Sounders vs. Timbers - Round One 2013

View from stadium ramp pre-match

I attended the annual "derby" between the Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers FC this past weekend in Seattle. For those of you not in the know, the two teams are in the Major League Soccer league and play each other anywhere from 1-3 times a year. In 2013 it's three times - two in Seattle, one in Portland. Last year it was the reverse. This time, 40,000 people attended inside Century Link Field in downtown Seattle.

While the Sounders own an edge in wins and losses over the decades that the teams have been playing each other in different incarnations, the animosity by Portland fans towards Seattle is clearly at a higher level that that of Seattle fans towards Portland. And indeed, this was evident last weekend by the behavior of the Timbers Army, the hard core support group for the Portland team. But more on that later.

Meanwhile, the game ended as a 1-1 tie. Seattle put in a spectacular goal in the first half, and then missed on at least two point blank shots on goal in the second half...leaving at least one goal unscored that could easily have been.

Portland had opportunities early, but missed. Then...in "stopage time," they narrowly snuck one into the Seattle goal to pull even.

Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers - March 16, 2013 in Seattle

Two observations about all that:

1) Ties ain't fun, but they add up. Many people hate that matches in soccer can end in a tie. Yes, it's a bit unsatisfying for many, including me. But, the way MLS and virtually every soccer league in the world measures how teams are doing is on "points" rather than wins and losses directly. So, for example, a team gets three points in the standings for a win, one point for a tie and zero for a loss. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the division. Teams below them are placed in order based on how many points they've earned. SO...a tie is not as odious as it seems on the surface. Both teams get a point. The season is long and even those add up.

2) "Prevent" play only prevents you from winning. Often in American football (NFL, college), when a team has a lead late in a game it suddenly stops being aggressive, goes very conservative on offense and plays "prevent" defense. This is meant to try and kill clock and preserve the win. However, equally as often, the team that is behind on the scoreboard tries extra hard and...because the other team is letting them...they can manufacture opportunities to score TDs or field goals. Well, the same is true in soccer. Teams with a lead often go conservative near the end to salt away the clock and get the win. This is what the Sounders did in the last 10 minutes or so of the match last weekend. Their offense basically stopped and their defense sagged into their own end...enabling Portland to pour it on and get shots on goal. And they put one in. So, give it to Portland for scoring, but equally so...shame on the Sounders for letting it happen.

Finally, back to the fan support groups - particularly Portland's. OK, right up front I will say that the Timbers Army showed up motivated and loud. Give them credit for that. Yes Portland, you have a vocal and dedicated core fan group. We believe that you love your team. And we certainly can tell you don't like Seattle. Great. But...you also have an extremely lewd, rude and embarrassing fan supporter group. If the purpose of the Timbers Army is to showcase how moronic Portland fans are, then mission accomplished. I can only deduce that we were witnessing the drunken and juvenile spasms of a MASSIVE little brother complex felt by Portland fans about anything Seattle. Of course, it's ironic that the Timbers' sponsor is Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. That means every player and fan wearing a Timbers jersey is walking around supporting a Seattle company. Also ironic is that the beloved urban combat kilts I see many Timbers fans wearing are, you guessed it, produced by Seattle-based Utilikilts.

Anyway, exhibit A is the ongoing chant they executed quite well during the match that featured calling Seattle "shit" and baiting Seattle fans with the accusation that they, the Timbers Army, "don't hear a fucking thing." Because they were in unison and chanted this stuff over and over again many times, the stadium was treated to that quite clearly. Classy. Ladies and gentlemen...Portland.

Exhibit B is this picture. See how many Portland fans you can find giving the middle finger to the Seattle crowd. My favorite? The short guy who looks like a leprechaun giving the bird with authority.

Timbers Army in Seattle - March 16, 2013

Now, I'm not saying that a fan base has to be nice to their rivals, but come on people. Really? Chanting the F-word, flipping the bird most of the game and generally being lewd? What comes across is that you actually hate Seattle far, far more than you care one iota about your team. This does not reflect well on your group or your city. Seriously, it doesn't. You look like a-holes.

One last thing on Portland fans. As loud and obnoxious as they are when they're safe in their own supporter area, they're very tame out on the concourse when getting beers or food. And, they arrive and depart as a group directly to/from their buses. Both these behaviors are fear based. Sure, they've got the big beards, utilikilts and all the Timbers garb you'd expect from Portland fans. And sure, they're going to rant profane cheers and flip off the crowd from their seats. But, once outside of their cheering section, all of a sudden...silence and security guards. Why? Despite their pride in Portland, they know that in Seattle they're in "the big city" and they fear what they might actually run into.

