Can it really be? Portland Timbers hunker down and grab a road win!

I tuned in late tonight to the Timbers' away match against Sporting KC.  By the time I had found the channel,  the team was already in a 0-1 hole.   And the oppressive, dark feeling of being down in a well with the water rising  surfaced back in the corner of my mind.   But I truly want the good to prevail,  and so I found myself jumping up and down on the couch,  heart pounding,  and trying to respond to my relatives who share the game around the state via text message.  Yes!! It was mostly all Yes!!

I am wary of defining 'turning corners'  until years after the event.  I am wary of wanting to have a scary great team creating legends until the legends are already carved in stone.  I am wary of hoping too much from a simple football match.  All that being said,  I was enchanted by this game.   The players showed courage,  energy, poise.   They were hungry.  They were creative.   They were fierce.   And nothing seemed likely to stop them.   

When Futty went down---I exhaled a string of expletives.  How many times has that happened?  Just when we hit our stride we're hamstrung by the hobbling of a key player.  And Futty's injury was not a small loss in a team that looked much as a winning team should look.  

Despite that,  we took home a win.   We saw what was possible.  We sent a tremor,  I hope, through the ranks of the storied teams of MLS.   PTFC.   It's gonna be the brand you see streaming by you.

I can't wait for the next match.

Portland Timbers claw out a victory in KC

Timbers fan assaulted before San Jose match

San Jose Hooligans?   The match against the Quakes on Sunday night was a rough one to no one's surprise.  I was a little taken aback that it was Alan Gordon, the former Timber, who ended up being the goat in the game,  but his elbow into Silvestre's face was just as clear as the one a week earlier which took out Valeri.  But then San Jose has always played a physical style in recent years.  What did catch me by surprise was the story of an attack on a Timbers' fan in his car driving to the match.   I've generally been impressed with the ability of the competing fan groups to be vocal rivals without devolving into more physical and thuggish competition,  particularly when there's so much beer involved.   This is the first time in recent years I recall hearing of a scuffle like this in PDX.  It certainly isn't a good sign for Timbers' Army members going south for the return leg next week.   And it seems strange to me in other ways.  The culture and demographics that have been connected to hooliganism since ancient Rome could certainly be found in modern American cities as well.  But are the young counter cultural and hipster fans who make up a chunk of the faces at Jeld-Wen cut from that cloth?   Alienated and angry?  There must be a few in any large group,  but I'm surprised that there might be enough to travel to a distant city and assault a local fan on a public street.  Or perhaps the rise of football here in the states, with its mythology of fan violence, is an attractor to people who would have been American sport fans torching cars in their city after winning a championship in something.   Another phenomenon I don't quite get. 

We'll see.  In the meantime, I'd really like to see the kabosh put on violence where it can be identified and stopped: on the pitch. 

Potpuorri de Futbol! While waiting for our boys' next match.

I've been a little frustrated because of constraints on my personal time on the field the last several weeks. I'm sure that will all change now that the O50's Spring Season has started.

We're off this weekend because so many of the guys--on all our league teams--are up in Victoria at the Bill Drew Memorial Tournament  playing under the Mojos' banner.  I'm jealous 'cause we're not there,  but I'm also hopeful that those who went have a great run on the field and come back with no injuries.  Mar and I enjoyed being there but it wasn't possible this year.   

So I'm satisfying myself with streaming football off the web.   And isn't it great to live in a time when you can do that?   Holy cow!   

What did I 'dip into' and sample this past few days?    Well perhaps the most satisfying bit was the derby between City and United which City won.  Again.  I enjoyed seeing it. 
I happened to tune into the Mexican League match between Cruz Azul and Tijuana which the Blues won crushingly with four unanswered goals.  I haven't looked at the table for the league but I enjoyed seeing such fine goals.  The fourth goal was a gem---excellent communication from the top of the box to Xavier Orozco and a crisp shot from a difficult angle.   Made me wonder whether Orozco's available for a loan.
Last off,  I saw that the Thorns, RCTIFD's new women's side tied 1-1 in the first ever match in that league with Christine Sinclair being forced to finish a pk to make the table.   I hope that their 'come from behind beginning' doesn't mean too much....you know we're gettin' this vibe in PDX.   

That's it.  See you in the stands!

Portland Timbers- Justice Juice and Jolts

No call foul in the box at 3:56 seconds into this highlight reel of the Timbers v Montreal, a one goal game at the end.   It's hard to argue against the view that the defender #11pushed Ryan Miller in the back of the head taking him down as he streaked toward goal on a beautiful feed from Valeri.  This isn't the first nor the last time in the Timbers' MLS history that what seem clear fouls in the box get a pass from the official.  This one was particularly painful though.

A week later in Seattle,  the Timbers gave up an unfortunate goal early and couldn't pull it back until the 90th minute when Rodney Wallace headed the tying goal home.   I'm not a big fan of Rodney Wallace as a defender but he showed a moment of real class with his header home here.  It reminded me of his goal against the US in an international friendly some years back,  winning the game for his native Costa Rica.   I think the strike in Seattle this past week was at least as memorable for his career stats.   Bringing home a point from the match in the Emerald City was an achievement equal to stealing the Ring from Gollum.

So what am I thinking about this new Timbers' dynasty three games into the season.  I like the confident,  crisp passing and possession style.  It's pretty to watch and it makes sense.  The weakness is that it doesn't pay when the team's down two goals and sands are running down the hourglass.   I like the personnel and have the sense that the potential for the team is greater looking forward.   That's a good place to be at the start of the season.

Fingers crossed and no major injuries.  You'll find me riveted to my seat in Section 209 for the forseeable future.