The intense nature of the Seattle Sounders-Portland Timbers rivalry is well documented. But even as someone well versed in the strong emotions that surround each and every meeting between these Cascadia rivals, the realization that some people starting camping out in front of Providence Park on Thursday in order to ensure themselves their desired seat for Sunday's game seems a bit ... nuts.
Timbers fans lining up days before Sunday’s game vs. Sounders
Yes, the game is still days away.
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Even Timbers owner Merritt Paulson was a bit surprised.
So the TA line for Sun has already started?! Really??? There is devotion but 3+ days on SW Morrison....
— Merritt Paulson (@MerrittPaulson) August 21, 2014 As the video above shows, it’s not as if hundreds of Timbers Army members are camping out. It’s more like a few dedicated souls; the kind of people who allow Portland to proudly proclaim itself “weird.”
What’s almost as crazy is that this is merely an extreme version of what happens on virtually every Timbers gameday. No matter the opponent, there are people lining up hours before the gates are open in order to guarantee themselves their desired seats within the general admission Timbers Army section.
The lines had gotten so out of control that back in 2012, Timbers Army instituted a wristband policy to help diminish the need for fans to stand in line for hours just to watch a 90-minute match. The wristbands are handed out to the first 1,000 people in line at an unspecified time -- usually several hours before the match -- and those fans are then allowed to return sometime before the gates open and get in line in the order they received their wristbands.
The policy has apparently helped relieve the problem to some degree, but for big derby matches, it obviously still encourages people to line up in order to get their wrist bands. Judge if you must, but it certainly is one of those things that makes Portland ... different.
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