So that sounds pretty harsh towards the Timbers Army, it's supposed to. I was not impressed.

As for the various Seattle supporter groups. I am 100% sure there is boorish and lewd behavior there too, and it's equally as bad. But, as a whole...Seattle fans do not openly and uniformly have a reputation as "a-hole." And, they don't hate Portland, the city. Most people I know in Seattle (including Sounders fans) really like Portland.

For example, you can read about my foray down to Portland last season to catch a Seattle v Portland match HERE. I had a great time.

There are two more games in this rivalry this season - one more in Seattle in August and the last in Portland in October. I'm going to try to make both those matches and - if so - will report what I see!

A Trip to P-Town for the Derby

Last weekend I executed a day trip by train from Seattle to Portland and back to watch the big rivalry match between Sounders FC and Portland Timbers. Rivalry games in soccer are called a derby (pronounced dar-bee).

Marquee at stadium - June 24, 2012

To do so, I would need to endure lines of early morning zombie passengers at the train station, an unending conversation by some high school guys heavily featuring the words "dude" and "like," and then of course the whole thing about being a fan from the visiting team - in enemy territory - and all that comes with that.

 Oh, and my team played poorly and lost.

 Sounds like I had a rotten time, right? Nope. Far from it. In fact, I had a great time.

 Let me explain...

This started off a bit rough. Turns out, to get to Portland from Seattle by train in order to be present and accounted for to enjoy some pre-game beer and get to the stadium by 2 p.m., you need to take the 7:30 a.m. departing train from Seattle. That's pretty early folks. And so it was that I stood in line at the station behind quite a few people who for all the world acted like they'd never taken any type of public transportation ever. Seriously. People...I know it's early, but if the check-in kiosk is open and nobody is using it, you can step right up and use it yourself. You don't have to wait for an invitation. This happened far too many times for me to walk away feeling good about how smart humans are. Interesting to observe, but kinda depressing.

OK fine. Whatever. I get on the train and into my seat and three high school guys roll in and sit in the row in front of me. Sporting Sounders jerseys, scarves and whatnot, at least they were on "the good guys" side as far as I was concerned. But, then commenced a running teenage conversation that lasted most of the train ride to Portland. Now, what was interesting (or horrifying) about these guys' conversation was not the content - mostly just high school guy stuff about sports, girls, prom, some travel stuff, the game and the like - but that virtually every fourth word was either "dude" or "like." Seriously. Almost every sentence started or ended with "dude" and contained a few "likes." Let me give you an example..

Guy #1: Dude, what do you think, like, is going to happen at the game today.

Guy #2: Dude, all I know is we're gonna win. Like, no way we can lose dude.

Guy #3; Dude, I heard like you have to tie your scarf so Portland fans won't like steal it. That's lame dude.

And so it went. As much as I was initially fascinated by this, it quickly became real tedious. Good thing I had an iPod. From there, thinks were looking up and "getting better all the time."

Arriving in Portland right on time at 11 a.m. - thanks Amtrak - I connected with my buddies and found out we were to meet at The Matador Bar in downtown Portland and right across the street from the stadium. I've never been to the Matador before, but that is one excellent bar. Between the cool bartender, loads of TVs with sports on, a great selection of beer and a studious jukebox, this was the place to be.

As I waited for my friends to show, quite a few Sounders fans started rolling in. This was a bit surprising. I did not notice any animosity between fans of the two sides, so all was good. One Sounders fan did tell me that the reason he came into the Matador was that up the block at another bar, some Portland fans told him to "Get the F*%#K out of our bar."

Our view from behind the giant banner (click link right for video)

And then my friends arrived. Good times catching up, predicting the game and generally enjoying the day. For the record, we all thought the Sounders would probably win...perhaps tie. Too much talent on that squad to lose to a Timbers team not having a good season.

With the sun shining, we made our way into the stadium and to our seats. The place was rocking, packed and ready to roll. Just before kickoff, fans in our section raised a HUGE banner commemorating their Timbers past and present. Impressive.


And then the game started. My review of this match goes like this:

• Back and forth run of play slightly favoring Portland to start.
• Clearly an uninterested Sounders squad transitioning to mostly defense.
• Two really great crosses by Portland combined with horrendous defensive breakdowns by Seattle leading to two very nice goals for Portland in the first half. Queue screaming Portland fans in wild celebration.
• Some resurgence by the Sounders in the second half and a decent goal scored to make it 2-1, but even then I knew...I just knew that it was too little too late.
• And it was. Throw in a last minute red card to one of the Sounders players and, well, that pretty much was the capper.
• Portland rode out the win and deservedly their fans went bonkers.

