Sunday afternoon’s Portland Timbers game – a 2-0 rout at the hands of the New York Red Bulls – may have been forgettable for the team’s fans. But still, there were plenty of moments for supporters to cheer on – like the club’s alumni ceremony during halftime.
As part of their 40th anniversary celebrations, the Timbers honored 36 former players from the club’s three eras, starting with its founding years in NASL (1975-82), its USL reincarnation (2001-10), and then finally, its five seasons in MLS (2011-present).
So who showed up to drink in the special moment? Players included John Bain, the tenacious Scotsman who scored 45 goals and recorded 55 assists in 148 games during the NASL days. Then there was Willie Anderson, the longtime Aston Villa and Cardiff City man who became a Timbers mainstay who, like Bain, later settled in Portland. Jorge Perlaza, starting forward in the team’s inaugural MLS season, also appeared, among others.
The Timbers feted these greats during a pregame brunch and then in front of the sell-out crowd during the game’s halftime. That’s when they flooded into the north end of the stadium to lead P-T-F-C chants with the Timbers Army.
“That's really what's separated us from the rest,” Timbers owner Merritt Paulson told the gathered alumni, “to have 40 years of legitimate history is so special. I look around this room and I owe so much of what we've been able to do the last five years to each and every one of you.”
Check out more photos from the celebration on the Timbers site.
