As a followup to my earlier post about Marco Farfan  there’s been a long tradition of soccer players coming out of Portland's eastside.   While  East Portland (folding in Gresham and Troutdale and Fairview)  has only a quarter of the city's population, homegrown players joining the Timbers' ranks have often come from this economically challenged part of our community.   
In addition to Farfan,  at least two other soccer notables have come out of Centennial High School.  The school, opened in Oregon's centennial celebration of Statehood,  has been the alma mater of notables in other competitive arenas.  U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, for example, is an Eagle. 
Going back to soccer though, Scott Benedetti is a great example. Playing at University of Portland in the 80s,  Benedetti made his mark coming out of FCPortland, an organizational attempt to build a sustainable soccer organization in our region which continues to this day. He played for the reincarnated Portland Timbers of the late 80s and closed his career with the team at the beginning of the 21st Century.    
Another soccer notable who came from the same East Portland background was Josh Cameron who graduated from Centennial High School and played for the Portland Timbers.
Other local players pulled on a Portland Timbers jersey from other parts of the metropolitan area over the years, but this cluster of Centennial High School standouts is a reminder that the oft-neglected East County has much to contribute to Portland Pride and RCTID.

A homegrown Portland Timbers defender from East County!

Marco Farfan is an extraordinary figure in Portland's soccer history.  Starting this year with the Timbers' first team at left back, a position woefully hard to fill after the departure of Jorge Villapa˜na for Liga MX,  Farfan has been a solid performer-settled, smart, and unintimidated by the exalted setting.   What is most extraordinary is that he is only 18 and is still attending Centennial High School when he's not battling opposing players in the MLS.

Farfan is not the first professional Timbers' recruit from East County.  Scott Benedetti played at Centennial HS in the 80s, graduated to University of Portland and then joined the semi-pro FC Portland team going on to play for the resurgent Timbers and the Colorado Rapids in the USL.

Farfan has the potential, in my opinion, to be one of the best left backs ever for the Timbers, but also to become a standout on the US National team.  This profile suggests what a wonderful, ordinary kid he is,  despite his extraordinary talent.

You heard it here--maybe not first but early.   He could be great.   And that's a shout out for all the people of East Portland who often feel like they are deeply undervalued.

Barcelona Comeback v PSG not quite legendary.

Barcelona comes back to beat Paris St. Germain in Champions League play. The Catalonian side had gone down an extraordinary 0-4 in the first leg of their matchup with PSG.  This week they returned to Camp Nou for the second leg and pulled out a 6-1 win to advance on aggregate.  I tuned in to the replay because I love to see Barca at their best and I had heard about the result on 'the feed'.  

I was ready for a legendary comeback game.  And who doesn't love a comeback?  Not to mention that it's unheard of to comeback from a four point away deficit and win.  Has almost....well never...happened.  When all was said and done,  I was less than happy.  I had seen some wonderful and passionate play.  But the Spanish side won on the strength of two penalty kicks.   The first, in my opinion, came off a completely dubious call.  Neymar went down because of the trajectory of the falling PSG defender who was already in mid-collapse before Neymar even got close.  The second penalty was less clear but not a hard foul.  Either way,  the resolution of this game was not legendary in my opinion.   

I wish that it had been.  And I'm happy to see Barca go forward.  There will not be many more chances for this particular crew,  who are pretty legendary,  to make their mark on soccer history.  

Underdog Lincoln City sets mark in FA Cup win.

I don't really have to write a thing.   The BBC report says it all.  Underdogs have been known to bite.  That's why we love them.   This is a happy day for all the little guys with heart out there.