Timbers vs Sounders TIFO

The supporters tifo is a great part of attending any soccer match. Seeing what the rival groups do is always a lot of fun.

And no group does it better than the Timbers Army of the Portland Timbers and the Emerald City Supporters of the Seattle Sounders FC.

This Saturday's Cascadia Cup rivalry match between Portland and Seattle should bring some great tifo. MLSsoccer.com takes a look at some of the past iterations of Portland and Seattle supporter-created tifo.

(Buy your Portland Timbers gear here to support the Rose City. RCTID!)


(Buy your Seattle Sounders FC gear here to support the Emerald City. Scarves up!)





Portland Timbers
or
Seattle Sounders FC?

Portland Timbers new jerseys 2013

The official Portland Timbers site has posted a sneak peek of the new 2013 Portland Timbers jerseys. I'm excited to see actual pictures. But the preview appears to be very close to the leaks we posted earlier.

(Buy your Portland Timbers gear here)

Check out the preview:



Thoughts on the new jerseys?

Portland Timbers 2013 jerseys

The MLS season is quickly approaching and the league has announced a week-long "Jersey Week". During this week different MLS teams will showcase their new uniforms for the 2013 season. The Portland Timbers will be unveiling theirs on February 28.

(Buy your Portland Timbers gear here)

However, since this is the internet and everyone loves leaked uniforms I've found the Timbers new jerseys.

Now there were leaks out there before but those appear to not have been the final design.

And now, here is what is believed to be the FINAL design for the 2013 Portland Timbers jersey:



And all I can say is "SERIOUSLY?!?!"

I'll hold my final judgement until I see these in action, but for now they look bad. Especially after all the thought that went into the teams first jersey. The best part of this jersey is the Oregon logo in the corner that is colored like the city of Portland's flag.  

Portlandia Season 3

While Seattle might have Grey's Anatomy, Portland has Portlandia. And it's one of the funniest shows on TV!

Having been to Portland many times myself, the show pretty much perfectly describes the Rose City. And how awesome it is.

When I first heard about this show a few years ago I knew it was something I had to check out. And then their "Dream of the 90s is Alive in Portland" video came out and I knew it was going to be awesome. Well after two seasons the laughs keep coming and with season three on the way I can't wait.

Here's one of my favorite Portlandia skits featuring the Portland Timbers and perhaps the greatest soccer cheer of all time. Check it out:




Tune in to "Winter in Portlandia" on Friday, Dec. 14. The new season starts Friday, Jan. 4 on IFC.

While you wait for Portlandia season three be sure to check out Portlandia: Season 1 and Portlandia: Season 2 on DVD and don't forget about Portlandia: A Guide for Visitors. 

Portland Timbers 2013 Season Tickets

In case you didn't know it the Pacific Northwest, or the region called Cascadia, is pretty passionate about soccer.

The three teams in the area, Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers each have die-hard fanbases. So much so that the Portland Timbers recently announced that their 2013 season tickets have already sold out. Mainly due to a 96% renewal rate even with uping the season ticket numbers to 15,250 seats.

Having surpassed a 96 percent renewal rate this year, the Timbers raised the number of season tickets available by 500 seats to help meet increased demand going into their third MLS season. In 2012, the number of season tickets available at JELD-WEN Field was capped at 14,750.

In two seasons, the Timbers have sold out each of their 34 league games and currently have a Season Ticket Waiting List that numbers over 6,500 fans.

Now unfortunately for the Timbers fans that aren't season ticket holders, JELD-WEN Field only seats 18,627 fans per game. That means only 3,377 seats remain for games. At least this shows that despite having a bummer 2012 season, the fan support in the city hasn't dropped. No wonder Portland is called Soccer City USA.

And with winter being here, bundle up in this Portland Timbers Authentic Scarf or, better yet, since this is winter in the Northwest you probably need a Portland Timbers Rain Jacket!  

Portland Timbers tattoo contest

Brandon and I are Seattle Sounders fans. I've gone to at least a few matches every season since the team joined the MLS. (Brandon went to two their first season then moved to Montana)

Well the awesome new marketing campaign by the Portland Timbers makes me think that it's time for Brandon to get a Timbers tattoo.

Do you have a tattoo idea? We’d love to see it. In celebration of the Timbers tattoo-inspired billboard currently displayed near the Morrison St. bridge, we’re asking all our fans to submit their own Timbers inspired tattoo design. Defender Eric Brunner and goalkeeper Jake Gleeson--two Timbers players who are tattoo aficionados--will be the judges for all eligible entries received. Eligible entries will be judged on the following basis: use of Portland Timbers branding (25%) originality (25%) and creativity (50%).

Oh, and the winner gets their tattoo paid for.

