The Thorns community, as witnessed by 25,000 people standing and cheering through a downpour for 120 minutes and not one person left early despite the loss. Anywhere else, that never happens.
That Hina-san waza might be the filthiest piece of in-game trickery I’ve seen in twenty years of watching this sport.
The closest was Heath sombrero-ing a Seattle defender at Memorial back in 2016, I think. But unlike Hina, it was a very Heath bit of trickery and for all the skill didn’t actually lead to a tactical advantage…
I enjoyed Rapinoe’s last game. Beating them badly. Weaver’s celebration, and frankly a hated rivals humanity after the end of the game. It also was the best we looked all year
So many moments this season as a Thorns fan! Some heartbreak, for sure, but plenty of joy: Soph's goal moments after coming on the field for the first time after the Cup, Thorns winning after losing Kelli to a red card early in the math, pretty much every moment watching Morgan and Hina play and, hands down, Bella's goal. Coming into a packed Providence Park in the pouring rain and EVERYONE was smiling - so Portland, so Thorns.
Besides abundant skills, what do Weaver, Valeri, and Blanco have in common? Intense fire and spirit. Hope we see more of those qualities across both teams next year.
Actually winning the game on Valeri day, then watching him get lifted up and celebrated by the team, then Diego coming up into the North End to greet the TA. That was such a great thing to be a part of.
Lotta good ones for the Thorns this year! Betfort trapping an over the shoulder pass in stride with the back/outside of her foot and knocking it in for a goal, Bella’s back heel, and Smith subbing in (I think after the World Cup?) and within moments knocking one in off a pass from Weaver, showing off their chemistry and capability in one, all pretty rad.
For non-goal moments though, my hands down favorite was Hina Sugita taking the ball to the sidelines in the Thorns own third, turning and dancing right past 2 defenders so bad one fell over and the other threw her hands up in disgust and walked away, absolute magic.
This answer sounds snarky, but it's not: the day Gio was fired. That day felt like such a breath of fresh air after two years of stagnation and slow withering; it's not like everything did a 180 as soon as he left, but it was nice to see the team start to play with an energy and a drive that they hadn't displayed for the entirety of the season and most of the season before. The season ended on a down note, but for a few games there, it was a fun team to watch.
Valeri Day was pretty amazing, though, and I'm glad I was there to see it.
As much as he was barely himself the last couple years, dude's a damn legend here and should be celebrated. This was the right call for the Timbers to make, even if it was probably super tough to do.
I mean, it’s gotta be the Asprilla bicycle kick and that 20 minute spurt where we scored 4 goals vs Seattle. Then the month of peak Joseph ball was amazing, it felt really great to be truly excited to watch a Timbers game each week. With Gio it always felt like a toss up between whatever team was going to show up that week. Would be look terrible or good? Who knows! With Joseph it actually felt like we had a consistency and I was confident that we were going to put in a good performance. And if we didn’t, that felt like an outlier. Obviously it didn’t end well for him in those last few games, but for a little bit there it was really good
It was SO refreshing watching the lads celebrating goals scored, they were so confident and on top of everything for that MJ boost. It'll be very, very interesting to see what things are like under Neville. I guess Coachella pre season matches aren't even that far off...
When is Portland gonna announce our roster moves. We were put before most and they have announced their options, declines, etc. Why haven't we announced ours
The Thorns community, as witnessed by 25,000 people standing and cheering through a downpour for 120 minutes and not one person left early despite the loss. Anywhere else, that never happens.
The ten-player comeback win over Carolina. Had it all; disaster, triumph, The Damned taking a L…plus an unusually clever match from Mike Norris.
What a great topic and Morgan's address to Reign fans has to rank way up there. First XI play, that.
Will put forward Hina, doing awful, nasty Hina things on two hapless defenders.
https://www.tiktok.com/@justwomenssports/video/7242317354107931910?lang=en
And yet she seems so nice.
That Hina-san waza might be the filthiest piece of in-game trickery I’ve seen in twenty years of watching this sport.
The closest was Heath sombrero-ing a Seattle defender at Memorial back in 2016, I think. But unlike Hina, it was a very Heath bit of trickery and for all the skill didn’t actually lead to a tactical advantage…
Same. "Hina-san...those women have FAMILIES!"
Simple. Beating Seattle. It never gets old.
I enjoyed Rapinoe’s last game. Beating them badly. Weaver’s celebration, and frankly a hated rivals humanity after the end of the game. It also was the best we looked all year
Beating the flounders is always enjoyable 😉
Oh, and cheering Hina-san with the JASO oendan. That was Big Fun, even if the match was a draw…
So many moments this season as a Thorns fan! Some heartbreak, for sure, but plenty of joy: Soph's goal moments after coming on the field for the first time after the Cup, Thorns winning after losing Kelli to a red card early in the math, pretty much every moment watching Morgan and Hina play and, hands down, Bella's goal. Coming into a packed Providence Park in the pouring rain and EVERYONE was smiling - so Portland, so Thorns.
Thorns moments:
Bella's goal, Betfort's goal against NC, and Weaver's scorpion kick goal.
Besides abundant skills, what do Weaver, Valeri, and Blanco have in common? Intense fire and spirit. Hope we see more of those qualities across both teams next year.
The merciful end of the season.
Actually winning the game on Valeri day, then watching him get lifted up and celebrated by the team, then Diego coming up into the North End to greet the TA. That was such a great thing to be a part of.
Was there in the TA. An unforgettable moment, and a fitting way to say farewell to a legend.
Gio getting fired, huge sigh of relief
Lotta good ones for the Thorns this year! Betfort trapping an over the shoulder pass in stride with the back/outside of her foot and knocking it in for a goal, Bella’s back heel, and Smith subbing in (I think after the World Cup?) and within moments knocking one in off a pass from Weaver, showing off their chemistry and capability in one, all pretty rad.
For non-goal moments though, my hands down favorite was Hina Sugita taking the ball to the sidelines in the Thorns own third, turning and dancing right past 2 defenders so bad one fell over and the other threw her hands up in disgust and walked away, absolute magic.
This answer sounds snarky, but it's not: the day Gio was fired. That day felt like such a breath of fresh air after two years of stagnation and slow withering; it's not like everything did a 180 as soon as he left, but it was nice to see the team start to play with an energy and a drive that they hadn't displayed for the entirety of the season and most of the season before. The season ended on a down note, but for a few games there, it was a fun team to watch.
Valeri Day was pretty amazing, though, and I'm glad I was there to see it.
Sebastian Blanco has played his last game as a Timber.
https://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/2023/11/report-sebastian-blanco-to-depart-portland-timbers-after-seven-seasons.html
As much as he was barely himself the last couple years, dude's a damn legend here and should be celebrated. This was the right call for the Timbers to make, even if it was probably super tough to do.
I mean, it’s gotta be the Asprilla bicycle kick and that 20 minute spurt where we scored 4 goals vs Seattle. Then the month of peak Joseph ball was amazing, it felt really great to be truly excited to watch a Timbers game each week. With Gio it always felt like a toss up between whatever team was going to show up that week. Would be look terrible or good? Who knows! With Joseph it actually felt like we had a consistency and I was confident that we were going to put in a good performance. And if we didn’t, that felt like an outlier. Obviously it didn’t end well for him in those last few games, but for a little bit there it was really good
It was SO refreshing watching the lads celebrating goals scored, they were so confident and on top of everything for that MJ boost. It'll be very, very interesting to see what things are like under Neville. I guess Coachella pre season matches aren't even that far off...
When is Portland gonna announce our roster moves. We were put before most and they have announced their options, declines, etc. Why haven't we announced ours