PORTLAND, Ore. – On a rainy Thursday in Providence Park, Portland Wood‘home site has all the traps of base camp on Everest. Shelters have been built. Sleeping bags and blankets everywhere. Propane canisters and space heaters provide some extra warmth against the December cold. Adult beverages are expected to drop as day – and night – continues.
Some fans have been camping since Monday, albeit in shifts. Why? Getting one of 1,000 precious wristbands will allow 3,600-seat north end common ticket holders to bet on their vantage point for Saturday’s MLS Cup between the Timbers and New York City FC (3 p.m. ET, live on ABC).
Portland has long called itself Soccer City, USA, and based on the activity around the stadium two days before the game, it’s hard to argue.
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At 7 a.m. Friday, the bracelets will be distributed, at which point their lucky recipients can go home to shower and enjoy a hot meal; until then, fans are lining up. At first glance, the line extends all the way down the 18th Avenue SW side of the stadium. There, I met Chris Bright, a local tech entrepreneur. I asked him if he was going to be the last in line, but his belly laugh showed how wrong my assumption was.
“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” he said.
We turned the corner on SW Salmon Street and I spotted the road up about two-thirds of the block, past Multnomah Sports Club. “Tonight, a lot of people will show up as placeholders,” Bright said. “This is Portland Timbers top culture. Tonight it’s going to be a real party. You should come back.”
We reach the end of the line. Bright said anyone showing up now is still in “good range” to secure a wristband. “When you start going around that corner,” he said, pointing to the corner of Salmon and 20th Avenue SW, “I think you’re going to be in danger.”
Jason Henneman and his daughter Eva were last in line while I was walking, even though they knew it wouldn’t last. Longtime Timbers season pass holders, they took the bus from Bend, Oregon, and were in the process of assembling a canopy to keep out the rain. Eva, a high school student, has a plan for what she will do during her time away from home. “Maybe I’ll sit down, get some Wi-Fi and start doing some math,” she said. “I’ve never been old enough to do any work in religious culture. I turned 18 a few months ago. Here I am, and I’m ready to give my full attention and take some time. quality time.”
The lack of a sleeping bag is obvious. Jason Henneman said: “Can’t sleep. “There’s a party in Portland.”
New York City FC is determined to spoil the festival, and victory for the Blues could spark a unique celebration, at least in the MLS circles. Earlier in his career, NYCFC coach Ronny Deila promised supporters of the team he was managing at the time, Norwegian side Stromsgodset, that he would quit if the team avoided relegation. . True to his word, when he avoided the pants drop incident, he celebrated by taking off his underwear.
When Deila took over NYCFC ahead of the 2020 campaign, he boasted the same thing. “I can promise if we win the knockouts, I’ll do it,” he told ESPN afterward. Reminded of her vows ahead of Thursday’s practice session at Portland University’s Merlo Field, Deila told ESPN with a wry smile, “We’ll see, we’ll see. As you get older, that’s not very fun. anymore. But at the same time, a word is a word. First, we have to win. That’s the most important thing.”
When Deila joined NYCFC, compared to Liverpool Coach Jurgen Klopp is still chasing him, but he has found his own way in New York. His reign has continued NYCFC’s transformation from one relying on big names – such as Andrea Pirlo and David’s Mansion – to a place where the group is the star, with a steady contribution from Maxi Moralez and Valentin Castellanos, for veterans like Sean Johnson and Alfredo Morales and academy products such as James Sands.
“We now have the groundwork in the way we play, in the culture and also in talented young players to develop as a club,” said Deila. “I also think we have more value at the club now than before. We have the players that other people want, and this is an important part of being a club. Because So, I think it’s a great achievement to get to the finals this year.”
For Portland, this is the third time in the past seven seasons that they have entered the MLS Cup. However, this is different. The Timbers have played at Providence Park (formerly Civic Stadium) for 46 years, with 1,010 games played, and they have never hosted a final in any of the previous tournaments they have attended. That left some Army Timbers veterans scratching their heads in preparation.
“This is something new,” said Jeremy Wright, a former board member of 107ist, the Timbers Army organization. “We’ve never had to throw a party in our town for 15,000 people, have we? I know how to get catering in Columbus, Ohio, to the store now. I don’t know how to do it in our city. It’s very funny.”
While drinking beer at Tough Luck, a bar in the northeastern part of the city, Wright noted there were some mixed emotions hosting Saturday’s final. He describes how the relationship between the Timbers Army and the Timbers average office became strained after dispute over the raising of the Iron Front flag and Abuse scandal rocking NWSL’s Portland Thorns. Recent years have also been difficult for Portland due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the push for social justice and political violence that has erupted in the city.
“We wish we could be like a soft, pink, pure dancing rainbow unicorn, but it’s a fact that people are fragmenting this week,” he said. speak. However, Wright also notes that there’s a lot to celebrate, with lavish parties starting with a party outside Providence Park on Thursday night.
“My hope is that maybe this game can be a small part of the healing, help us celebrate,” he said. “We love our city. The whole purpose of the Timbers Army is to honor our city as much as our City.”
The second MLS Cup will drive the group into a frenzy.
