Less about the actual soccer, more about being a Portland Timbers fan.
As I was watching this video, the title graphics immediately made me think of one of my all time favorite video games. I couldn’t get Williams Defender out of my head. Still better than Stargate in my opinion. Yes, I am probably the only person in the world who finds this amusing. Apparently, you can get a port of Defender on your iPhone, which seems like it would be impossible to play.
When my buddy Tom told me his wife had been a cheerleader for the Portland Timbers, I initially scoffed. I had never heard of the team even having a cheer squad–what soccer team does? I couldn’t find a single reference online to there ever being a squad. Nobody I asked had ever heard of it. I thought it must have been a misunderstanding.
Then he brought in the uniform.
The team indeed did have a cheer squad…for one season. The 1981 Portland Timbers were in their seventh year in the NASL as part of the Northwest Division. To add a bit of pizzazz and entertainment to the match, a group of local young women were recruited to accompany Timber Jim as the Timber Jills dance squad.
When I heard about all of this, I of course had to hear more. So one night last fall, as we were on the eve of clutching our first MLS Cup Championship, Tom and I recorded a conversation with two of the members of the squad, Brenda Becker and Judy Bennett, to hear about this mostly forgotten part of Timbers history.
In addition to their story, there are clips of some old school stickers, programs, and of course…the uniform.
A win in March? A loss at home to Dallas? Relieved when Urruti doesn’t score, but happy when Mattocks does? What sort of topsy-turvy world are Timbers fans living in right now? Darren Mattocks gets his first goal as a Timber. Coincidentally, his first MLS career goal came in Portland as a Whitecap.
I hope we cheer Maxi Urruti in warmups. I hope he doesn’t celebrate if he scores. I wish he was still in Portland, but it seems his play fits better in the FC Dallas lineup. With 3 goals solar, he’s their leading scorer, and he’s just 1 goal shy of our leading scorer, Fanendo Adi.
Maxi’s championship ring via Instagram. Watch a bunch of Urruti goals after the jump.
Alright, so the news has made the rounds. The ankle isn’t broken. And we all knew de Jong was a thug anyway, now we’re just waiting to see how the retroactive red and suspension will manifest.
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical to see how the increased handing out of reds would come about, but I can definitely see some benefit now… just wished we’d seen the red in the game.
Anyway…
Let’s talk about the match.
We played better. I kinda called it in my last post, if I may gloat a bit, that we’d see Jewsbury back in the lineup and with the Captain’s armband no less.
Confirmed. Caleb Porter follows ptfzine.com!
Barring Nat’s own goal, I feel the backline played better. Borchers wasn’t getting caught out of position as much, and Taylor is stepping up his game. It was great to finally see Klute and some definitive LB skills at work. Powell was good defensively as well, despite his questionable attacking forays.
Jack and Chara have a great partnership at mid. I don’t even really know what else to say about that. Always feels good when I see those two in that formation.
Of course we had Valeri and Nagbe in our attacking mids, no worries there. That said… what to do about Melano? Now, I’ve got no beef with the guy and I think he played a pretty good game, showing some hustle on offense and defense, almost had a goal. Almost. Jack Barmby has got to be chomping at the bit to get some minutes in, and I think we’re at a point where we might see him get subbed in. I was almost expecting it in the LA match, and it may have happened if it weren’t for the own goal.
Adi aka ‘The Hold Up King’, had a solid outing. I must admit I was pleasantly bemused to see Adi with some midfield dribbles along the pitch as well! Not that I want to see that often, I want to see Nagbe doing that!
Now for tomorrow, good grief, already! I’m guessing we’ll see Grabavoy come in for Darlington, but on the heels of such a recent game, I’m not sure how the rest of the formation will pan out. I don’t think Liam is fit yet, maybe in the lineup though? I can’t imagine any other defensive change barring Liam’s presence. Offensively, we have options, the aforementioned Barmby, Darren Mattocks, JackMac. Asprilla is still injured I believe. I don’t even know what’s going on with BenZ anymore!
Time to check that depth chart boys!
No Pity!
We’ve got three games in seven days against conference opponents that are all doing much better than us right now. Our back line is in a state of flux. We’ve got new guys with no chemistry, and not-so-new guys performing like rookies. In the space of a week we could be in a very deep hole. These next 3 games could determine whether the 2016 Timbers are actually as great as they are in our hearts, or instead, just an ordinary team. LA, Dallas, and San Jose are in places 6, 1 and 9 respectively in the Supporters Shield race compared to our 16th place standing. This will be the week that all the end of the season articles are going to point to. Or maybe I’m just being dramatic. This is going to be tense week for me.
