Less about the actual soccer, more about being a Portland Timbers fan.
One of these figures is a larger than life legend, and the other is Paul Bunyan! Timber Jim outside Providence Park showing off his Paul Bunyan sticker benefiting the Kenton neighborhoods restoration efforts for the beloved Paul Bunyan statue. Get yours at Green Zebra grocery in the Kenton neighborhood. Check out that ring! Then check out the Timber-themed patch that the sticker was based on.
Somehow I missed this Hopworks release of Timber Jim IPA that benefits Meals on Wheels People. Jim does not stop doing things for other people. I had shaken his hand a couple times at matches did not really meet him as person until he found out about a patch I made modeled after the Paul Bunyan statue in Kenton. He wanted to use the image for stickers as a fundraiser for restoration efforts. (More on that to follow) It was wonderful to meet him in a non-Timbers context. He is gung-ho about everything he does. Jim’s mother used to drive for Meals on Wheels up until she started needing their services. Watch him talk about it on KPTV. Despite Widmer’s official relationship with he Timbers, this is at least the second collaboration by Hopworks with a Timbers figure.
[Images via @hopworksbeer]
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.
My sister in-law went to the Portland TED talks on Saturday and received this Timber Jim “spread the Love” TED talk scarf along with everyone else in the audience. Timber Joey was also on hand, and the two them were signing autographs on scarves and copies of Cupbound & Crowned. More pics and video after the jump.
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
