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U.S. Open Cup: Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers (Your Running Commentary)

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U.S. Open Cup matches don't generally have the heated rivalry factor, but the Portland Timbers-Seattle Sounders third-round match-up isn't your normal rivalry.

Forged from the days of the old NASL, and kept alive for decades in the A-League and USL, Timbers-Sounders is one of the most intense, and arguably the best rivalry in the United States.

That rivalry has been put on hold since the Sounders joined Major League Soccer, but the U.S. Open Cup has brought it back to life, with the Timbers playing host to the Sounders tonight (10pm).

If you will be watching tonight's match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. Merritt Paulson made the Timbers MLS-ready. Period. Not Seattle, which admittedly is the strongest MLS market in the U.S…until 2011, that is.

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  2. Hincha Tim, you missed the point I was making. Timber Fanatic was whining about 28,000 people jumping on a bandwagon and going to Sounder games now (surely a sign of corporate sell-out) while somehow the Timbers will sell out all their matches in 2011 (which I believe will happen) and these new fans (8,000 plus) will magically be long-time old salt Timbers fans and not bandwagon fans. It is a lame, vapid rant. Whether it is 28,000 new season ticket holders or 8,000, be consistent in the argument and not some ridiculous parrot repeating the same old crap.
    My 8,000 figure was pointing out that the sell-out games you will surely get in 2011 means you will have 8,000 plus new fans showing up. I guess I wasn’t clear enough. Next time I will use smaller words.

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  3. Seattle vs Portland: 16,382

    Bayern vs Portland: 9,340

    Sounders made you. You’re in the MLS because of us!

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  4. The game was a delight even as a timbers fan. The rivalry proved to be awesome. I hope the banter was just banter and seattle fans made it home safe, sorta. To mr water bottle, don’t try it again because you couldn’t repeat such a beautiful shot in a million lives. Watching that bottle wiz over my head and some how drop on his nuts, was priceless and will remain as fond memory til my dying days.

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  5. the reason you could hear the timbers fans on tv was cuz they were mic’d. plain and simple.
    there is no question that the TA has been great for years and years and the support in seattle has been sub par. but from what i saw, first hand last night, was that the TA and the seattle supporters are going to have a lot of fun for decades to come. i hope portland gets it together and holds true to getting into the MLS. but by no means were the TA better than seattle fans in real life, they only play that on TV.

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  6. lol people. the non corporate TA or as they love to view themselves were mic’d up the arse at this match.

    When the ECS and total of 700 fans would quiet for a bit, I could barely make out what the TA was signing from the other side of pitch.

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  7. I love how Portland fans front like their club is somehow not as “corporate” as the Sounders, when their owner is the ultimate corporate whore, Bush crony Hank Paulson (Merrit Paulson is owner in name only; it’s his dad’s money that bought the team). Go smoke some more meth and trim your neck beards up you euro-wannabe phonies.

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  8. Eric,

    To say that the Timbers will draw 8,000 when they have an MLS club because they draw an average of 8,000 in USL-1 is stupid, and you know it. The Sounders are proof of that. What you have to concede is year after year, Portland is one of or the top draw in the USL. Their fan base has grown organically over the years with only minimal marketing.

    MLS soccer will be very successful in Portland if they put a reasonable product on the field, much as the Trailblazers did before they became the “Jailbreakers” BECAUSE the market is NOT oversaturated with pro sports teams. And interest will be much greater in Portland, as it will be and has been in Vancouver and Seattle BECAUSE of the other teams in close proximity where there is a rivalry. So while you may not ever like the other teams (I will never be a Flounders fan nor a Whitecraps fan), I want them to succeed so the rivalry exists. Proof of that passion (from both sides) was existent last night.

    What I do concede to Siggy and Shiattle is that they have put an entertaining, attacking team on the field. They do play good soccer and the MLS can always use more of that, whatever team it is.

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  9. Why in the crap was Dallas or Kansas City awarded an MLS team before Portland???????????????

    A Canadian team should take the place of these crappy cities!

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  10. “the 2,500 range. I guess this does indeed mean you now have 28,000 bandwagon jumpers”

    They saw what happened in Toronto, jumped on the bandwagon, and now make silly statements like “I don’t see this anywhere else in the league.” When you have an eight-year wait for season’s tickets, or have been around as long and as successfully as DC’s Barra Brava, get back to everyone, OK?

    I fully expect that if Portland entered the league with the same size stadium as seattle, it would sell it out twice as fast; just look at their relative supports as USL cities.

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  11. **about 28,000 of the 30,000 sellout crowds at qwest were not season ticket holders to USL sounders. but that hardly means they were fans and didnt go to games a few times a year.