I'm thinking Brandon with a green lumberjack on his entire back.

Emerald City Supporters display before the Sounders vs Timbers match

Before the Seattle Sounders FC MLS match against the Portland Timbers last night, the Emerald City Supporters group had an amazing display.

This display is called a "tifo."

Tifo was originally the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team, is mostly used as a name for any spectacular choreography displayed by supporters on the terraces of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly an association soccer match.

Tifos are most commonly seen in important matches, local derbies and rivalries

Check out the ECS tifo display:



And this is WAAAAAY better than what the ECS used to be like.

I won't be flying on this plane

Lame Lame Lame.

The Portland Timbers now have their own plane thanks for the support by Alaska Airlines of the Seattle Sounders FC bitter rival. Blech. That plane looks terrible. Check this mess out. (BTW they only get a 737... not good enough for a 747).

PORTLAND, Ore. — Alaska Airlines introduced its Major League Soccer Portland “Timbers Jet” this morning to a crowd of fans in “Soccer City, USA.” The Boeing 737-700 paint theme is a combination of two designs created by Paul Wright of Portland, Ore., and John Bode of San Mateo, Calif. The aircraft features the Portland Timbers’ name and logo in the team’s trademark colors with a rising sun across the forward part of the fuselage.

“The ‘Timbers Jet’ is a great example of why Alaska Airlines is a fabulous partner for our organization,” Portland Timbers President Merritt Paulson said. “This is easily the best-looking plane you will find anywhere.”

The two first-place designs were chosen from among 500 entries in a “Paint-the-Plane” contest. The “Timbers Jet” celebrates Alaska Airlines’ pride in being the official airline and jersey sponsor of the Portland Timbers.

“Paul and John’s winning designs came together seamlessly to create one of the most unique paint themes in our fleet,” said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing. “The plane’s iconic green and yellow colors will be hard to miss from the ground or in the air.”

To celebrate the introduction of the “Timbers Jet,” Alaska Airlines will extend early boarding privileges to Portland International Airport passengers wearing an official Timbers jersey throughout the 2011 MLS season.

I dont know why you would want to do this but you can see the official story here.

Jeld-Wen Field is home to the Portland Timbers and cats

Tomorrow, April 14, is the first MLS game in Portland, Oregon as the Timbers host Chicago on ESPN2 at 8 pm.

But Jeld-Wen Field, formerly PGE Park, isn't home to just the Timbers. It's also home to a cat colony.

As workers installed a new Jeld-Wen Field sign, finished painting and laid the last of the turf in preparation for the Portland Timbers' home-opener, things have remained business as usual for some of the park's "staff."

Well, more or less. Somewhere between 12 and 19 furtive felines comprising the field's feral cat colony have had to adjust to a new location for their feeding station when the park was converted into a soccer stadium.

You can check out the rest of article over at The Oregonian.

MLS new conferences

With the MLS season starting on March 15, with Seattle Sounders FC hosting the L.A. Galaxy, many are wondering about the conferences now that Portland and Vancouver have joined the league.

The addition of Portland and Vancouver brings the league to 18 teams. The MLS wanted to have two conferences of nine teams.

Since the league currently had two conferences of eight teams someone would have to move to the East. Unless the league did something dumb like make Portland go to the East.

But thankfully the MLS decided to continue with the geography and send the furthest East team of the Western Conference to the East. That would be the Houston Dynamo.

Along with the new Conferences also comes a new play-off qualifying system for the league.

With 18 teams playing a balanced schedule, we will see the top three teams from each conference automatically qualify, followed by four wild-card teams regardless of conference.

However, the wild-card teams square off with a play-in game to reach the main field, where the survivor with the lowest seed will face the conference winner with the most regular-season points, and the higher-seeded wild-card team will play the opposite conference winner.

Now I'm not sure what will happen next season once Montreal joins the league. But we'll worry about that next year. For now, let's just hope the season get's started the right way in two weeks. With a Sounders FC victory!

Portland Timbers new alternate jersey

In addition to the new green regular jersey of the Portland Timbers, they will also feature a red alternate one.

I actually really like the red jersey. It's very sharp with the white sleeves. Nice job Portland. Nice job.

Portland Timbers new jersey

Today was the unveiling of the Portland Timbers jersey.

I watched it online. It was a pretty neat little ceremony. Since Alaska Airlines is the sponsor, the event was held in the Alaska Airlines hanger.

The unveiling started by opening the hanger to showcase the new "Portland Timbers" painted jet for Alaska Airlines. The jet was then rolled in and the participants came off it.

Most of the gear is pretty standard. But the big item was to see what the jersey would look like.

Here it is:

The kit was completed by pairing with white shorts that had green stripes. It really is a nice color combination.

