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Go get ’em!

17 Jul

My dog has been pacing for the last fifteen minutes. Back and forth, up into the kitchen, down the hall, back to me. He’ll stand and look at me for a minute, a look I can only classify as “forlorn.” And then he’s off again. Round and round he goes.

I just told him the Timbers match tomorrow is at 1 p.m. He is deeply, deeply disturbed by this.

I didn’t think he’d react this way when I told him. He doesn’t usually watch the games. Honestly, I think he might be a Blazer fan. But, as he is unable to speak English, I don’t know for sure.

The more disturbed he is about the whole thing, the more troubled I become.

I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I’ll DVR it and stay off the net for a few hours when I should be working anyway.

But really. Who am I kidding? I’m going to be completely worthless until I know the outcome.

It’s that important.

Maybe it didn’t seem like it would be that important when MLS put out the schedule so long ago. One game in the middle of the season played at a time when a great number of Timbers supporters will have to follow Twitter updates or sneak a livestream onto their work computers. Meh.

But this could very well be pivotal for the Timbers. Every game is a must-win, but this? The first road game post-Spenny? After whatever it was that happened on Saturday?

My dog is still pacing. I just set my DVR.

I posted on Twitter/Facebook yesterday about my attempt to explain why Saturday’s loss wasn’t the fault of Timbers keeper Troy Perkins. It’s a difficult concept for some. He’s the goalie, right? It’s his whole job to make sure the ball doesn’t go in, right? Right?

Well, sure, but it isn’t really that simple.

What I like most about this team is that they are incredibly accessible. So, when I posted about trying to explain that Troy was not entirely at fault, a response came directly from one of the players, a defender, who simply said this:

It was not his fault at all. We let him down.

I have never loved a player more than I did the minute I saw that post. This. This is just one of the many reasons I love this club so deeply, so madly.

And this is why I will be a basketcase for most of tomorrow afternoon.

As I said in the Boyd post last week, I expected the next chapter of the Timbers story to be written by Kris Boyd. Then he went out, got us two goals and was named Man of the Match. I’m not sure he’s done writing yet.

What I’ll be looking for (when I finally get to watch the much-delayed match) is a defense with something to prove. They know they screwed up and at least one of them has owned up to it in what I would consider a very personal way. Heart of a lion, that one. Sometime soon, I’m sure I’ll be writing about something spectacular he’s done.

So, if you’re reading this, Unnamed Timbers Defender, go get ’em. You’re welcome at Sunday night dinner anytime.

Edit: Clearly, I wrote this last night so get off my case already about the match being today. Sheesh.

 
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Posted by on July 17, 2012 in Timbers

 

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Wait. What?

15 Jul

I have absolutely no idea what just happened.

The numbers keep playing in my head: 81% pass completion, 61% possession, 200 more passes than the opposing team. Three goals at home, including a brace from Boyd (I’m totally claiming credit for that, by the way).

And we still lost. Isn’t that something?

There were some fine performances on the pitch tonight. And there were some real stinkers. But I’ll leave that to the experts to break down for you.

Here’s what I saw:

I saw Kosuke Kimura. I saw him come to Jeld-Wen, ready to play. I saw, through misty eyes, his salute to team and TA when he came to the North End pre-match, pounding the badge on his chest. I will never, ever forget that.

I saw a changed team. I saw a team that dominated and took an early lead. I saw a team who let that lead slip away but, instead of giving up, dug in and did everything within their power to get it back.

In the end, their efforts were not rewarded. It was just a weird, weird game.

People are, as expected, having a pretty good go at Gavin. I get it. But I’m not there yet.

If the changes I saw take hold – stronger offense, more heart, perseverance in the face of great adversity – then we’re in for a really fun ride, indeed. And then there’s this: Gavin was a defender. I can’t imagine he’ll let what happened tonight slide.

So, I came out of a 5-3 home defeat not upset, not disappointed (as I just told someone on Twitter, I think this week has sucked all the disappoint out of me), but hopeful.

Hopeful and ready for what’s to come.

Except Kenny Miller to Vancouver. I wasn’t ready for that at all.

 
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Posted by on July 15, 2012 in Timbers

 

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A few words about Boyd.

10 Jul

Let’s just get this out of the way: if you think Kris Boyd’s response to Cubbie from The Oregonian is because he’s thin-skinned, you’re delusional. Boyd’s been in the game a long time and, for the love of Pete, he was a Ranger. In Glasgow. A Glasgow frickin’ Ranger. That alone should make you think twice before assuming he’s a shrinking violet.

For those of you not following along with the Twit-stupidity today, here’s a brief rundown:

The Timbers beat writer for the local paper, a man many consider a pot-stirrer of epic proportions, tweeted something I would consider, at best, stupid. He has every right to his opinions but his timing was off and his target chose, in his own way, to shoot back.

So, what did Cubbie tweet?

A thought: Ironic that the guy hyped as the savior – Kris Boyd – hastened John Spencer’s demise by blowing PK against Cal FC. ‪#RCTID‬

Someone somewhere pointed out the tweet to Boyd who, as far as anyone knows, is not on Twitter, and he took exception to it, refusing to speak to the media after today’s training session until Cubbie was excluded.

Meh.

If someone blames me for my boss getting fired and my boss is a guy I respect, a guy I moved to the other side of the world to work for, I might get a little pissy, too. Add to that the fact that I’m Kris Effing Boyd, all-time leading goal-scorer of the Scottish Premier League? Yeah, screw Cubbie.

When I caught wind of this whole thing this afternoon, I was on my break at work, sitting in the lunchroom by myself. It was in this exact place that I listened to Merritt’s statement yesterday.

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday was doom and gloom and I felt like the world was caving in. Well, maybe not the entire world, but a least a portion of my Timbers world. Everything felt heavy and listening to Merritt’s voice break as he spoke brought tears to my eyes.

Today, I read through the tweets regarding Boyd and Cubbie and Cubbie’s friend-who-used-to-hate-soccer-before-he-liked-soccer-before-someone-hurt-Cubbie’s-feelings-and-he-threatened-to-hate-soccer-again. Tears again, but this time it was from holding in the laughter.

I didn’t stop smiling all afternoon.

Is it because of my big fan-crush on Boyd? Maybe. I love this man unreservedly. Is he the savior that Cubbie says he was supposed to be? Not yet. But he could be. Regardless, he’s turned the story from being dark storms on the horizon and the end of the world as we know it, to “Let’s all laugh at Cubbie.”

What I believe here is this: as Kris Boyd goes, so go the Timbers.

When he plays well, the team plays well. When he’s pissed, the team is pissed. He’s become the de-facto captain.

With all outward indications pointing toward the conclusion that the Timbers franchise has all but given up on this season, today’s exchange between Boyd and Cubbie tells me this: Boyd still cares.

When he did speak to the media today, we got some stock statements about moving forward, being a professional, doing the job he was brought here to do. They were statements any other player in a similar situation might have made but they don’t tell the story.

The story will begin with what happens Saturday.

And I’m hoping the first chapter is written by Kris Boyd.

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2012 in Timbers

 

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