BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Portland Timbers have, on a number of occasions, pointed to the positive effect their passionate home crowd has on their performances.
That will be especially true when the Timbers play host to hated Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders on Sunday afternoon at Providence Park (7 pm ET; Fox Sports 1). But more than the ear-splitting noise from the continuous chanting and singing making it hard on the opposition or providing that extra push in the home players’ legs, Caleb Porter said the real effect from the crowd is a mental one.
“I don’t think it affects you a ton, as much as you might think,” Porter said Friday after training at the team facility. “In some ways going on the road, against all odds, you can use that to your advantage. But we certainly like playing in front of our home crowd. We feel confident in front of our home crowd. I don’t think Seattle will be intimidated, just like when we go to play them we’re not intimidated with the crowd.”
Since Porter came on board ahead of the 2013 season, taking over a team that had struggled mightily on the road in their first two MLS seasons, he has preached an equal approach to both road and away games, saying nothing about the game should change no matter where it’s played. He’s tweaked that somewhat, conceding that home teams are always more likely to be more aggressive, but the bottom line, he said, is the crowd should never affect a team’s tactics.
“I’ve never believed that the crowd and what color the crowd wears affects a soccer game at all, I’ve always believed that,” Porter said. “What it does affect is the psychology sometimes because you think it’s going to be easier, and in some ways the opponent playing on the road thinks it’s going to be harder. And because of that psychology, tactics are changed. And because of that psychology players play differently. But I try to, and we’ve shown with our results on the road, I’ve tried to completely go against that theory, that it’s harder on the road.”
That Portland-Seattle matchups are consistently memorable affairs certainly has to do a lot with the crowds. Elaborate and gigantic tifo displays greet the players, the decibel level of the chanting that exists at every game at Providence Park is upped a few decibels. Does it fuel the players’ passion, or does the players’ passion on the field fuel the crowd?
Likely a little of both.
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“It was always tough, the adjustment that first five, 10 minutes of the game when you’re under pressure, you’re trying to not give anything up, you can’t hear a whole lot on the pitch when you’re playing and sometimes you’re really struggling to get the ball out of your own end,” said Timbers center back Nat Borchers, who has been on the opposing end with Real Salt Lake before his offseason trade to Portland. “So I think that’s what we’ve got to capitalize on that, that’s a huge advantage that we have playing on our home field.”
Porter also knows Seattle will be no stranger to the raucous environment, and at this point in the rivalry it mostly boils down to what team performs the best.
“My point is, I don’t think it’s going to be any harder for Seattle to come in here,” Porter said. “They’ll be up for it, and they’ve played on this field. We’re going to be confident, and we’re definitely going to play aggressively, but it’s going to be a difficult game.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
