SEPTEMBER 23, 2007

Timbers lost in the semifinals today, which eliminated them from the playoffs, but the loss was not as heartbreaking as you'd think. This is the team, after all, who finished last in 2006, thanks to a world class wanker of a coach, and then were counted out before this season even began due to Timbers management hiring Gavin Wilkinson, one of the actual Timbers players, to be the coach. A player with no pro coaching experience taking over a last place team? The rest of the league laughed at that and considered it an epically stupid move but, on the grand scale of idiocy, there are bigger blunders you can make, like assuming experience matters much more than heart.

Because the Timbers were nothing short of miraculous this year and, even now that they're out of the playoffs, I still get goosebumps thinking of this season. Who would have thought a player-turned-coach and the last place team he inherited could have pulled off the biggest turnaround in league history, which is what the Timbers did by finishing the season in second place when, just the year before, they finished last. And that's just one of the incredible feats the team pulled off because, along with biggest turnaround in USL history, the Timbers were also undefeated at home, first team to qualify for the playoffs, led the league in fewest goals allowed and most shutouts, and set franchise records for consecutive wins and shutouts, fewest losses, and highest attendance.

But wait! There's more! Timbers goalie Josh Whicks was named goalkeeper of the year, Cameron Knowles is a finalist for defender of the year, and David Hague is up for rookie of the year. That, and Portland (along with Montreal) has the highest number of players selected to all-league teams. And let's not forget one of the biggest triumphs of all - Timbers coach Gavin Wilkinson is a finalists for coach of the year award. Not too shabby for a former player with no pro coaching experience! Most coaches don't ever amass such accolades, much less in their first season.

With that said, there was one travesty this season and it occurred in the semifinal. The game ended in a tie so it had to be decided by penalty kicks and, for some reason, the ref decided to do the shootout at the south end of the stadium, away from the Timbers Army and the rest of the fans. There are no seats at the south end which meant no one at the game could really see the shootout, Atlanta escaped the pressure the fans would've put on them, and the Timbers were robbed of fan support. And when it comes to shootouts, support for the home team and pressure on the opponent make a huge difference. Gavin Wilkinson was so pissed that he said in an interview, "In seven years here, we've always taken penalties at the north end. That's why you play for homefield advantage, you want the excitement of the fans to be part of it. The referee owes this organization, the owner, the players and myself an apology."

So the Timbers were eliminated from the playoffs, but the fans were amazingly resilient about it. A fecked up shootout is a tough way to lose any game, but the fans instead focused on the positive. The Timbers had an absolutely glorious season, their best ever, in which they pulled off the biggest turnaround in league history and advanced to the semifinals for the first time, and how can you complain about that, especially after the team finished last the year before.

It was an amazing season to be a part of and, rather than leave the stadium sad, I instead felt a great amount of love and pride for this team. As one person said on the message board after the loss, "as the cold Timberless winter sets in, I offer you one question of consolation: has anyone in the world had as much fun as we've had this year?" And the answer to that is no. The Timbers gave us one hell of a season, full of joy, fun, and victory, and for that I thank them immensely. What a team. What a year. What a ride. And the great part is that the best for the Timbers is yet to come.

listening: depeche mode . reading: ---

walk: 0 minutes . weight lost: 12.5 pounds

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