Continue reading “A Test of Our Mettle, Make or Break, Turning Point, and a host of other cliches”
MLSsoccer.com still keeping tabs on Rodney Wallace. Looks like he’s left Portugal for Brazilian top league club Sport Recife. I went to the web site and was a little confused at first, there was a guy playing basketball on the front page. Turns out is an actual sports club with several teams. According to Wikipedia: “In addition to professional football, the club also participates in women’s football and Olympic sports, such as rowing, swimming, hockey, basketball, futsal, volleyball, table tennis, taekwondo, judo and athletics.”
Timber Jim has the cover story on Street Roots. You can read the article online if you don’t end up buying a copy. I did not know Jim was scheduled to give a TED Talk in April. I passed Mr. Serrill paused in the aisle at the RSL match. He was sporting a Championship ring and a woman was kissing his hand like he was the Pope. I wanted to snap a picture, but the moment was over before I could get my phone out of my pocket.
UPDATE: Added pics of the newspaper.
‘Spread the love’: The ethos of Timber Jim
Read it: Street Roots
I don’t know who Josh Drack is, but he seems to be impressed by the Timbers academy system.
State champion soccer star Josh Drack leaves Hamilton for Portland Timbers Academy
Read it: AZCentral
This international break is cramping my style. Here’s the evolution of the Timbers logo. You’re looking at a partial enlargement of a graphic that encompasses the entirety of MLS that was posted on reddit. Even though it’s only a couple month’s old, it doesn’t reflect the Timbers newest logo. Pay no attention to that 2001 fiasco. I’m glad someone made the right decision circa 2005.
ESPN FC conducted an anonymous poll of 123 current MLS players and asked them an assortment of interesting questions about the players, coaches, and the league. As expected, Portland fared well. Of course I expected it, but then again I do perceive most aspects of our team through Rose City colored glasses. It’s nice to see validation from independent sources. There are some intriguing responses in the anonymous poll, but unfortunately ESPN FC does not post the complete results, just the highlights. More annoying, the results are split into two different posts. Actually, they split it all over the place. Good luck tracking them all down. After listing to the first couple of commercial pre-rolls, I got fed up and quit.
Diego Diaz recounts his experience camping out for the season opener with Columbus.
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Night at Line Culture
Read it: Prost Amerika
No, Liam Ridgwell isn’t selling his ring to pay for hamstring surgery. Is that even a thing? The Portland Timbers are auctioning off a single MLS Cup championship ring, fancy box included. Proceeds go towards their Stand Together outreach. You can also bid on a signed photo of the MLS Cup on-field celebration, and a chance to watch an undetermined match in Merritt’s personal suite. Mr Paulson made sure to note that Cascade and playoff matches are off the table, so that means we’re in agin for sure. Same as it ever was!
Championship rings. I’ve never seen one for the MLS, but I assumed they would be a littler more understated than NFL and NBA rings, but maybe not considering the perceived MLS inferiority complex. Still, if you’re going to wear a big ole fancy ring with precious stones, you could do worse. The box with the axe on the ring as a “T” is executed well, and the nod to Cascadia on the side of the ring is just… excellent. I hope they paid for extra insurance on that FedEx overnight package to Rodney Wallace in Portugal.
[Source: Timbers.com] – Photos by Craig Mitchelldyer
Mattocks moves from Vancouver to Portland in MLS
Read it here: RJR News
Whitecaps trade Darren Mattocks to Portland
Read it here: The Province
I’m pretty sure we can take these guys, even on the road. Their one goal victory over Colorado at home is not exactly intimidating. Not much left to say except I hope you enjoy this screen capture I made of the San Jose Clash website back in 1997. You see, I was interested in buying a San Jose Clash jersey solely because I loved (the band) the Clash. Yes, I am aware that the San Jose Clash are in fact the Houston Dynamos, but this is what I’ve got to work with. At the time I had ZERO interest in soccer. The jerseys were pretty hideous and expensive, so I did not make a purchase. Check out the Netscape Navigator and Mac OS 8 eye candy! I was probably running a Power Computing Mac clone when I made this screen cap. I unintentionally held onto it for 19 years as it was transferred from new computer to new computer over and over again. I do recall the reason I kept it was because I though the “Clash Jobs” and “Clash Executives” link were funny. I found it again recently while trying to purge some old files from my current hard drive.