Game action - Sounders v Timbers

Off to the bar across the street for some post-game libations before I had to get back on the train to head home. Now, I must report that at no time was I harassed by Portland fans for wearing my Sounders scarf - not before, during or after the match. Sure, a little good natured ribbing here and there, but very mild stuff. I was impressed - particularly considering the amounts of alcohol I saw being consumed.

At last it came time for me to say my goodbyes and walk back to the train station for my ride home. Trudging under a disappointed hear but sunny Portland skies, I made it to the train no problem and enjoyed a quiet ride home.

It was a long ride considering it was a Sunday, but I arrived back to the Seattle station on time again at 9:45 p.m. All good and home after that.

So, what did I learn in my Sunday soccer sojourn?

• I have some really nice friends - old and new - in Portland.
• Portland is a great soccer town, and while they hate them some Seattle Sounders, they actually treat visiting fans just fine...at least from everything I observed.
• Amtrak can actually run on time.
• The Sounders are not as good as their early season success indicated...and it's mostly a mental thing in my opinion. Could be a long second half of the season.
• Confirmation of my theory on sports...if you play horrible, you lose. Simple as that. Thanks Sounders for making that all to painfully obvious.
• The vocabulary of high school boys has devolved into a few words spoken between "dude" and "like."

Timbers fans going bonkers

The Sounders and Timbers square off twice more this season, once more in Portland and one time in Seattle. So, while not encouraged by what I saw Sunday from my side, taking 2 of 3 from Portland this season is still possible. Here's hoping.













 NOTE: All pictures in this post taken by Marc Osborn and are not for any use without prior written permission from Marc Osborn.

Sounders Game This Weekend

I went to the Seattle Sounders FC game on Saturday and had a great time - especially since they won.

Thanks to my friend Sean and his friends at Group Health, we were able to watch the game in luxury (and out of the rain) from the Cooperative's suite at the stadium.

Healthcare is a cut throat business, and even non-for-profit organizations like Group Health have to be "in the game" against large for-profit competitors and need to be able to woo potential corporate customers...hence the suite.

While I am not a broker/client for Group Health, I did enjoy the hospitality that Jim and Kim from Group Health showed by inviting us in to enjoy the game.

Anyway, below are a couple pictures I took at the game with my little Nikon Coolpix camera. You can see a few more by clicking HERE.

What I'm Thankful For - 2009

Well, Thanksgiving is nearly upon us once again. Can you believe it?

In a moment of reflection, I wanted to share the things I'm most thankful for this year. Below is my list. Some of these items may ring a little familiar and certainly my "Top 5" are the viturally the same as last year - click here to see my list from 2008 - but I'm sticking to them.

So, with no further adeu, here are the things I am most thankful for in this, the 2009 Thanksgiving season...

My Wife - simply put, my everything. I always joke that I don't push my luck on everyday matters because I spent all my luck in meeting and marrying Diane. I love you Diane.

Our Health - we both made it through the year healthy and in good shape. The cliche is, "without your health you have nothing." Well, mabye not nothing, but for sure we're both thankful to have our health. Here's to another year of that!

Our Families - on both sides. Our familieis are wonderful and we share good times with them. Mothers, fathers, siblings, nieces, nefews, cousins and in-laws...we love 'em all and are thankful they are in our lives.

Having a Job - all jobs have their stresses and 2009 certainly was a challenging year in many ways at work. But, in this economy I am thankful for the job and pleased to work with good people. Going on 3.5 years now at my current gig.

Our Friends - Diane and I have a great group of friends that we've met in so many different ways - from childhood, from school, from work, from travel, from mutual interests and from other places. In their great diversity, this group of friends adds so much to our lives and our perspective on the world. Thanks everybody!

Our Cat Josie - even cat lovers will admit that cats can be impersonal at times and some even avoid people or are perpetually "scaredy cats." Well, not our cat. Nope, Josie is a sweet natured and great "friend" for Diane and me. Mark me down as thankful.

