The Atmosphere of a Good Game

 
It is rare when a stadium is as big a part of a game as the game itself. Rarely do the best MLS games end up on ESPN (well ESPN2, but close enough).  It is a rarity that the highflying, physical games that make me a fan of the league end up as the games that are featured nationally.  Yet somehow, all these rarities ended up added up into a reality.  Granted, the game was on at 11:00 PM EST, but if you caught this game, and did not become a fan then there is probably something wrong with you.

The atmosphere was absolutely electric.  While Portland may not match Seattle on Designated Players, or wins, they may just have the best sounding fans in MLS.  Instead of having a b-list singer belting out the National Anthem, the Portland fans sang the song.  While it may have partially been about not paying a singer to sing, it was also a moving moment for the Rose City, which had been clamoring for an MLS team since the North American Soccer League left in 1982.

From there, the cheering did not stop all night and unlike some supporters, the groups did more than just scream the name of the team repeatedly.  They chanted chants, they sang songs, they taunted players, and officials.  They truly were a twelfth man on the field throughout the game.

Then there was the game itself.  In the eighteenth minute, Kenny Cooper had a goal disallowed on yet another bad call by the referees.  Yet that did not stop the Timbers from plowing on with goals in the 28^th and 38^th minutes.  Then they struck again just after halftime in the 47^th minute.

Some more tackling and running later, with the game starting to look ridiculous a Portland own goal in the 66^thminute gave life to Chicago.  After causing the own goal,Chicago star Marco Pappa --and he is truly what MLS is about-- struck back again in the 81^st minute. 

With the score nearly level at 3-2, Portland could have folded and conceded the draw, which would have been a heartbreaking two-points lost at home.  While, I do not always believe in home crowds being a driving force, this crowd was.  It figuratively scared Chicago into conceding an own-goal of their own, in the 84^thminute, to allow a literal and moral victory for Portland in their first ever home game in MLS.

It was the atmosphere of winning, without the bad Charlie Sheen reference (sorry could not help myself).  Everything anyone could want in MLS was on display last night.  Portlanddelivered on all fronts and Chicago --a better than I thought they would be this year team-- delivered as well.  ESPN delivered, MLS delivered, heck even Ricardo Salazar (despite removing Kenny Cooper's goal) delivered.  It is the atmosphere that MLS is trying to replicate, the type of game that MLS is actually known for, and for once it was on television. 

If you caught the game, then I know that you are now a fan.  If you did not catch it, go over to ESPN3.com, there is no excuse.  Hopefully all the MLS Games of the Week will be as captivating as this one.

---

Abram Chamberlain blogs about Major League Soccer and the United States Men's National Team (amongst other things).  Follow him on Twitter @ThatMLSGuy