Not bad looking at all. And sadly, much better looking than the new "X-Men" Seattle Sounders FC jerseys.

Portland Timbers 2011 jersey

Earlier this week I showed you a preview of the 2011 Seattle Sounders FC jersey.

Well tomorrow, December 9, the Sounders biggest rival, the Portland Timbers, will unveil their 2011 jerseys.

Seattle's other rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps, showed off their new logo and jerseys earlier this fall. And I must say that I really like their logo. It's very sharp.

The jerseys on the other hand, are pretty plain and simple. But at least they don't have the dumb "X" pattern that the Sounders do now.

The Timbers jersey sponsor will be Alaska Airlines. While the Whitecaps jersey sponsor is Bell Communications.

Here's a look at the logo and jerseys for the Whitecaps:

Portland Timbers sign first players

The Portland Timbers will join the Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS next year in what is a historic rivalry.

And today the Timbers moved one step closer to taking the field in 2011 as a MLS franchise when they announced the signing of their first players to the teams roster.

The Portland Timbers announced today that Bright Dike, Steve Cronin, Ryan Pore and Eddie Johnson as the first four players who have signed with the team for the 2011 season

And while this MLS season is still going on, many in Seattle and Portland can't wait for next year when the two teams will have their rivalry really heat up on the the nation's largest stage for soccer.

On a side note, the Timbers also have a new logo heading into next season. (See above)

Down to Portland

This weekend I'm heading back down to the Rose City. Last year at this time when I went down there Portland got an MLS team.

I wonder what will happen this year?

Here are a few things I hope to see in that great city of Portland:

• Someone giving out "free hugs"


• A giant rubber duck


• A hippie bathing in a fountain


• Oregon Duck fans making fun of Oregon State Beaver fans


• A bum sleeping on the MAX


• The Saturday Market


• A submarine


• Penguins


• Elvis


• A bicyclist wearing a poncho


• The guy who pretends to be a statue

Should be a great trip. I'll report in when I make it back.

MLS in question in Portland

In March Portland was told that the Timbers could join the MLS. This would renew the extreme rivalry between the Sounders and the Timbers.

Well, when Portland was given the team, the MLS said that they needed to get some things in order before October 1.

October 1 is approaching and the deals haven't been met.

Here's an SI article about what is happening south on I-5 and what yet needs to happen for the Sounders and Timbers to renew their rivalry in 2011.

VIEW IT HERE.

The truth behind Brandon in Portland

Brandon is currently in Portland, Oregon.

So, I will use this time to explain to you the real reasons why he is there. He claims it's for a wedding, but we know the truth. Don't we?

1. Roses?!?! Brandon loves any city named after that flower.

2. He's a sucker for emo chicks. He finds them scary, yet intriguing.

3. Cheap beer is his friend. Nowhere is cheaper than the Shanghai bar with $1 Rainiers.

4. He wanted to get in a fight with a Timbers fan. "Sounders till I die!" he'll be chanting.

5. He enjoys chatting with hippies. Portland is full of them and their Subarus.

6. Pie.

7. He also enjoys hanging out with vagabonds. Portland is also full of those.

8. Outside of Seattle, there are more coffee shops per area than people. Brandon loves his caffeine.

9. Even though he doesn't know how to read, he wanted to check out Powell's. World renown for its books.

10. He wanted to swim in the Willamette River because he heard it was even dirtier than the Spokane River.

U.S. Open Cup tonight in Portland

I am currently on my way down to Portland, Oregon for the U.S. Open Cup third round game between the Seattle Sounders F.C. and the Portland Timbers. The winner will advance to meet the winner of the MLS Kansas City Wizards and the USL-1 Minnesota Thunder. View the full bracket here. But first, what is the U.S. Open Cup?

In a nutshell, the U.S. Open Cup is very similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with a country's league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateru teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer.

View more about the cup history here.

And thanks to USOpenCup.com, here is a preview of tonights match-up. SCARVES UP!!!

Seattle Sounders F.C. (MLS) at Portland Timbers (USL-1)
PGE Park - Portland, OR | 7 p.m. PST

DID YOU KNOW

In 1987, Seattle’s Mitre Eagles were involved in one of the three U.S. Open Cup Finals to end in a scoreless draw, a game they lost on penalty kicks to Club Espana of Washington D.C.. Baltimore S.C. and Chicago’s Sparta played to a scoreless draw in the first leg of the 1940 Final, and eventually shared the title after a 2-2 draw in the second leg (no PK tiebreakers back then). The other was in 1997 when the Dallas Burn used PKs to topple D.C. United for their only Open Cup title.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

