Trying to get supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps to agree on anything is like trying to convince Pele's mother that Maradona was the best soccer player ever! Well, almost. Things are likely changing just a bit in the cooperation department as the Cascadia Cup begins to brew for the three rivals.
Portland won the 1975 "Columbia Cup" over the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Sounders and Timbers played for the "Rose Festival Cup" and the "Mountain Bar" Cup in NASL days.
Talked about for years, 2004 seems to be the season a cup will actually be awarded for the winner of regular season matches between the three clubs. You might have followed the discussions on USLdiscussions.com or one of the supporters' boards. First there was the sentiment that we didn't really need a cup to "prove anything." Then posts were made by those who remember cups awarded in the old NASL days, such as the "Mountain Bar" Cup and the "Rose Festival Cup" between the Sounders and Timbers, or the "Columbia" Cup between the Timbers and Whitecaps. As momentum grew towards having some kind of cup, the next hurdle was getting fans to come to a consensus over the rules that would decide the winner.
Landing on a cup format has not been easy. Arguments of merit have been made from many sides that the cup should be a selection of games from the regular season. Others feel that only a complete season of match-ups will determine the "Champion" in this region of North America. As it stands now the cup is going forward in 2004 with the complete-set-of-matches format. This means each team will host 4 derby cup matches this year, two against each rival. While there is a "majority" opinion supporting this format, most fans also feel that the format choice can be revisited during the off-season to evaluate whether or not it worked well.
Had a cup been awarded in 2003 using the all-matches format, the race would have been overwhelmingly exciting. Using the standings points system of 3 for a win and 1 for a draw, the end result of all the derby madness out west looked like this: Seattle-18 points, and Vancouver and Portland 16 points each! The season-series "winner' was likely determined by a single kick of the ball!
Then there is what to call the cup. "Cascadia" seems a bit obscure until one looks at the natural, geological and scientific nature of our region. Most professionals in this area look beyond borders and more at natural dividers like the Cascade mountain range. Without state and country borders, this part of North America is referred to by many as "Cascadia." Novels have been written on the subject, and there is even a movement to make Cascadia it's own country!
The Cascadia Cup competition will kick off May 1 in Portland's PGE Park as the Sounders and Timbers renew their ancient rivalry. The match, besides being the season opener for both clubs, is also a US Open Cup qualifier. The Sounders host Portland May 15 in another Cascadia Cup / US Open Cup duel at Seahawks Stadium. The Whitecaps jump into the fray May 23 when they host Portland at Swangard Stadium.
Fans of all three clubs anticipate that 2004 will carry the same derby insanity previous seasons have. Now we will have added a cup to go with the madness. We know this soccer triangle rivalry is the hottest in the country. It has been since about 1974. We didn't have anything to prove by giving it a cup. Except maybe that occasionally we can all agree a little bit---on something.
Cascadia Cup Links:
http://soundercentral.com/CascadiaCup/cascadia_cup.htm
http://www.geocities.com/close_the_roof/cascadiacup.html
