At the beginning of the summer of 2012, a time period I think of as Portland’s Summer of Discontent, I wrote a thing on my personal blog about my belief that the ’12 Timbers still had a shot at hardware.
It was just days before the ousting of John Spencer, weeks before the interim coach more or less admitted defeat, exactly a month before keeper Troy Perkins got a call on his way to training to inform him he’d been traded. It was before the team’s owner called supporters “idiots and morons” and before the front office announced that they were considering reserved seating in the North End of what was then Jeld-Wen Field, causing an uproar among fans who believe, rightly so, that general admission seating is key to a vibrant supporters culture.
I want to see that star above the crest. I want the celebration and the parade and some sort of presentation at Pioneer Courthouse Square where we will all stand in the cold rain on a December day, thousands of us in our Ponderosa greens and our Rose City reds, all cheering our boys.
As it turned out, that team had enough heart to secure the Cascadia Cup, but hadn’t amassed enough points to make a playoff berth. Portland’s season ended in October.
The arrival of Caleb Porter and an overhaul of the team put the Timbers in the playoffs in 2013, but Real Salt Lake turned out to be more than they could handle. The season ended in November.
This was it, right? As 2014 dawned, there was so much hope. All the pieces had fallen into place. We had experienced a bit of success. It stood to reason the run would continue. But in the long MLS season, points dropped in March and April caught up to the Timbers in October when they missed the playoffs. Another season ended.
I just kept thinking about that rainy December day I’d envisioned in the summer of 2012. It had to be coming. It just had to.
That cold, rainy December day turned out to be Tuesday. The Timbers lifted the MLS Cup in Columbus Sunday after a 2-1 win over the Crew. And at noon Tuesday, I was at Broadway and Yamhill, across the street from Pioneer Courthouse Square, crying in the rain as the parade celebrating the champion Timbers passed by. Thousands of fans lined the street and, as the vehicle carrying the players and coaches passed, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of onlookers stepped out into the street and became a part of the parade.
It was almost exactly as I’d imagined it.
The celebration continued later in the evening at Providence Park where an estimated 5,000 fans packed the North End. Mayor Charlie Hales spoke. Team owner Merritt Paulson spoke. Coach Caleb Porter started a Timbers Army chant. Players lifted the trophy. Assistant Coach Sean McCauley sang. And sang again. Timber Joey sawed a log slice for Diego Valeri and, in a moment that brought tears to more than a few onlookers, Timber Jim took the chainsaw and sawed the final slab of the season for Rodney Wallace.
The legendary Timber Jim Serrill, the man who first thought, “Hey, it might be cool to bring a chainsaw to a soccer game.”
Timber Jim, before the festivities began, took the stage to offer a nod to another Portland soccer legend, Clive Charles. Charles played for two iterations of the Timbers before winning a NCAA championship in 2002 as the coach of the University of Portland womens team.
Diego Valeri, with a first-minute goal against Columbus, holds the record for earliest goal in a MLS Cup match. Previously, the record stood at five minutes.
Timbers coach Caleb Porter offered thanks for the support he’s received since coming to Portland.
Defender Liam Ridgewell before his mic drop.
Rodney Wallace, Adam Kwarasey and Diego Chara, as well as the rest of the team, were presented roses by Nancy Hales, wife of Portland mayor Charlie Hales.
Timber Jim sawed the log slice for Rodney Wallace, the last log slice of the season and, perhaps, the most important in franchise history.
MLS Cup scorers Diego Valeri and Rodney Wallace lift their trophies.
George Fochive leads the team and fans in a call-and-response chant that will surely make the rotation in the Timbers Army for the 2016 season.
Darlington Nagbe coerces leading scorer Fanendo Adi into speaking to the crowd.
Liam Ridgewell. We understood every word, love. *mic drop*
It was a night some had looked forward to for 40 years. A rainy night in December.
