The U.S. soccer scene was finally introduced, on a grand scale, to the extraordinary and vivid fandom of the Timbers Army during Thursday’s home-opening 4-2 win over the Chicago Fire. Timber Joey got some nice ink as well from Yahoo! Sports; JELD-WEN Field’s feline residents and a look at the stadium from AECOM. Also, scouting FC Dallas in preparation for Sunday’s match.
Perhaps no city in the United States is better suited to host a Major League Soccer franchise, writes Greg Jayne of The Columbian.
Andy Giegerich of the Portland Business Journal goes over the home-opening match with an eye toward the game-day operations from a business standpoint. Spoiler Alert: Along with the team’s win on the field, the stadium staff pulled off a victory too.
The folks north on I-5 also took notice of what was going Thursday night in Portland. Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune blogs about the Timbers’ claim to have the top atmosphere in MLS.
The national soccer consciousness was introduced to Timber Joey on Thursday, Brooks Peck at Yahoo! Sports soccer blog Dirty Tackle notes the Timbers mascot isn’t one to mess around.
The Offside Rules has a package with MLS interviews and highlights of Thursday’s game and writes that Portland truly deserves the spotlight because of their dedication to the team during the minor-league days.
Prior to the Chicago match, Zach Dundas at The Run of Play produced this well-crafted story of, among many points, how Timbers fandom is a sort of cultural phenomenon that marks the city as a breed apart in this country.
Monique Balas of The Oregonian has a furry feature on the field’s feral feline population.
Architecture firm AECOM takes a look at various design aspects of JELD-WEN Field in this story prior to Thursday’s opener.
Hoops Head to Portland
Each week, we’ll give you some insight behind enemy lines and show you what they’re saying about the Timbers’ opponent.
ESPN Los Angeles writer Scott French has FC Dallas slotting in sixth in his MLS Power Rankings following their 3-0 victory over Colorado in the rematch of MLS Cup 2010.
A profile of FCD midfielder Andrew Jacobson and how he might be the answer for Dallas in midfield, says Steve Hunt of Fox Sports Southwest.
