Revel in the glory of Sounders-Timbers, one soccer’s best rivalries

Carved out of passionate Pacific Northwestern soccer fandom, the Timbers and Sounders prove MLS can produce a classic soccer rivalry.

Rivalry is the essence of soccer. Of course, the same could be said of most sports, but in the case of soccer it is a lifeblood. Not so long ago, that was an issue for Major League Soccer. For all that North America’s top flight had undeniably grown in the post-David Beckham years it lacked the sort of edge that defines the game everywhere else.

And so MLS embarked on a mission to manufacture that edge. New York City FC were introduced to the league in 2015 as the city’s second team after the New York Red Bulls, while new franchises Atlanta United and Orlando City also struck up a contest. Then there was Los Angeles FC, who made a very bullish point of treading on the toes of the LA Galaxy.

That final rivalry – El Trafico as it has been playfully dubbed in reference to the clogged highways of the USA’s second city – has gained relevance over the past two seasons, with LAFC showing great ambition to really shake up their Carson counterparts. But it still doesn’t have the appeal of the rivalry between the Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders.

It would be wrong to declare this MLS’s original rivalry – the contest between DC United and the New York Red Bulls, previously the New York/New Jersey MetroStars dates back to the league’s foundation year – but it’s certainly true that Portland v Seattle raised the stakes in terms of what was expected of a derby in North American soccer. To this day, it still sets the standard.

Of course, this is a rivalry that long predates MLS. In fact, the first meeting between the Sounders and the Timbers was all the way back in 1975. Both franchises were heavyweights of the old NASL that burned bright through the 1970s, but flamed out within a decade. It could never be said that MLS manufactured this rivalry like they have many others. This is an entirely authentic contest and from that has come a unique level of animosity.

This weekend will be a little different, though. Portland and Seattle fans have largely found themselves united by MLS’s new ban on political signage, with the two fanbases leading the discussion on what is becoming a major topic. The league has taken a hardline stance against the use of the Iron Front symbol, used to represent the anti-fascist movement ‘Antifa,’ with both Sounders and Timbers front offices writing to their supporters groups to demand that it not be displayed. MLS argues that the symbol is political in nature and so in violation of its new fan code of conduct, introduced for the 2019 season.

In the traditionally liberal Pacific Northwest, this has not gone down well. The Portland Timbers, for example, have used the Iron Front symbol for decades, dating back to the NASL days. Four Portland and Seattle supporters groups, two from each side, released a joint statement hitting back at the league for the ban and there are plans for joint demonstrations at Providence Park this Friday night. There will be the usual fire on the field, but an unfamiliar unity might well be apparent in the stands.

MLS has come a long way with regards to its harnessing of a number of fierce rivalries across Canada and the United States. With this being Rivalry Week, that will be full show, with almost every fixture this weekend pitting one rival against another. The eye will be drawn to a number of games, from Central Florida to California, but even after all this growth none of these fixtures can match what the rivalry between Portland and Seattle offers.