so far away

As we vagabond around Europe, I have been homesick exactly one time, and it started sometime after midnight last night, knowing you all back in P-Town were gearing up for the season opener and the retirement of Timber Jim. I told myself I wouldn't--couldn't--stay up till game time, 4 AM for us, but as the hand on the clock crawled past 3 AM I was trawling the official site and the Timber Mill until it all became too much for me to bear and I went to sleep, with dreams of the Greek chant dancing in my head. Now it's late morning here in Granada, Spain, blue sky and fast-moving clouds after heavy rainshowers and it's not yet 3 AM where all of you are, fast asleep most of you, my beloved Timbers, all the TA and supporters, and Timber Jim. I just read over this thread at Soccer City USA and looked at the pictures and now I'm crying at my keyboard.

The new turf (thank you again Merritt Paulson!--and oh, yeah, I think I love you, too) in the Timber Jim memories video over at the official site looks gorgeous and it sounds like we taught those Islanders a lesson, despite the ref's best efforts. 1-0 Timbers! You cannot stop us! We are the Rose City! I can't wait to see more of your pictures and read your accounts. We sent a man in ourselves to get some pics and video, so we should have a guest post up here soon. Timbers fans, y'all are the best anywhere. I miss the hell out of you.

Check out Allison Andrews' Timbers Jim memories, a four-part series beginning here.

Edited to add: Great pics and match report from The Offside here. Look at the size of the North End!