Caleb Porter’s most serious challenge to date might have been dealing with random silliness associated with being interviewed on Men in Blazers, but he did in fact loosen up a bit. The interview took place last week, before opening day. I don’t know why Timbers social media didn’t promote this better. There’s a marker on the podcast for Caleb’s appearance, but the introduction starts a tiny bit earlier. There’s a couple other no-name guys on show, but Roger saved the best for last. Frank Lampard and Jordan Morris? Never heard of ’em.
A different view of a championship banner, tifo, and goal from a free kick.
[Source: Youtube user Joe Hasty]
As seen on Streamable. Credit to?
How about that for a season opener?
The crew brought their game, but the Timbers held strong. I have to say my strongest complaint is still the sting from missing Jorge in LB. To Taylor’s credit we got the W, but my jury it still out for him. I’d have really liked to have seen Klute in this match. Let’s hope he gets sorted soon.
Onto our RB, Mr. Powell… he started showing some flashes of brilliance in the 2nd half to match his speed. Here’s to hoping that those preseason matches shook all those cobwebs loose.
Very glad to see Liam back working with Nat. They gave us a number of blocks. Thanks gents. And on that note, just for grins… I almost wished we could have moved Liam to LB, but with Big Pappa gone and no CB depth /shrug
Chara. King of the midfield. Picking pockets and roaming like a boss. What else can I say?
Now onto our attacking squad. Let’s start with Valeri and Nagbe. Ball movement anyone? I think these two can get the ball wherever they want. Nagbe on the dribble just smokin’, Valeri serving it up wherever he likes, for example, a free kick for goal. Nice.
Asprilla and Melano. I’ve got high hopes for these two this year, great attacking speed. Melano had a few nice breaks that almost could have come together. Sort of reminded me of his trials when he joined the Timbers last season, but I’m noticing a bit more confidence in his play and I hope that he’s settled and the goals will come. Asprilla had a few chances as well, I would have like to have seen him convert on at least one of those. Let’s get another goalazo Dairon! Despite their offensive prowess, we’re going to have see these two up their defending a tad as well as the season continues. I’m confident they’ll step up.
Adi, played well this eve, though that yellow was bit much. That said, his hold up play is on the point, and I’ve got to say his passing game and field awareness appear to have improved. With Nagbe and Valeri behind him, and Asprilla and Melano on the wings, I think we’ve got a solid first string offense this year.
Captain Jack came on late in the game for Valeri, liked that, good call Porter. It does remind me, however, of our lack of depth. But I guess we’re still building on that. From the preseason games, I don’t think Jack Mac and Grabavoy have the communication down… something to work on I suppose. And it appears Neco Brett and Valentin were on the bench as well. Time will tell with these new additions to the squad. And let’s not forget BenZ and Gleeson providing us some true first team depth on the pine.
Anyway, here’s to a good start to a new season!
PTFC!
Considering Widmer Brothers partnership as the official beer of the Portland Timbers, you’d expect them to brew up a beer or two in celebration of their MLS Cup victory, and they have. There’s First Star red rye and Thrill of Victory dark Cascadian ale. Both of these are available on tap only, which is a bit lazy if you ask me, but don’t ask me because I’m still mad they stopped brewing Green And Gold Kolsch. First Star was made with input from the coaching staff. Then there’s the Hopworks project Captain Jack’s Lucky 13 Championship IPA, made with very direct input from Jack Jewsbury. Corporate beer sponsor notwithstanding, Jack mentioned his affinity for Hopworks on social media, and they reached out to him for a collaboration. They started this before the cup, so it would have come out regardless of a win or loss, although they might have had to change the name. The old salty dog will be a Hopworks in person for the unveiling after the opening match. Looks from the looks of the photo, you should be able to buy Jack’s beer in bottle as well as on tap. Of course you can still get the Caleb Porter, porter. There’s no news yet of the beer that Columbus Brewing will have to brew in honor of losing their bet.
[Left Photo: Thomas Bleigh]
Read It Here: Complete Sports Nigeria
Have you seen the Guardian’s list of top contenders for the 2016 season? The Timbers aren’t on the list, yet somehow Seattle is, and 3 of the remaining 7 teams are the same ones we knocked out of the MLS Cup race last year.