While the MLS Sounders are a different animal than the team that was featured as the Timbers main rival in the USL First Division, this quite possibly is the most anticipated meeting between the two cities on the soccer pitch. Portland has faced the USL-1 Sounders twice in Open Cup play. In 2005, Portland came out on top 2-0, and Seattle returned the favor in 2007 with a 2-1 win.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle

Sebastien Le Toux (M) – Le Toux is the link to the Open Cup success enjoyed by the USL-1 version of the Sounders. The French native played for two seasons with the USL-1 Sounders, and was the first player signed by the MLS Sounders. He ranks third in the Professional Era (1995-2009) in Open Cup goals scored with 10, and was involved in all four of the Sounders goals (2 goals, 2 assists) in their 4-1 MLS play-in win over Real Salt Lake on April 28

Fredy Montero (F) – On loan from Colombian club Depotivo Cali, Montero has become the center of the Sounders attack, scoring eight goals and assisting on six others after only 14 games.

Steve Zakuani (M) – The rookie has made an immediate impact for the Sounders, recording two goals and three assists so far. Was a runner-up for the Hermann Trophy in his sophomore year at the University of Akron.

Portland

Brian Farber (M) – After spending time with in the MLS reserve league with Houston and San Jose, Farber played with the Minnesota Thunder in 2007, appearing in all 28 games with 7 goals and 3 assists. He spent 2008 with the Stockton Cougars of the Professional Arena Soccer League.

Cameron Knowles (D) – Knowles has spent the last three seasons with Portland, after spending 2005 & 2006 with Real Salt Lake. In his debut season with Portland, he was named one of the three finalists for the USL-1 Defender of the Year award (won by David Hayes of Atlanta)

Keita Mandjou (F) – The native of Guinea began his career in 2004 with Perak FA of the Malaysian league, and won the league scoring title in 2006. In 2008 he moved to Brunei DPMM F.C. of Singapore’s S-League, and was also the captain of the Guinea Under-23 squad.

OPEN CUP HISTORY

Portland

Overall: 5-5-0, 16 GF 14 GA

vs. MLS: 0-2-0 0 GF 5 GA

Portland has struggled in Open Cup play, winning only three times in eight Open Cup matches prior to 2009, as well as becoming the second USL-1 side to lose to a USASA club (Hollywood United in 2008)

Seattle

Overall: 0-0-0 0 GF 0 GA

vs. USL-1: 0-0-0 0 GF 0 GA

The USL-1 version of the Sounders made a name for themselves by knocking off MLS clubs in recent Open Cup tournaments. In 2006 & 2007, the Sounders were 4-1 against MLS teams. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, the MLS Sounders will try to avoid a repeat of 1995, 1997 and 2006, the only years the USL-1 Sounders fell to lower division opponents in cup play.

This is how the MLS should look by 2011

There currently 15 teams in Major League Soccer. The teams are divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

These conferences, in case you couldn't tell, are divided up based on the location of the club. Seven in the East and eight in the West.

This got me thinking that how will the conferences be divided up over the next few years as the league expands by three teams, Philadelphia in 2010, and Portland and Vancouver in 2011.

Philadelphia joining will obviously head into the East, making two conferences of eight teams. But what about when 2011 rolls around?

Well, obviously Portland and Vancouver are both located on the West coast, so they couldn't just split the two teams among the conferences. Instead, realignment will be needed.

And I have come up with the solution.

The Eastern teams are currently:

• D.C.
• New England
• Chicago
• Kansas City
• Columbus
• Toronto
• New York

The Western teams are currently:

• Los Angeles
• Seattle
• Salt Lake
• Houston
• Chivas (LA)
• Colorado
• Dallas
• San Jose

Now, add Philadelphia to the East, (cause that is obvious) and in 2011, add Portland and Vancouver to the West.

To make up for the Wests new teams, looking at geographical locations, it only makes sense to move Houston and Dallas into the East.

This will create two equal conferences of nine teams each.

And 2011 will be great for the MLS. I can't wait to see three teams in the Pacific Northwest competing in professional sports. Go Northwest! And the best part is, the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps will create instant geographical rivals.

World game comes to Portland

Apparently where ever Casey goes, the MLS follows. Today with this blog's better half in the rose city - the MLS announced that they would be awarding a franchise there. Say hello to the Portland Timbers.

This comes just a day after a sold-out Qwest field watched the first game in Sounders FC history. Apparently now the Northwest is becoming the soccer hotbed of the United States.

One question to ponder though is what this does to the market in Seattle and Portland. Will this dilute the fan base for both teams since their so close to one another? And go figure that the MLS is expanding during a recession, while all the other major sports are battering down the hatches.

Well this gives the Sounders a natural rival, so let me be the first to say that the Timbers suck!