after learning we were trading Darlington Nagbe too? When our new coach was announced, it was exciting. Gio had a stellar reputation with players and other coaches, and a championship winning record. Still, NASL is not on par with MLS, so how would that transfer?

Winter Storm Diego headed for Atlanta

I don’t even have to make this up! It’s (another) sign!

It’s weird for us too, Darlington.

Atlanta United’s Nagbe says playing Portland for MLS Cup is surreal. Read about it in the Atlanta Constitution Journal. It’s a fluff piece, but it has a few interesting tidbits.

Atlanta Invasion

If you’re headed to Atlanta to support the Timbers in the MLS Cup, there’s an unofficial Facebook group set up as a resource.

Did you get yours?

The meager allotment of 1,300 tickets given to the Timbers Army for the 2018 MLS Cup sold out in 4 minutes. That’s less than the amount that showed up for the Cup in Columbus of 2015, and far less than the FIFA standard of 5% for traveling supporters. Mercedes Benz Stadium holds upwards of 70k people, so we should have gotten 3,600 tickets. Atlanta is fairly new to this, but MLS should have schooled them in advance. It has been reported that ATLUFC started selling Cup tickets before they had clinched. When the original allocation of 900 tickets was announced (before clinching) The Timbers Army/107ist joined forces with Kansas City Cauldron, Terminus Legion, and Empire Supporters Club to released a joint statement in protest. 107ist appeared to be spearheading this effort, and reaction from many fans (especially in Atlanta) was that we were counting our chickens before they hatched, and we wouldn’t be able to fill the seats if we got them, and tough luck if you don’t live in Atlanta. Well, we told you so. Let’s hope MLS forces the owners to adhere to FIFA standards. It might be too late for this cup, but they need to take care of it for future years.