PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Legend has it that Portland laid claim to the title “Soccer City USA” back in 1975 when the Timbers played their first NASL season. The nickname was later captured on an expansive banner displayed during a visit by Pele.
Nearly 40 years later, the city is primed to solidify the moniker it hosts Major League Soccer’s All-Star game. The match Wednesday night will pit MLS players from across the league against Bundesliga power Bayern Munich.
Portland’s affection for the Beautiful Game has grown in the last four decades – pushed also by the success of the University of Portland’s soccer program – but it has exploded since the Timbers made the jump to MLS in 2011.
“All I know is that once the flame started, it kept building and building,” Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said, joking that he has given up trying to explain the phenomenon. “It’s something unique in and of itself, and bar none one of the best professional sports atmospheres, I believe, in North America. And the most authentic.”
In awarding Portland and Vancouver franchises, MLS wisely capitalized on the ready-made three-way Cascadia Cup rivalry with the Seattle Sounders that stemmed from the North American Soccer League days. Early supporters passed their love of the teams to the next generation, creating a burgeoning fan base.