Where We Live - I've said it before and I'll say it again...I don't think you can beat Seattle as a place to live. Sure, Portland and maybe even San Francisco would be right up their, but for the combination of mountains, sea, lakes, desert, mild weather (compared to most places in the U.S.), skiing, biking, hiking, proximity to Canada, a great wine region, sports teams (admittedly most not doing too good right now) and much more...you can't really beat Seattle in my book. And then, I am thankful for living in the Ballard neighborhood. We're close to all the good stuff Ballard has, and just a few minutes to downtown Seattle.

Live Music - there's nothing like seeing a band live. If it can be done in a small club right up close, that's even better. The vibe, energy and thrill of rock and roll delivers every time. Here in Seattle we're blessed with a number of great clubs that attract top notch rock bands. In 2009 I was able to catch a number of shows in places like this. Bands seen include Glasvegas, Manic Street Preachers and The English Beat. Of course, the big spectacle type of shows are fun too for different reasons. In this vein, Diane and I saw U2 and Pet Shop Boys in 2009.

Completing the Seattle Rock n' Roll Half Marathon - we did it! 13.1 miles is a long way to run and I'm pround of both Diane and myself for getting it done. I did it in my personal best time of 1 hr. 43 min.

New Restaurant Discoveries - every year we find new places that we like to eat. Sometimes they're only new to us. Here are some highlights of places we at for the first time and will go back to: Chez Shea, Medina Cafe (Vancouver, BC), Moshi Moshi Sushi, Delancey's Pizza, a whole host of restaurants in Charleston, SC (click here), John's Pizza of Bleeker Street (NYC), Plaka and Frank's Oyster House.

The Hot Summer We Had This Year - yep, I liked it...a lot. Sure, there were a couple 100+ days that were not great, but overall I LOVED how warm our summer was. Growing up around here, we would normally have temps in the 70s, 80s, and 90s in the summer. Over the past 5-10 years, however, it seems like our summers have become cooler with fewer days in that temperature range with more rain. Last year, for example, I declared the summer a "bust" the second week of July. Not this year though! It was hot and I loved it.

Our Trip to the South - instead of going overseas this year, we visited a few places on southeast coast of the United States. We had a real good time seeing a part of our country we've never been to before. Click here for a review of our vacation.

Sounders FC - I'm really pleased that Seattle has an entertaining MLS soccer team to root for. The Sounders are also the only major Seattle-based pro team that's performing well - they made the playoffs! Ms and Seahawks can't say that. I've gotten into "footie" more than ever by following them this season.

I made 40 - yes, this year (on Thanksgiving Day no less) I turn 40 years old. It's been a good run so far, and in those four decades I've been able to do so many wonderful things...things that I've always wanted to do. Here's to more fun ahead!

Sounders Game

Today Diane and I went to our first Seattle Sounders FC soccer match to get an up-close view of the newest sports sensation in the Emerald City. Sitting in some choice seats thanks to our friends Rosa and Drew, we enjoyed the entire afternoon. Under sunny skies and hot weather we soaked up plenty vitamin D, and with ample supply of brew nearby we also soaked up some "vitamin beer" too.

We were impressed. It's an all-action sport and a sold out stadium full of a fun crowd - very passionate and into it. While cheering the home team was the main activity, there proved no shortage of venom for the opposing squad. For example, every time the Chicago goalie would touch or kick the ball, the crowd around us would yell "you suck, Bush" (Bush as the goalies last name). The masses also booed one of the Chicago players who repeatedly flopped to the ground faking injury hoping to draw a foul.

Anyway, with about seven shots directly on goal, the Sounders played better than the visiting team from Chicago. All the Sounders stars had their moments whether it was defending, passing, shooting or saving. Anyone who says soccer isn't on par with other American sports in terms of athletics is crazy.

In thinking about it, I believe we experienced the very best of soccer. I'm sold and will follow the Sounders as they make push for the playoffs. But, we also experienced one of the things that will probably inhibit soccer from ever becoming as big time here as basketball or other mainstream sports. Namely, neither team scored and the match ended a 0-0 tie.

Sure, both teams get a point in the standings for that, but at 0-0 tie does leave you exiting the stadium feeling a bit disappointed. Even a 1-1 tie would be better as at least you would have seen some scoring and, presumably, had a chance to win. Ending games in a tie is just so unsatisfying and, well, unappealing to most American sports fans. What's the old saying? A tie game is like kissing your sister. Something like that. Why not go short overtime period? Why not settle it with goal kicks?

When it was all said and done, we had a wonderful time and would recommend anyone go to a game if you get a chance. The Sounders are for real, they are entertaining, they are successful and they are at the top of their league. What more could you ask for Seattle sports? Other than maybe no ties?