Rivalry week is gold. It’s pure. It’s love, hatred, passion and intensity all rolled into one. It’s a beautiful thing. With this being the 100th meeting between against our bitter rivals to the north, this one just has a special feel to it. Maybe it’s the century mark. Maybe it’s because it’s Mother’s Day. Maybe it’s Sunday’s weather forecast. Maybe it’s everything all rolled into one.
And oh boy, are the Timbers ready. Not only are the Timbers arguably MLS’ hottest team, they’ll also be far more rested than their Cascade rival, as Seattle is coming off an impressive, yet grueling 2-1 victory at Toronto this past Wednesday. Because of that, this one won’t count towards the Cascadia Cup, but it will nonetheless count towards the regular season standings. With the Timbers’ social media page roasting Seattle all week, we know the Sounders will be fired up, we just don’t think they have the horses to outkick our Timbers (to borrow verbiage from last week’s Kentucky Derby). Here’s what the scoreboard says for this one…
Components
1-5 Scale; 1=Not Great; 5=Good or an Advantage for Our Team
Pinot Noir: 17-20, Pinot Gris 13-16, Rosé 9-12
# Explanation
Match Weather: 4 Mother’s Day forecast looks amazing, but w/ 87 degrees at 1pm, the heat makes it a 4.
Start Time: 4 The only thing better than a day game on Sunday, is a night game on Saturday.
Rivalry Game? 5 Rivalry game, you ask? Is snow cold? Water wet? The sun hot? PDXSEA100.
Hot or Not? 5 The Timbers are your Stouffer’s microwave dinner after 4 mins on max heat. En fuego.
Final Score: 18
Verdict: Pinot Noir Day. Though it’s going to be a balmy day out there at Providence Park, we don’t want to see any ice cubes in those Pinot Noirs! The atmosphere is going to be electric and we can’t wait to be a part of one of the best rivalries in American sports. As for our squad? The Timbers and their 4-3-2-1 attack have looked nearly unstoppable the past five weeks. Sebastian Blanco is doing his best MVP impression. The defense hasn’t allowed a goal in three games. Ridgewell came back and brought his best effort of the season this past game and Jeff Attinella has picked up where Gleeson left off in terms of making at least one big goal-saving stop a match. As hot as we are though, you just know Seattle is going to come with everything they have. You know we’re going to get their best effort and they still have that smug, failed rapper who has an uncanny knack for finding the back of the net. They don’t have enough though. Timbers in a route? Not quite, but we see this as a fast paced, high scoring affair. We’re calling it as a 4-2 Portland victory. Eat your heart out, Seattle. #RCTID #rivalryweek #nopityintherosecity