It only took minutes after Seattle’s Saturday victory for their focus to shift. Usually the winning side stays in a reflective mood after a win, even if their clichés talk about moving on to the next match.
Not on Saturday, though. It was as if the Sounders had been waiting for that final whistle – a signal that would give them permission to change gears. The next Cascadia Derby was only seven days away, and handed a surprise defeat by a struggling Portland the last time they ventured down I-5, the Sounders seemed keenly aware of their chance for redemption.
“It’s a game we’re looking forward to,” Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid said on Saturday. “Cascadia Cup is important to us. We felt a little hard done in our last game down there. I didn’t think we played real well. The game got away from us, and also emotionally got away from us a little bit. We’re looking forward to going down in front of the Timbers Army and putting [up] a result.”
If you’re unaccustomed to soccer in the Pacific Northwest, the intensity will seem strange, perhaps even contrived. Shouldn’t Seattle have more to worry about than the West’s last place team? True, Portland’s a regional rival, but maybe the Sounders have bigger fish to fry. The Timbers are in last place, whereas Seattle sit second in the West with an outside chance of reeling in San Jose. Almost certainly going to the playoffs, Seattle may want to start getting ready for a postseason that has been unkind since they joined Major League Soccer.
Not this week. This week is all about Portland, and there’s nothing contrived about it. It’s all about Cascadia Cup.
The attitude was the same at Portland’s last home game, all the way back on Aug. 31. After that Friday night win over the Rapids, the feeling started to creep into the stadium: The next time everybody’s here, Seattle will be in town. Four days ahead of a match in Commerce, that feeling was quickly stomped out. First things first.
Portland went on to lose badly in Colorado, another reminder that the Timbers’ 2012 has fallen apart. The math doesn’t say so, but their 2012 playoff hopes are gone. Their main focus is preparing the team for Caleb Porter’s December takeover.
Still, as is the case with Seattle, Portland’s future is on the back burner this week, especially with a chance to win the actual Cascadia Cup.
“There’s always a bit more emphasis on these games, especially with the Cascadia Cup and where we stand,” Timbers’ captain Jack Jewsbury told MLSSoccer.com. Still three points ahead of Seattle in the Cup’s three-team standings (Vancouver at the bottom), Portland can clinch this year’s title with a win on Saturday.
“It means a lot to [the fans], we know that,” Jewbury explained, “but it means a little bit more to the group in the locker room, as well, to bring home some sort of trophy.”
It’s the type of rivalry Major League Soccer has always wanted. For years the league has tried to promote this type of synergy. Competition formats have been altered, unbalanced schedules have been adopted, both with the idea of creating a series of Portland-Seattles.
That hasn’t happened, though. Once you’ve been around Portland-Seattle, you know why. There’s something natural, almost inevitable about this rivalry. The idea that this strange, reserved, passive aggressive enmity could be replicated elsewhere suggests people can replicate nature. Rivals like the northwests’ just happen, and whether that’s because of the distinct notion of the Cascadia region, the counter-cultural ethos of the northwest, or the deep professional soccer history of the area, it’s an alchemy too unpredictable to replicate.
It’s just not the same elsewhere. Perhaps that’s holding other rivalries to an excessively high standard, but even before Cascadia came into Major League Soccer, there was the feeling the truly unique matchups still needed time to develop. The intensity just weren’t there (at the time, we didn’t know what ‘there’ was). Yes, D.C. fans were passionate about New York, but after seeing Portland-Seattle, you wonder if those types of environments are organic or by default?
Will fans always choose a rival? And can those chosen rivals ever compare to the ones which naturally evolve?
Even after seeing almost top level two seasons of the rivalry, it’s strange to look at Seattle and Portland, know all the interests they have beyond Saturday’s game, and see two teams willing to stop the world for a local rivalry.
