—by Bradley Stonecypher

First, I would like to apologize for the lengthy delay between posts. I was in Shanghai, China for a week, had 5 days at home and then my son was born 4 weeks early on March 20, 2011. Whew! I am looking forward to our home opener where I can get some peace and quiet at good old PGE errr Jeld Wen Field. Right . . . I am a few sections over from the North End which I truly expect to be raucous, rambunctious, reverberating and L-O-U-D and I shall join in from the club. Just look for the big fella' in C5 second row from the top all the way on the end and they have better built that new grandstand sturdy for when I get my 340lbs a grooving and a shaking, things around me start swaying.

As I said earlier, I was in Shanghai on business when I was offered $100.00usd for my old school Timbers warm up jacket which I purchased about a year and a half ago at the winter sale at the souvenir stand. And it was probably the only article of clothing NOT on sale - LOL

I thought for a moment and shook my head. He then upped the offer to $200.00usd - I was quite stunned and honored. I asked him why he would pay that much for my "slightly" used warm up jacket. He replied, "I had such good memories of going to games as a child back in the 70s, it just reminded me of those fun times."

I nodded in agreement. I remember going to those games with my dad who is no longer here on earth and just having a good time. I hesitated a moment and looked down at the crest. The old school axe just kind of spoke to me. He must have noticed my pause, because he upped it to $300.00.

Now this is not the first time I have been offered money for my warm up. A guy at the Encore Club here in Portland offered me $100.00 for it earlier this year. I said, no way. He completely understood and even told me that there was no way he would sell it if it was his.

It is not that I don't like the new logo, in fact I do. It is just a reminder to me about the past, even going back to the late 70s, attending games with my dad. I don't want to forget how it all began. I want to honor the men that played and the man that had a hand in the craziness - Timber Jim.

$300.00 - wow - I looked at him for a while and slowly shook my head. I said, "Sentimentally, it means more then money." I am sure there is a price that would eventually outweigh the sentimental value, but at this moment in my life, I am not sure what it is. Definitely, more then $300.00 though.

We saw a nurse today about my son who is struggling with some jaundice issues. She looked at my warm up and said, "Do you have season tickets?" At first, I was in such a fog, I wasn't sure what she was talking about. She pointed to my warmup. I smiled proudly, "Yes, I do." She went on to say that through her son's select soccer team they were able to get opening game tickets. She was very proud of the fact that they had managed that as his birthday was close to April 14. We both went on to agree that it would be a great time for him and that he would probably be a Timber for life. What really hit home to me is her comment about how affordable it was for her family to attend games. I told her to contact the front office about putting a birthday wish on the board for him. I don't know if the Timbers will still do it, but I said it was worth a shot.

I did say no to $300.00 and he was a bit disappointed, but he understood. I was glad the wife was not with me that day or I would probably still be bruised from the smack she would give me for turning it down. So on April 14, look me up. I will be the big guy, shaking my stuff, chanting way with my army in the old school Timber's warmup.

Maximus was born on 3/20/2011 - 4 weeks premature - he weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 20.5 inches long. Baby and mother are doing great

Thanks for reading!