While it's not as loud as the chorus of vuvuzelas in South Africa, there's a palpable buzz surrounding Portland's leap to Major League Soccer next season.
The Portland Timbers get a glimpse into a big-league rivalry to come on Wednesday night when the Seattle Sounders, playing their second MLS season, visit PGE Park for a third-round U.S. Open Cup match.
``It so much more than just the U.S. Open, more than just the game. It has so much to do with pride as well,'' said Timbers defender Ross Smith. ``Anytime we play Seattle there's so much more on the line than the game itself - there's pride when you step away from it that you've played well and you've represented well.''
The Timbers currently play in the U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Pro League, considered one step below MLS. They were awarded an MLS franchise last year, as was Vancouver, setting up a three-way Pacific Northwest rivalry with the Sounders to start in 2011.
Local soccer fans have already tasted it. The Timbers and Sounders have scuffled since 1975 when both were part of the North American Soccer League. They reunited in the USL First Division from 2001 to 2008 until Seattle joined MLS.
But Portland and Seattle have not had a major-league sports rivalry since the NBA's SuperSonics departed for Oklahoma City and left the Trail Blazers alone in the region.
Seattle's MLS club had a wildly successful inaugural season, leading the MLS with an average of more than 30,000 fans each match. The team won the 2009 U.S. Open Cup championship and was the first expansion team in 11 years to reach the MLS playoffs.
``Seattle went into MLS last year and took it by storm, they way they marketed the game in Seattle and the fan support. We're going to be doing something similar in Portland,'' Timbers coach Gavin Wilkinson said. ``The rivalry's not only on the field. It's off the field. It's city to city. It's huge in every regard.''
The Timbers are already a big draw in Portland, averaging about 9,500 fans a game. They rank second in the USL First Division in attendance behind Montreal.
Many credit the green-and-yellow-clad Timbers Army for the enthusiasm. Loosely founded in 2001, the group has swelled in ranks to the point where supporters occupy much of PGE Park's northern end at home games. The group was instrumental in urging city officials to back the MLS bid.
``When you talk about soccer in America, it's one of the best rivalries that exists,'' Wilkinson said. ``You've got two passionate groups of fans that think they're better than each other - And obviously ours are better.''
