The Timbers hosted Portland's first MLS game Thursday night at Jeld-Wen Field, and although the "weather didn't cooperate," the sellout crowd of 18,627 "had precious little else to complain about," according to Kerry Eggers of the PORTLAND TRIBUNE. The Timbers secured their first win of the season, 4-2 over the Fire, "ignoring a downpour that continued from start to finish and left the pitch drenched by game’s end." Thirty minutes before the 8:00pm PT kickoff, the "concession lines were long, especially at the beer stands." The line at the souvenir shop "wound out the store and around the corner" (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 4/15). In Portland, Andy Giegerich writes the Timbers "dominated an evening that, for the rollout of a big-time sports franchise, was light on pomp and absurdly abundant on out-and-out fun." The Timbers Army fan group was in "top-notch form, delivering a heart-felt and memorable in-unison national anthem, punctuated by fireworks and the timely unfurling of Portland-centric banners." Timbers officials "also proved that they will absolutely offer a top-notch game operations experience that rewards both fans and sponsors." Nearly "everything about the opening event succeeded," although the Jeld-Wen concourses during Timbers games "still don't allow for easy movement." The team is "keeping a few thousand seats open in hopes of ensuring more open paths between stadium sections." Giegerich writes the "clogs, particularly the ones resulting from restroom lines and popular concessionaires, prove that at least part of the facility needs more modernizing" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/15).
CROWD PLEASER: ESPN2's broadcast the Timbers' home debut Thursday night, and announcer Adrian Healey said of the fans, "The night they have been craving for so very long here is starting to unfold, and I don't think the noise is going to stop. This whole city has just been a sea of green and white. They have been very faithful to the sport of soccer, during their time away from the limelight." Following a Timbers turnover, Healey noted, "It's not stopping the celebration here, though. The Timbers Army, they are bouncing as one, thousands and thousands of them." Prior to the start of the game, Healey called the singing of the nation anthem "absolutely magnificent," as every member of the Timbers Army "remembered all the words, as well." ESPN analyst John Harkes said, "You just lick your lips when you think about Portland against Seattle, or when you bring Vancouver into it. The support staff is fantastic, the atmosphere is electric" ("Fire-Timbers," ESPN2, 4/14).
ARMY RESERVE: In Portland, Rachel Bachman writes the Timbers Army -- and the "wider soccer-playing and -appreciating culture in the Portland area -- is part of a movement reshaping the game from business operations to stadium architecture." Thursday night, the fan group "encompassed the stadium's entire north end -- about 3,500 general-admission seats -- and before the game unveiled one of the biggest fan displays in the 16-season history of MLS." A "triptych of giant, hand-painted banners depicted city landmarks, Mount Hood and larger-than-life Timbers fans." MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who attended the game, said, "When I saw the banners I poked Mark Abbott, our president, and said, 'This is pretty cool. Let's get this on Twitter.'" Bachman notes once team Owner Merritt Paulson secured the Timbers' promotion to MLS, he "deepened his commitment to the Army." Paulson "sought its leaders' input on everything from the team logo to stadium layout." He also "gave them a few percent commission on any season tickets sold in their sections, and they got 'tens of thousands of dollars,' which they pump back into support of the club and soccer in the area." In addition, Paulson agreed to "erect several 'capo' stands for Timbers Army leaders to use in leading songs and chants, including a sizeable platform that overhangs the tunnel from which the teams emerge." The Army's "energy, and the team's facilitation of it, has pulled new fans into its orbit." The Timbers "sold out their home opener in hours," and are "close to selling out for the season" (Portland OREGONIAN, 4/15).
