Five years ago Adriane and I were still pretty new to town. I had started working at Mercy Corps the previous September and we were still getting to know our new city. Living a couple of miles from work, I had taken to walking home. At some point in December I noticed that a billboard had gone up with an attractive woman dressed in a tank top with a two-man saw slung over her shoulder. It had a logo on it the words Spring 2011, and that was it. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that it was for the Portland Timbers Football (soccer) Club which was moving up from the USL to the MLS. Well, being a lifelong soccer player and fan, I decided to get season tickets. After getting on the Timbers website and eventually calling the front office, I found out that all of the season tickets were sold out, but that I could get on the waiting list. There was also another "but" in that statement. The waiting list was several thousand people deep and the season hadn't even begun. So, season tickets were out. There weren't tickets available for the season opener either, but a coworker turned me on to an opportunity to get tickets through his son's youth team. I jumped at the opportunity and was only a little disappointed that the tickets were way over in Section 221, right near the visiting team's fans, what few there were.
Well, April in Portland is deep into the rainy months and the weather for the opener didn't disappoint. Rain feel, but that didn't dampen anyone's spirits. If anything, the people were even more elated. The night began with Timbers Army singing the National Anthem.
Well, suffice it to say, we knew exactly where we wanted to be sitting for the next game! We were hooked! And while we are still on the waiting list for season tickets, we are able to get to a few games a year and haven't missed a season opener yet. So, again this year we found ourselves sitting in the North End watching the King of Clubs take the field to play our nemesis Nick Rimando. I would say our nemesis Real Salt Lake, but if it wasn't for Rimando, we would own Salt Lake. The atmosphere, like every Timbers game, was electric with the Timbers Army in full voice, every fan in the stadium on their feet the entire game. And once again, Nick Rimando, killed us! The game was a nil nil draw, but the Timbers dominated. Unfortunately, Rimando was on fire, with a dozen or so saves. However, it doesn't matter. Win, lose or draw, the Timbers games are great fun and worth every penny on StubHub. Rose City Till I Die!