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- sir1389 - Sep 12, 2012 at 10:46 PM
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Fans need to stop trying to recreate something they want and just enjoy the team and games they have in front of them. Rivalry comes not from hatred of the other team but from an unwavering love of your own team and the wish to see them triumph every time. That and cheering like you can effect the outcome of the game as much as the players on the field.
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- corgster - Sep 13, 2012 at 1:25 AM
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Fans created this cup because they wanted it. There is nothing to “re”create about the Cascadia Cup, so I do not follow your logic there. Stick around for games in Portland that do not involve Seattle and you should be amazed that the fans bring incredible energy to the games.
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- ravegreenstreet - Sep 13, 2012 at 1:55 AM
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I agree. A rivalry doesn’t stem from hatred, but from an incredible amount of civic pride clashing with another city’s. I am a proud Seattlite, and to hear the ‘Scum from the south say that their city and football club is better than mine… Well, I just won’t stand for it.
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- arbeck - Sep 13, 2012 at 6:22 PM
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Does a win really clinch them the cup? A win would put them on 10 points. They would still have games against Vancouver and Seattle. Seattle would have 4 points, with games against Seattle and Vancouver remaining. If Seattle wins the last two they would also have 10 points. So Portland would need a result against Vancouver or to win on GD. So I don’t think they can clinch.
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- ...Musings - Sep 13, 2012 at 10:28 PM
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No. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, not goal differential.
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- slxc - Sep 13, 2012 at 9:56 PM
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Que gane le Mejor Go Seattle Sounders.
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- footballer4ever - Sep 14, 2012 at 12:19 AM
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The league is still young, although not dumb, to realize even with 17 years young of existence, it’s hard to have a credible rivalry as other tenured sports leagues have the luxury to
enjoy.
Having said that, taking advantage of the NWP rivalry and exposing it to the public raises the league’s profile not only with casual fans, but even with hardcore world football fans whose eyes are fixated in European football instead. There is a different aroma when you see either SSFC, TPFC and the Whitecaps in comparison to other clubs. The other teams who come even close to them are SKC, Philadelphia Union and the Dynamo. I am sure i may be leaving out a few more clubs along the way, so my apologies for that ahead of time.Let’s hope that as each year goes by, any regional cup set in place is a way for other teams to develop a wider rivalry league among each other to make this league the real “National Fun League”.
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- royalcascadian - Sep 14, 2012 at 7:52 AM
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As Timbers fan, this rivalry started the first year they played each other in 1975 in their first playoff game. This has from the beginning been an electric and naturally charged affair.
I see several rivalry possibilities for the future.
Florida
Tampa Bay has the Rowdies and Ft. Lauderdale have the Strikers. Both have gone back to their actual 70′s NASL kits, which look awesome by the way. Orlando has come on the scene as the premier LD team. Only problem and a huge one is that the OC Lions are USL while the Rowdies and Strikers are NASL. They won’t compete until one is MLS or USL and NASL reconcile. Or they all are in MLS.Texas
You already have Dallas and Houston. But man oh man is that the epitome of contrived? Holy smokes those Houston videos of the players singing and serenading a little cannon was weird and creepy. Not genuine at all. BUT, you add in this years LD newest darlings, the San Antonio Scorpions, and now your talking Texas sized bragging rights. That’s when you’ll see the fans and the cities become involved. That could rival this rivalry. What about a cup that didn’t involve teams in the same leagues?California
A team in the bay, two in Los Angeles. It’s perfect for a California rivalry. It just doesn’t seem that Chivas are competitive enough for it to matter. Plus they just haven’t made parts of the city identify with it. That makes it hard to care, when no one else does. But a cup to take home would make for a great idea and would automatically bring Chivas to the discussion just like the Timbers. For a minute at least.These are potential rivalries but if soccer continues to grow these will likely be the front lines as the MLS continues to look for successful LD clubs.
Cant. Wait.
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- slxc - Sep 14, 2012 at 11:09 PM
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spectacular.
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