Love the article, love the sentiment, and I try not to be this guy a lot but...in an article (rightfully) praising Dairon Asprilla, you should probably get the spelling of his name right in the headline.
...Aaaaand facepalm. You can take the Sam to a new Stumptown Site, but you can't take the typo out of the Sam! Thanks for the catch. Glad you enjoyed the piece (misspellings and all haha).
Dairon is the only Timber I can recall who was boo'd by our fans. He was wasting valuable time we needed in a comeback by sloooowly walking off the pitch. He was that player who was just a bit too good for T2, but never really seemed to try when with the first team. It's great to see the man and player he has become. As you said Sam, the emotional spark when we most desperately needed it - on more than one occasion. Even Taylor Twellman, who I swear hates us, had praises for Dairon. A very well written article Sam, for a very deserving Timber!
Yep, I remember being frustrated seeing him do that. And later it hit me why he might have done that (not an excuse, though). He was being subbed out for Fernandez. Now, all most of fans knew at the time was that BF had some "stomach bug," but could see Dairon's frustration as he got sent back to Colombia when he was in the dog house.
I remember him slow walking the sub but I didn't remember the circumstances. If he was actually subbed for Fernandez after "the flu" became evident, I 100% understand him being pissed. Imagine knowing your teammate is not showing up to practice because he's up late doing coke and is hungover and you've been playing it straight and working your butt off and get benched. I would definitely be salty AF.
I looked back and it was against SKC during that stretch where we had that 12 game stretch of home games. Fernandez did indeed sub on for Dairon and ended up getting the game winner in stoppage time. There was quite a bit of talk about it on here and wondering if Dairon would even be back next year, but a little later we found out there was no stomach bug we seemed to get it.
He and Diego Chara are very close off the field (treat each other like brothers, he is essentially an uncle to the Chara kids). I dare say the best of Diego rubbed off on Dairon.
We used to wait and hope that Asprilla would put it all together for a spurt in the season. The guy has been all over, T2, wing, striker, bench, starter, up, down, sideways but he just got better and better.
I was a little worried that it might take him a couple of months to come back after how sloppy he looked in the Vancouver game, but even before his goal he was so much better Saturday (not perfect, nobody is, but a lot better). Here is hoping he can maintain this level for the rest of the year - he has worked so hard, and this fan appreciates it.
Seeing Dairon grow from a consistent player for the past few seasons has been great to watch. I've been admittedly surprised every year before that he's still been on the squad but glad we stuck with him.
Excellent piece. Thanks. Someone needed to step up to turn around what looked to be a train wreck of a season, and Dairon did it. Fans will never forget. Now we'll see if this huge win was a catalyst for success. The Cincy match will tell us a lot. It's still going to be a very challenging season, especially with the monthlong tourney with Liga MX.
I mean, realistically I don't super care about a manufactured tournament money grab. If the team isn't doing well in the league I'd be fine with two and outing it and salvaging the regular season, getting to the playoffs in form and winning MLS Cup.
Honestly with the way this season is going, League’s Cup might be really good for us. Gives players more time to get healthy, helps players like Evander and Boli build chemistry with the team, basically just helping us get our feet back under us without affecting the league at all. Now the flip side to that is the potential for injuries. We need to keep our guys healthy, I don’t care about competing in Leagues Cup honestly, I just want the team to get some reps and get out
Honestly I'd love to see the Timbers use that tournament as an audition for as many T2 players as they feel ready to make that jump, and play a team of first team subs and T2 guys. I can't imagine wanting to risk the health of the best XI for a tournament that MLS is using as the next step in their incessant, tiresome need for validation from the rest of the soccer world.
There was a time when MLS probably needed that validation; even around the time the Timbers entered MLS, nobody really regarded MLS as anything but a small presence in the game. MLS isn't a top 5 or maybe top 10 league now in the world, but...who cares? It's a very entertaining league with a bunch of fun-to-watch teams and good storylines.
The league draws increasingly large numbers of international talent, particularly young talent, from all over the globe. There's more money and structure in the league now, and from what I hear, some MLS team won the CCL last year.
That tells me MLS doesn't need to be patted on the head and told they're special by the rest of the soccer world any more. And yet they continue to insist that they need a 'measuring stick' like the Leagues Cup, when they very clearly do not. They need the money, or they think they do.
