The Seattle vs. Portland soccer rivalry that goes back to the NASL days has a new chapter after the Timbers unveiled a billboard Thursday proclaiming the Rose City as "Soccer City, USA" mere blocks from the home of the Sounders, Qwest Field.
The photo above was taken from the Timbers' Facebook page. It has spawned another war of words between supporters of the two clubs, one side that has set the standard for fan support (if only in sheer numbers) in Major League Soccer, and the other which has yet to complete its USSF-Division II season, its last before going to MLS next season.
That's pretty funny since Seattle fans think they're god's gift to MLS (which they kinda are at the moment), so it's good to see them get punked. That's being said, this is good for the rivalry, so Seattle benefits too.
Glad you enjoyed it, even though as a Timbers fan, it was a tough draw. But their is no way my Timber bias can deny how fun that game was to watch. I watched it with a Sounders fan that is still kind of new to the league so that was cool, too. MLS has gotten better every year since I started following it in 1998. Verrrrry entertaining now compared to back then.
I remember when they had to buy tv time and sell ads to get their money back. I wasn't watching a soccer match, I was watching a live, unrehearsed info-mercial. The quality on the field was pretty poor but it didn't matter to MLS because, their first five seasons, they were marketing to the soccer moms and local soccer leagues.
Now the league is strong and those kids of the soccer moms are grown up with a good knowledge of European soccer. They want to see quality if they are going to pay attention and MLS has been forced to deliver or go away. Almost every team has their own stadium and are fun to watch and most teams will have a player or several at the World Cup this Summer. <--- Right there is an example of the quality of this league . . . Portland doesn't have anybody on their roster going to Brazil this summer and they are almost always exciting to watch.
I've started a couple of threads over the years but I've been a bit too busy lately with a full-time job and two possible self employment/hobbies popping up at the same time to pay attention to MLS very much. I have so little time to watch the league like I used to but if you have any questions, ask away. Only the real hardcore fans know more about the league than I do.
