For the last 40 years, Portland has been a Blazer town. From its infantile stage, to its sole championship. From the Memorial Coliseum, to the Moda Center. And from Walton, Drexler, and Kersey, to Roy, Aldridge, and now Lillard, the Blazers have been a one-trick-pony in a one-trick-town. But in the midst of an untimely rebuild, in a league designed to keep the little guy down, soccer’s Timbers are coming, and the key to this city might be coming with them.
I know, some of you are laughing at the mere suggestion that “Rip City,” that’s right, “Rip City,” the nickname derived directly from the Trail Blazer organization could be a Timber town opposed to the Blazer one it’s been since its arrival in 1970. But with Portland’s soccer team on the brink of a championship, and its basketball counterpart floundering in a sea of NBA anonymity, the door might be slightly ajar for Merritt Paulson and his Timbers’ Army to orchestrate a hostile takeover.
Until 2010 – the year the Timbers were awarded an MLS franchise – the Timbers, like the Winterhawks, indoor soccer’s Pride, roller hockey’s Rage, and every other forgotten niche sport shoe-horned into the Rose City, were second rate. Sure, they had their loyal following and that following was – and in the Winterhawks case remains – passionate to the nth degree. But five years ago, when the MLS legitimized the team and sport by putting a major league team in Portland, a star was born.
“Soccer City USA” was no longer a local attraction, but rather a budding superstar of this country’s soccer world.
From that flag-waving, national anthem singing, chainsaw cutting opening night against the Chicago Fire 4 and a half years ago, to Sunday’s MLS Cup in Columbus, the Portland Timbers have firmly supplanted themselves as one of, if not THE premiere franchise in Major League Soccer. They have the fan base. They have the stadium, which while not big from a numbers standpoint, provides the near perfect Portland soccer experience. And they have an owner committed to winning. All they lacked until now was the winning part, and Sunday in Ohio they’ll have an opportunity to do just that at the MLS’ highest level.
That’s not to say they’re perfect, nor that there haven’t been bumps along the way. The owner has made mistakes, the general manager has as well, and Caleb Porter’s – Portland’s second head coach – reign has been far from seamless, yet they have been building momentum, and in the process have loosened the stranglehold the NBA Blazers have had on this town.
Is “Rip City” dead? Of course not, but as the Blazers reinvent themselves and the town looks elsewhere for a winner, the Timbers would be more than happy to take the wheel. And if the Blazers aren’t careful, they may not get the car back.
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