PORTLAND, Ore. -- On a rainy Thursday at Providence Park, the Portland Timbers' home venue has all the trappings of base camp on Mount Everest. Shelters have been constructed. Sleeping bags and blankets are everywhere. Propane canisters and space heaters provide little additional warmth against the December chill. Adult beverages are expected to pick up the slack as the day -- and night -- goes on.
Some fans have been camped out since Monday, albeit in shifts. Why? To acquire one of 1,000 precious wristbands that will allow those with general admission tickets in the 3,600-seat north end to stake out their preferred vantage point for Saturday's MLS Cup between the Timbers and New York City FC (3 p.m. ET, stream live on ABC).
Portland has long dubbed itself Soccer City, USA and based on the activity around the stadium two days before the game, it's hard to argue.
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At 7 o'clock Friday morning the wristbands will be distributed, at which point their lucky recipients can go home for a shower and a hot meal; until then, fans are staking out their spot in line. At first glance, the line stretches all the way down the SW 18th Avenue side of the stadium. It's there that I encounter Chris Bright, a local tech entrepreneur. I ask him if he's the last in line, but his belly laugh reveals just how misinformed my assumption is.
"C'mon, let's take a walk," he said.
We turn the corner onto SW Salmon Street and I discover the line goes up about two-thirds of the block, past the Multnomah Athletic Club. "Tonight, lots of people will be showing up as placeholders," said Bright. "This is line culture for the Portland Timbers. Tonight it will be a real party. You should come back."
We reach the back of the line. Bright said anyone who shows up now is still in the "good range" to secure a wristband. "When you start getting around that corner," he said, pointing the corner of Salmon and SW 20th Avenue, "I think you'll be in jeopardy."
Jason Henneman and his daughter Eva are last in line while I'm walking, though they know that won't last. Longtime Timbers season-ticket holders, they took a bus from Bend, Oregon, and are in the process of assembling a canopy to keep out the rain. Eva, a high school student, has plans for how she'll while away the hours. "I'll probably hunker down, grab some Wi-Fi and start doing some math," she said. "I haven't ever been old enough to do any of the line culture stuff. I turned 18 a few months ago. I'm here, and I'm ready to be fully committed and spend some quality time."
The absence of any sleeping bags is evident. "There's no sleeping," said Jason Henneman. "There's a party in Portland."
New York City FC is determined to spoil the festivities, and victory for the Blues could spark a unique celebration, at least in MLS circles. Earlier in his career, NYCFC manager Ronny Deila promised the supporters of the team he managed at the time, Norwegian side Stromsgodset, that he would strip off his clothes if the team managed to avoid relegation. True to his word, when his side avoided the drop, he celebrated by stripping down to his underwear.
When Deila took over NYCFC ahead of the 2020 campaign, he made a similar boast. "I can promise if we win the playoffs, I will do it," he told ESPN then. Reminded of his vow ahead of Thursday's training session at the University of Portland's Merlo Field, Deila said to ESPN with a wry smile, "We'll see, we'll see. As you start to get older, that isn't so fun anymore. But at the same time, a word is a word. First, we have to win. That's the most important thing."
When Deila joined NYCFC, the comparisons to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp still hung over him, but he has carved out his own path in New York. His reign has continued NYCFC's transformation from a side predicated on big names -- such as Andrea Pirlo and David Villa -- to one where the team is the star, with steady contributions from Maxi Moralez and Valentin Castellanos, to veterans like Sean Johnson and Alfredo Morales and academy products like James Sands.
