HUGE DISCLAIMER: I posted a version of this last night on my personal blog. It’s my opinion, not the opinion of the Riveters as an organization (is there ever an opinion that covers all of us?).

The 2015 NWSL Championship will be held in our city, Soccer City, USA, and, in all likelihood, it will feature two teams not from Portland.

So, what happens here? I know there are some loyal Thorns fans who won’t be there if their team isn’t there to support. That’s fine. There are some who will be up on the Bluff, taking in the University of Portland match at Merlo. Nothing wrong with that, either.

I’ll be at Providence Park. I think it’s important to support a league still in its infancy, so I’ll buy a ticket and show up. I won’t be waving a flag and, unless someone comes up with something strikingly clever, I’ll probably stop singing after the anthem. I will cheer players who do well and I will congratulate the winning team.

People are discussing what role, if any, the Riveters should play. Should we take this as an opportunity to express our displeasure with the league, our coach, our underperforming players, with…what, exactly? Do we use it to elevate the other supporters groups in the league? Or maybe just those whose teams are still playing October 1st? There’s no true consensus.

A couple of us talked a day or two ago about taking up residence in section 223 for the Championship game. Visitors in our own home.

But meh. Let’s go to the South Deck. It’s nice to have a change of scenery once in a while.