If you listen to the players, they are interested in the Leagues Cup. I like to watch soccer and am excited to see a new foe and see how the team stacks up. It's another way to get into a higher tournament. Players "risk" their health whether they are practicing or playing league or tournament games, and they are being compensated for it. It is all about money. If I am a starter 11 player and have a chance for more prestige and more money, I'm not going to want a T2 player to take my place. If I am an owner, I'm going to want my team to advance to make more money. If I am a GM, I'm going to want some leverage to attract more players to my team. If the club doesn't take anything seriously (including the first part of the season ;)), then that attitude might not attract the type of players you want to play for your team. T2 has its own avenue for audition - it's called MLS Next.
Of course the players are interested - they're paid to play and to compete. What I'm interested in is not grinding those players into dust from overuse. The top echelon of MLS players play (like all players everywhere) their domestic league, a domestic cup or two depending on where they are, international team games, and a few preseason friendlies. And playoffs, in MLS. How much is too much?
I just hate the fact that the soccer powers look at the calendar and say 'HOW CAN WE CRAM MORE SOCCER INTO THIS CALENDAR I SEE SOME BLANK SPOTS LET'S HAVE A TOURNAMENT'.
My hot take: there's enough soccer! MLS players play for basically 11 months (including preseason and playoffs), with very little downtime. MLS actually has more down time than most leagues, particularly for teams that don't make the playoffs, but shoving more games into the schedule for TV inventory purposes just doesn't seem good for the long-term health of players.
The Leagues Cup occurs when the MLS league suspends play, so there's no overlap and no threat of "grinding players into dust." They created the space to do it so that argument doesn't apply.
I get that it's not an off-season tournament, but I still question the need to add games to an already crowded schedule. The MLS season is 34 games plus playoffs, and the Leagues Cup adds at least two and as many as six games to that schedule if a team makes the final. That's not nothing, no matter when in the calendar it happens, and it's for nothing more than TV money. I just don't think it's necessary.
Love the article, love the sentiment, and I try not to be this guy a lot but...in an article (rightfully) praising Dairon Asprilla, you should probably get the spelling of his name right in the headline.
...Aaaaand facepalm. You can take the Sam to a new Stumptown Site, but you can't take the typo out of the Sam! Thanks for the catch. Glad you enjoyed the piece (misspellings and all haha).
I always do - you and the rest of the crew do great work, and I'm glad Stumptown Footy still exists in a post-SBN world!
Dairon is the only Timber I can recall who was boo'd by our fans. He was wasting valuable time we needed in a comeback by sloooowly walking off the pitch. He was that player who was just a bit too good for T2, but never really seemed to try when with the first team. It's great to see the man and player he has become. As you said Sam, the emotional spark when we most desperately needed it - on more than one occasion. Even Taylor Twellman, who I swear hates us, had praises for Dairon. A very well written article Sam, for a very deserving Timber!
I remember that game well. For the second time I thought to myself (well I probably thought aloud to STF) that he’d played his last game with us.
It’s just a good story of grace and growing up and patience and building relationships through trouble.
I’m so happy he’s made it. He’s not an all-league guy, hell he isn’t an automatic starter, but I feel comfortable calling him a Timbers legend.
I feel like since 2021 he’s moved from a cult hero to a legitimate Timbers legend
Easily top 10 Timber in the MLS era!
Yep, I remember being frustrated seeing him do that. And later it hit me why he might have done that (not an excuse, though). He was being subbed out for Fernandez. Now, all most of fans knew at the time was that BF had some "stomach bug," but could see Dairon's frustration as he got sent back to Colombia when he was in the dog house.
I remember him slow walking the sub but I didn't remember the circumstances. If he was actually subbed for Fernandez after "the flu" became evident, I 100% understand him being pissed. Imagine knowing your teammate is not showing up to practice because he's up late doing coke and is hungover and you've been playing it straight and working your butt off and get benched. I would definitely be salty AF.
I looked back and it was against SKC during that stretch where we had that 12 game stretch of home games. Fernandez did indeed sub on for Dairon and ended up getting the game winner in stoppage time. There was quite a bit of talk about it on here and wondering if Dairon would even be back next year, but a little later we found out there was no stomach bug we seemed to get it.
He and Diego Chara are very close off the field (treat each other like brothers, he is essentially an uncle to the Chara kids). I dare say the best of Diego rubbed off on Dairon.
