In the 80th minute of Tuesday’s soccer match, the members of the Timbers Army sang “You Are My Sunshine.”
Although it could have been interpreted as a tribute to a glorious 70-degree day in which there were about as many clouds in the sky as there were good scoring chances for Seattle (which wasn’t many), the singing of the ditty is a tradition.
There’s no bucking tradition, even if you are in the warm climes of Arizona watching a preseason match rather than a sellout regular-season contest in the Pacific Northwest.
A group of about 50 or so flag-waving, hand-clapping, scarf-holding, chant-bellowing Portland Timbers supporters sat — actually, they stood most of the time — in the far section of the grandstand and made Kino Sports Complex North Field No. 5 their temporary home.
On a day full of green, with Portland wearing forest-green jerseys and Seattle donning lime-green tops, they added color to an already-vivid rivalry match that ended with the Timbers claiming a 1-0 victory over the Sounders.
Read this entire column in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Star.
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