Then there’s MLSsoccer.com’s Supporters Group Guides. They are supposed to be tongue in cheek summaries written in the style of a bird watcher’s book. In the case of the Timbers Army, it offers an uninformed viewpoint at best. It’s a fluff piece, pure filler, and that might have been excusable were it not for the caricature the chose to represent the TA. Nothing against illustrator Elliot Gerard, he probably accepted some random freelance assignment and had no frame of reference other than NFL fans with scarves. MLS makes some goofy marketing/media choices, and this is a prime example of being out of touch with their own fan base. MLS teams as 90210 characters is so much better. On the topic of MLS media, please, don’t get me started on Rachel Bonneta’s replacement. She’s like an actual soccer mom trying to sound like a teenager. Rachel definitely had some ultra corny moments, but Arielle Castillo is the worst.
Read it Here: The Oregonian
[Photo: AP Photo/Brad Loper via The Oregonian]
The crew is taking it pretty hard on the chin after losing the MLS Cup and as some would suggest, also losing the bet that allowed a grade school kid in Portland to design the Crew’s new kit. I’m not a fan of our new kit either, but our primary kit really grew on me over the course of last season. I almost bought one, which is incredible considering my initial reaction was “junior college fashion design project.” The Crew has a pretty good sense of humor about it. They produced a video showing various Crew members reading and reacting to mean tweets. The Oregonian got into it too, highlighting some Timbers fan kit commentary.
Yes, I chose that unflattering screen capture of Justin Meram on purpose. Yes, there is a Bob Ross video after the jump.
The Portland Timbers are at the top of ESPN FC’s power rankings at the start of the 2016 season. It’s strange being the favorite. ESPN FC pretty much picked Portland to lose at every turn during the playoffs last year. After last Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Fire I’m not looking that far ahead yet. Hopefully we can end our no-wins-in-march streak. To hear Caleb Porter’s thoughts on the subject, skip ahead to the 1:10 minute mark in the video after the jump.
[Image Source: Diskin’s Timbers Propaganda]
Keep your eyes peeled for Nicky Buttons. He’s turned a couple graphics I gave him into buttons that he’s giving away for/at the home opener. It’s awesome to see that my 2-stick idea will actually be seen even though I can’t make it to the opener.
I had planned on making this a 2-stick for opening day until I realized that I was going to be unable to attend opening day. This was a quick mockup. Yes, it’s a reference to Crew fans throwing beer cans at Rodney Wallace after his goal in the MLS Cup. Yes, it has lost some of it’s appeal now that Rodney is no longer with us. It still would have been a good one. Please feel free to appropriate it if you want. I’ll be watching on ESPN.
I love awkward auto-translations. Here’s a bit from Perfil, an Argentinian weekend newspaper talking about Diego Valeri’s MLS Cup win and tenure in Portland.
Even those who barely understand a bit of Spanish deduce the magnitude of the term which represents the driver of the Timbers, brand new MLS champions, which gave the first title in four decades to a city that breathes football more than ever.
Here’s a link to the translated version in case you barely understand a bit of Spanish like I do. The image above was reposted on Facebook from a tweet that I can’t track down. If you know whose it is, please let me know. It likely dates sometime between the 1st and 16th of January.
Tonight we square off against the Whitecaps in preseason. I hope Vancouver isn’t as chippy as Minnesota and RSL have been in preseason, or for that matter, the Whitecaps of the 2015 preseason.
– Thanks to Paul Atkinson for the tip.
Northern Pitch reports that MLS will be testing some instant replay technology during the Simple Invitational. The article offers no information on how it will be implemented, over very little information at all except to says that sources reported the experimentation. A preseason tournament with multiple games in a short time period seems about as good a place as any to test the technology. That being said, I’m against it. Sure, MLS refs aren’t exactly known for their overall excellence. You only have to go back to the 2015 MLS Cup to see some really badly blown calls. Fortunately, there were blown calls made in favor of both teams so we don’t have to worry about adding and asterisk to our first cup win. Even refs in the beloved Premier League occasionally make some horrible mistakes. Since there hasn’t been much talk about how it would actually be implemented, it’s hard to argue either way, but I’m against anything that disrupts the play of the game. And really, it just isn’t needed. Statistically there just isn’t enough games whose outcomes are being affected by the referees. Goal line technology? Yes please. maybe even a 5th official? Sure, why not? Instant replay? No thank you.