We used to wait and hope that Asprilla would put it all together for a spurt in the season. The guy has been all over, T2, wing, striker, bench, starter, up, down, sideways but he just got better and better.
I was a little worried that it might take him a couple of months to come back after how sloppy he looked in the Vancouver game, but even before his goal he was so much better Saturday (not perfect, nobody is, but a lot better). Here is hoping he can maintain this level for the rest of the year - he has worked so hard, and this fan appreciates it.
Seeing Dairon grow from a consistent player for the past few seasons has been great to watch. I've been admittedly surprised every year before that he's still been on the squad but glad we stuck with him.
Excellent piece. Thanks. Someone needed to step up to turn around what looked to be a train wreck of a season, and Dairon did it. Fans will never forget. Now we'll see if this huge win was a catalyst for success. The Cincy match will tell us a lot. It's still going to be a very challenging season, especially with the monthlong tourney with Liga MX.
I mean, realistically I don't super care about a manufactured tournament money grab. If the team isn't doing well in the league I'd be fine with two and outing it and salvaging the regular season, getting to the playoffs in form and winning MLS Cup.
Honestly with the way this season is going, League’s Cup might be really good for us. Gives players more time to get healthy, helps players like Evander and Boli build chemistry with the team, basically just helping us get our feet back under us without affecting the league at all. Now the flip side to that is the potential for injuries. We need to keep our guys healthy, I don’t care about competing in Leagues Cup honestly, I just want the team to get some reps and get out
Honestly I'd love to see the Timbers use that tournament as an audition for as many T2 players as they feel ready to make that jump, and play a team of first team subs and T2 guys. I can't imagine wanting to risk the health of the best XI for a tournament that MLS is using as the next step in their incessant, tiresome need for validation from the rest of the soccer world.
There was a time when MLS probably needed that validation; even around the time the Timbers entered MLS, nobody really regarded MLS as anything but a small presence in the game. MLS isn't a top 5 or maybe top 10 league now in the world, but...who cares? It's a very entertaining league with a bunch of fun-to-watch teams and good storylines.
The league draws increasingly large numbers of international talent, particularly young talent, from all over the globe. There's more money and structure in the league now, and from what I hear, some MLS team won the CCL last year.
That tells me MLS doesn't need to be patted on the head and told they're special by the rest of the soccer world any more. And yet they continue to insist that they need a 'measuring stick' like the Leagues Cup, when they very clearly do not. They need the money, or they think they do.
So yeah, I'm not a fan of the Leagues Cup.
If you listen to the players, they are interested in the Leagues Cup. I like to watch soccer and am excited to see a new foe and see how the team stacks up. It's another way to get into a higher tournament. Players "risk" their health whether they are practicing or playing league or tournament games, and they are being compensated for it. It is all about money. If I am a starter 11 player and have a chance for more prestige and more money, I'm not going to want a T2 player to take my place. If I am an owner, I'm going to want my team to advance to make more money. If I am a GM, I'm going to want some leverage to attract more players to my team. If the club doesn't take anything seriously (including the first part of the season ;)), then that attitude might not attract the type of players you want to play for your team. T2 has its own avenue for audition - it's called MLS Next.
Of course the players are interested - they're paid to play and to compete. What I'm interested in is not grinding those players into dust from overuse. The top echelon of MLS players play (like all players everywhere) their domestic league, a domestic cup or two depending on where they are, international team games, and a few preseason friendlies. And playoffs, in MLS. How much is too much?
I just hate the fact that the soccer powers look at the calendar and say 'HOW CAN WE CRAM MORE SOCCER INTO THIS CALENDAR I SEE SOME BLANK SPOTS LET'S HAVE A TOURNAMENT'.
My hot take: there's enough soccer! MLS players play for basically 11 months (including preseason and playoffs), with very little downtime. MLS actually has more down time than most leagues, particularly for teams that don't make the playoffs, but shoving more games into the schedule for TV inventory purposes just doesn't seem good for the long-term health of players.
The Leagues Cup occurs when the MLS league suspends play, so there's no overlap and no threat of "grinding players into dust." They created the space to do it so that argument doesn't apply.
I get that it's not an off-season tournament, but I still question the need to add games to an already crowded schedule. The MLS season is 34 games plus playoffs, and the Leagues Cup adds at least two and as many as six games to that schedule if a team makes the final. That's not nothing, no matter when in the calendar it happens, and it's for nothing more than TV money. I just don't think it's necessary.