—by Matthew Lindley
Photos by Ray Terrill
Friday March 27th
An early start got us through the fishing village and the border without experiencing much traffic. We checked into the hotel and took the long stroll from downtown to the West End for the Cider Riot tasting at Bestie, a great little sausage shop in the middle of Chinatown. The place was filled with both Vancouver and Portland fans alike, a nice foreshadowing of the weekend’s festivities.
From there we moved to Doolin’s, the home bar of the Southsiders (the largest of the Whitecaps supporters groups), for the annual TA and Southsider meet-up. It was a rowdy get together as always, with pleasantries, drinks, and eventually chants being shared back and forth. By the end of the evening, everyone was warmed up and ready to completely despise each other for 90 minutes the next day.
Saturday March 28th
The morning began at Tim Hortons and news of the Southsiders scarf kerfuffle with the FO. I was legitimately curious if the consensus among the TA would be to cheer anyway, or join Vancouver in their silent protest. Fortunately, the resolution struck a few hours later would put all that to rest.
Photo Credit: Ray Terrill
We made our way to the Railway Club, the TA’s de-facto home bar in Vancouver, to pick up our tickets and pre-funk ahead of our en masse walk to the venue. Marching to a stadium is a rarity for the TA these days, but we never disappoint when we get the chance.
As we made our way to our section, Adam Kwarasey was already warming up on the pitch. He obliged the TA’s request to “Give us a wave,” and before long the rest of the team took the pitch. Oddly enough, Vancouver’s supporters’ sections are reserved rather than GA, which means they, and the rest of the stadium, are far from full until right before opening kick. By the time Vancouver fans reached their seats, the TA was already whipped up into an absolute frenzy. Derby day at its finest.
The match was frustrating on many levels. The Timbers backline and midfield looked great, but our boys couldn’t seem to accomplish anything in the final third. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps seemed to be having a contest for who could perform the better Shakespearean death scene — the best by far being Kendall Watson’s five-step barrel roll over the ad boards that earned Alvas Powell an inexplicable yellow card. It’s pretty bad when even Vancouver fans are apologizing to you after the match for the actions of their players. It’s a weird juxtaposition when you get along so well with the fans of a “friendly rival” while hating their players as much as Sigi hates it when Shari’s runs out of pies.
Near the end of the second half, with the score tied 1-1 and Caps GK David Ousted
Photo Credit: Ray Terrill
absolutely standing on his head, tensions were high. Around the 75th minute or so, a group of Whitecaps “fans” began starting trouble with the amassed TA. At one point, among other things, beer was thrown at the Army. Stadium security did an excellent job diffusing the situation and removing the offenders. From what we heard later, this wasn’t the first time that opposing supporters have had issue this season. It’s too bad really, because the three supporters groups (Southsiders, Curva Collective, and Rain City Brigade) are completely fantastic and a proper representation of soccer culture in Vancouver.
In the 90th minute, our defense (well, our center backs to be more exact), which had been stellar, got caught looking and Robert Earnshaw broke all of our hearts, and a frustrating match came to an even more infuriating end.
From there, we all somberly traveled back to the Railway in the hopes that loud music and strong drink would wash away the pain of our first-ever loss in “Our House.” Waiting for us there were many of our friends from the Southsiders, and frustrations eventually gave way to just a plain old celebration of Cascadian soccer and pride.
The night was kicked off by Greenhorn, a TA-themed country band consisting of members of Green Flag, Stars of Cascadia, and yours truly. After our rousing offering of twang, Green Flag took the stage to get things properly rowdy. The McGillicuddys followed, and the dance floor was not empty once the rest of the evening.
Finally, still smarting from the painful loss, we found the only true remedy for our post-match blues: a large poutine with two kinds of meat on top from La Belle Patate! I promise you, there are few types of heartbreak that can’t be cured by this wonderful concoction.
Oddly enough, the sadness of the loss can almost be forgotten because it was drowned out by the amazing weekend with amazing people from both cities.
Be aware: Vancouver comes to Portland the first weekend in May. We will hate the living bejeezus out of their team for 90 minutes, but we owe their supporters one hell of a good time in the Rose City.