    WRONG – That simply means that the USL Sounders (who had been playing for 8 years+)had to deal with typical Seattle apathy and could only get crowds in the 2,500 range. I guess this does indeed mean you now have 28,000 bandwagon jumpers

    So once the Timbers go MLS in 2011, any attendance over their USL average are also “band wagoners” – especially if PGE gets upgraded to accommodate 20k or so. How then, is a team supposed to gain followers and fans without being labeled “band wagoners” or “customers”? Do they just magically appear? Also, I assume that once the Timbers are MLS, they will not do any merchandising at all, because, heaven forbid, these new “band wagoners” support their team and their new found interest in soccer, lest they be labeled a “customer.”

    And each new magically created fan for Portland will of course know every player past and present on the team, know the game inside and out, and there will not be a single soccer mom or family there.

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  12. Hey, btw Portland how many people attend your MLB games?
    ….

    That’s right you are a minor league city, with only one major league team and no Pac-10 sports.

    Our B team beat your A team in your house.

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  13. Kevin,

    First off, i can’t wait until we get another crack at your club. Second, Until P*rtscum has won anything, they need to stop bitching about Seattle and support their f’in team. lastly, The stadium issue in scum ville is not in good shape, if i lived there i would be trying rally the masses to get it done. Just like here in Seattle, once people realize that there is some real money to be made there, they just might be able to get it done for both the Cinders and their AAA baseball team. The way its going now, Montreal or St Louis might end up with that slot. Politicians in both cites are buffoons, but they listen when your votes start talking.

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  14. Hincha Tim you have nailed it dead on. The attendance for the USL Sounders was abyssmal. I have been a season ticket holder since 2001 and was always disappointed that the big crowds for games at Qwest were usually 5,000 max and more like 2,500-3,500 normally. Part of it I put down to Seattle apathy and part to non-existent marketing in the A-league and USL days. But you are right, we keep these crowds and along with Portland and Vancouver, this will be the hotbed for footie in the US.

    Timber Fanatic, the 28,000 bandwagon jumpers are that only if they jump on to a team that is suddenly winning(that being the reason they show up). Seattle had a sellout the first game and every match since. We came into the season thinking if we somehow made the playoffs in the first year, that would be a fantastic way to start. Right now, they are new fans and if Seattle keeps selling 32K tickets a match for the next 5 years you are going to have to come up with new reasons to bitch about how inferior Seattle is.

    BTW I watched the Timbers crush the Impact last weekend and it looked like you had about 2/3 capacity there at PGE. It’s nice to brag about 8,000 showing up consistently for a Timbers game, but when you get to MLS that will put you below Dallas and NYRB and all the other pathetic attendance figures. Or will you suddenly have “bandwagon jumpers” coming to your matches?

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  15. Hey Fessin,

    You are so high!

    ** Sounders FC finally gave fans something to cheer about. (infering the USL Sounders didn’t)

    WRONG – Sounders have always had a good team that played good footy.

    **before, fans had to drive 30 min to a little 3,000 seat Starfire for weeknight matches.

    WRONG – Seattle played the majority of their matches in Qwest for the last 7 years.

    They only had one season (2008) at starfire

    **about 28,000 of the 30,000 sellout crowds at qwest were not season ticket holders to USL sounders. but that hardly means they were fans and didnt go to games a few times a year.

    WRONG – That simply means that the USL Sounders (who had been playing for 8 years+)had to deal with typical Seattle apathy and could only get crowds in the 2,500 range. I guess this does indeed mean you now have 28,000 bandwagon jumpers.

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  16. I’ll preface this with a disclaimer: I’m a Portland Timbers fan. I was very scornful of Seattle being chosen for an MLS team, partly because of their relatively poor attendance in their USL days, especially considering the success the team had on the field. That being said, their success at the gate and within the community has been fantastic, and I am positive was a major reason why Portland and Vancouver were selected for expansion. I hope that it is not a flash in the pan, and they continue to build and grow their fanbase. I hope that Vancouver and we Timbers rapidly become part of the MAINSTREAM sports scene like the the Sounders appear to have done in Seattle. I think Seattle fans, Vancouver and Portland fans should hope that the teams in the respective cities are successful on and off the field as it would take an major step in fulfilling the promise of what soccer could be in North America.

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  17. Great match, and good showing by the Timbers.

    Just bought my tix to the Sounders v Wiz match on Tuesday… go Sounders!

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  18. fessin-

    You are mistaken. I watched the entire game on TV, and the Timbers fans were the only ones I could hear. But there LOOKED like a lot of Seattle fans, so I guess kudos on that. But seriously, you guys should take some lessons from the TA. They were amazing last night.

    And Gunky, I’m not sure Lucas can actually do anything to help any of the things you listed. I mean, unless he comes up with a few million bucks to back Merrit Paulson and goes and plays for the team, I’m not sure he (or anyone else, for that matter) can make much of a difference in the fields you mention.

