Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Timbers Live to Fight Another Day

Following a blistering season-opener, the Portland Timbers traveled north and choked on the Seattle Sounders fishy brand of...ah, screw it. I was going to try to make some kind of terrible joke or pun there and realized I'd only succeed in embarrassing myself.

So, we lost on Saturday, 1-0. Painful, but hey, because I am infected with that particular brand of insane optimism that grips any football fan as a shiny new season opens, I still firmly believe we're gonna win the league. But the Timbers need you! Preferably somewhere in the North End, standing and singing. You can come and support them on Friday night at 8 pm when we wreak our revenge on Seattle, and Sunday evening at 6 pm when Rochester won't know what hit them. Those are different times from the standard 7 pm start, so don't show up too late or too early.

But wait! Before the weekend rolls around, you have the chance to see them play Mexican club Necaxa tomorrow night--that's Wednesday at 7. Okay, so I can't imagine it's going to be anything other than their B squad, considering Necaxa is in the thick of their Copa Libertadores battle (though they have just suffered the indignity of getting bumped in favor of a Shakira concert), but a good time is sure to be had by all nevertheless. Hopefully this will bring out the area's soccer-loving Latino population in droves like the 2002 match-up between Cruz Azul and Guadalejara, which was just about the best damn time we here at apm have had in PGE Park. Now those fans know how to attend a soccer match!

Last but not least, all of us here at a pretty move would like to extend a belated but huge congratulations to Roy Keane and the Black Cats of Sunderland for not only achieving automatic promotion into the Premiership, but winning the Championship title this past weekend. Sunderland is the second team for lots of local fans, as the Timbers are for a number of Black Cats supporters across the pond (not to mention, apparently, a sizable number of Irish folks), and this is a great boost after their horrific run in the Premiership during the 2005/2006 season. (And in the tradition of fine old sports superstitions, is it possible that Sunderland's fortunes presage those of the Timbers? As we both suffered ignominious defeat after defeat last season, does Sunderland's rise mean the Timbers will end their season as champions as well?) At any rate, we hope to enjoy watching Keano and the Black Cats in the top rank for years to come.

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