    Go Timbers!
    Love,
    A DC United fan.

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  19. first off guys, that 57 second youtube clip showed about 3/4s of the time that your glorious TA was doing anything except crying in their beer. sounders section was up and cheering and singing the entire match, even when you scored. i would say your section was quiet for most of the match. although that big ass spaceneedle and timber jane was pretty good.

    secondly, seattle is a division 1 town, it always has been. we sell out seahawks, mariners, sonics (dont touch that one, it hurts) and husky games. we have always been division 1 and that is what we are used to. the minute we have a division 1 soccer team, look what happens. our fans have always been here but most of them have been at their kids games or practices monday-friday and games on the weekends. seattle sounders FC gave the families something to cheer about. an atmosphere that excited the city and the soccer fans around it. to go see games before you had to drive 30 minutes outside the city and watch in a little grandstand that held 3ooo people, with alluminum bench seats on a tuesday or thursday night. dont get me wrong, i was there, but i understand why 30,000 people werent. your right, about 28,000 of the 30,000 sellout crowds at qwest were not season ticket holders to USL sounders. but that hardly means they were fans and didnt go to games a few times a year.
    there is no hype machine, it is just the way most of us have grown up. the WSYSA has the most members in the country. so dont tell me that there arent soccer fans up here. and soccer moms, hell yes there are soccer moms. they are some of the biggest fans and supporters of the sport. and their kids who grow up to be players and fans. are you trying to say that because you have a few hundred drunk belligerent pub feeders, claiming to be the best fans in the world, who pretty much think that if you arent 1. crusty as hell 2. drunk as hell 3.dont know what it means to do anything good for the future of the sport, then you arent a “true” fan? go screw yourselves guys. hold onto what you got, cuz its all you’ll ever get. this “hype machine” you saw last night in your ditch you call a stadium, is here to stay.
    sounders 2- portland 1. dont forget that part.

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  20. Seattle don’t have fans, they have corportate customers and Soccer Moms. They are like performing Whales at sea world. In a few seasons when the hype machine slows down you will see who the real fans are.

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  21. Lucas,

    Instead of talking smack about the Sounders and their fans. Maybe you should focus on getting your building built. After that, try winning something. Just wiki USL sounders 1995, 1996, 2005, 2007, and then read where is says League Championships. Get yourself a building to play in, field a team, then we can work it out on the pitch just like last night. Till then you, and the TA are irrelevant and need to STFU!

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  22. “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB0dtXN3QF8

    by the way…this is from the side closet to Seattle…all you can hear is Timbers….himmmmm

    Posted by: Zaggy | July 02, 2009 at 03:07 AM ”

    @ Zaggy

    The clock is counting down in that video so this was before the game. The 7 busses of travelling Seattle supporters were barely there by kick-off.

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  23. I’m glad Seattle has fans now, and the atmosphere last night was definitely incredible. But any bowing up and talk of legitimacy or primacy, it gives me chuckles.

    search youtube for “Timbers Army 2007” (or 2006, 2005)

    then search for “Emerald City Supporters 2007”

    ‘weak beyond belief’ indeed

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  24. zues,

    I remember the days when you had to follow away Fire games via posts on BigSoccer.com from people in other cities.

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  25. With Houston, TFC, Seattle and soon to be Portland… teams with fans are starting to be seen….

    Good to see Houston and Seattle take care of business last night.

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  26. First, lovely atmosphere. I too agree that this could make for some great MLS games in a couple of years. Maybe. If the teams are disparate in terms of ability/talent eventually you lose some of that passion if there’s no real rivalry.

    Second, Jon-Jon….MLS didn’t ignore Portland or Seattle. Those cities didn’t show sufficient interest in MLS. MLS went around literally begging owners to join. MLS even CONTRACTED clubs (that it would have preferred to sell to other owners or move). You want a reason why Portland didn’t have an MLS franchise 10 years ago? Go find a rich dude in your city and kick the SOB in the shins. Ditto for Seattle.

    I’m glad that TFC and Seattle (and soon to be Portland others) are joining the league and raising the bar in terms of fan support and passion and the game experience. But gang–this was not a closed club where people were clamoring to join but denied entrance. This was a league that just barely hung on by the fingernails of a couple of guys like Hunt and Anschutz who saw the potential when rich people in Toronto and Seattle and Philly (and yeah, the current ownership in DC too) said “nah, we’ll sit this one out for the time being.”

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  27. 16K for an Open Cup match is weak? In a stadium that only holds 16k for soccer? You are high on crack (or very new to the American soccer landscape).

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  28. Here’s a little transfer news to sate some of you all’s taste, Red Star Belgrade(Serbia) is apparently interested in Robbie Rogers. I wonder if he’s ready for a second crack at Europe.

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