4/16/14 10:11 AM Rip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Portland Thorns? Page 1 of 4 http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-21262-rip_city_vs_no_pity_hey_what_about_the…_thorns.html NEWS MUSIC MOVIES FOOD & DRINK ARTS & BOOKS FEATURES BLOGS WWVIDEO CITY GUIDES WW WWPRESENTS CLASSIFIEDS CALENDAR Tags: RipCityNoPity, Portland Thorns October 9th, 2013 JONANNA WIDNER | News Stories Home Home · Articles Articles · News News · News Stories News Stories · Rip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Thorns? Rip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Thorns? Rip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Thorns? IMAGE: Craig Mitchelldyer Who Owns Portland? | Blazers! | Timbers! | Blazers/Timbers Matchups Merritt Paulson/Paul Allen Mad Libs Hey.. What About the Thorns? | Psssh... Ducks! Last November, we learned of the creation and the birth of a local franchise, Portland Thorns FC. Local media gathered up their Alex Morgan B-roll and then settled into a regular-season holding pattern that drifted between indifference (a certain journalist slumped in the Jeld- Wen Field press box at every home match as if waiting to get his teeth cleaned) or total absence (ahem). Wednesday, April 16 any keyword News News News News News News Bad News: May 2014 will NOT be Portland Monthly’s First Annual "Original Idea" Issue Hey, More Reasons to Love Portland! Nice issue, guys! There are no new ideas. We wrote as much when we adapted New York magazine’s annual Reasons t... More APR 15, 2014 05:02 PM BY MARTIN CIZMAR | 2 COMMENTS Same-Sex Weddings Would Generate Nearly $50 Million for Economy, Study Finds Oregon's economy could gain nearly $50 million in spending over the next three years if a federal ci... More APR 15, 2014 01:30 PM BY KATE WILLSON | 1 COMMENT Shoni Schimmel, WNBA Draft Pick from Oregon, Credits Flair and Heritage for Her Fan Base Shoni Schimmel, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla and the highest-e... More APR 15, 2014 12:16 PM BY KATE WILLSON | 0 COMMENTS Two Major Oregon GOP Funders Form Federal PAC, Attack Jason Conger in the Republicans' US Senate Primary The machinations in Oregon's hotly- contested GOP U.S. Senate primary are getting more and more inter... More APR 15, 2014 11:05 AM BY NIGEL JAQUISS | 2 COMMENTS Francesconi Watches Welders, Promises Jobs in First TV Spot Jim Francesconi is taking his jobs pitch to television. The former city commissioner, running to for... More APR 15, 2014 10:35 AM BY AARON MESH | 1 COMMENT The Oregonian Wins Pulitzer for Editorials on PERS The Oregonian was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Monday for a series of editorials on the rising cost... More APR 14, 2014 12:28 PM BY KATE WILLSON | 0 COMMENTS
Transcript
4/16/14 10:11 AMRip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Portland Thorns?
Page 1 of 4http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-21262-rip_city_vs_no_pity_hey_what_about_the…_thorns.html
NEWS MUSIC MOVIES FOOD&DRINK ARTS&BOOKS FEATURESBLOGS WWVIDEO CITY GUIDES WWWWPRESENTS CLASSIFIEDS CALENDAR
Rip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Thorns?
IMAGE: Craig Mitchelldyer
Who Owns Portland? | Blazers! | Timbers! | Blazers/Timbers Matchups Merritt Paulson/Paul Allen Mad Libs
Hey.. What About the Thorns? | Psssh... Ducks!
Last November, we learned of the creation and the birth of a local franchise, Portland ThornsFC. Local media gathered up their Alex Morgan B-roll and then settled into a regular-seasonholding pattern that drifted between indifference (a certain journalist slumped in the Jeld-Wen Field press box at every home match as if waiting to get his teeth cleaned) or totalabsence (ahem).
Wednesday, April 16
any keyword
News
News
News
News
News
News
Bad News: May 2014 will NOT bePortland Monthly’s First Annual"Original Idea" IssueHey, More Reasons to Love Portland!Nice issue, guys!
There are no new ideas. We wrote asmuch when we adapted New York magazine’sannual Reasons t... More
4/16/14 10:11 AMRip City vs. No Pity: Hey, What About the… Portland Thorns?
Page 2 of 4http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-21262-rip_city_vs_no_pity_hey_what_about_the…_thorns.html
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An email from Willamette Week lit up my inbox at 8:07 pm a week ago, evoking memories ofthat tepid stew. The gist: Hey, we’re writing about which team rules Portland, the Timbers orthe Blazers? But then we thought, oh yeah, there’s also the Thorns. Wanna write about them?Oh, we need it in two days. Oh, and you have 200 words.
Typical.
But so be it. I asked for 300 words, and they were granted, but then I realized I only neededone: “Trophy.”
The Thorns are the first pro sports franchise to bring a major-league championship to theRose City since 1977. They did it via a remarkable playoff run, culminating in a 2-0 victoryover the Western New York Flash on Aug. 31 for the inaugural National Women’s SoccerLeague title.
It was a dazzling season, and this team’s parts sparkle with individual brilliance.
There is spunky midfielder Mana Shim, the self-proclaimed “lezziest lez in the league,” whoscored her first professional goal in front of 13,802 spectators on Portland Pride day.
There is defender Kat Williamson, who sees the town through the wide eyes of a Texas rookie,but who shuts down superstars like a steely-eyed vet.
There is the rock, Becky Edwards, whose midseason knee-ligament tear crushed our spiritsbut not hers, as she toted teammates’ water bottles all season while limping in a leg brace.
There is the trickster, Tobin Heath, who cracked a 30-yard, bending, blistering, miracle of ashot that ended up being the championship game-winner…with an injured foot.
There is red-Mohawked Karina Le-Blanc, who guards her goal like a pit bull; the dreadlockedCourtney Wetzel; the laconically loping Allie Long; the wispy Angie Kerr.
And there is, of course, Canadian legend and University of Portland product Christine Sinclair,as kind a soul as you will ever meet. Unless you happen to be between her and the goal—thenshe’ll happily rip out your heart, place it on the penalty spot, and strike it into the back of thenet with a clinical finish.
There are more players, but, you know, word count. Let’s just say you know you’ve got a hell ofa team when you don’t even need to mention Morgan.
Can you really argue with that? You certainly can’t argue with hardware.
But most importantly, you can’t argue with the average of 13,320 red-clad, raging fans thatrattle the Jeld-Wen bleachers at every home match.
Because they’ve always been in on the secret: The Portland Thorns run this town, y’all. Someof us already knew. Everybody else just needs to catch up.
[All Rip City Vs. No Pity articles are collected here.]
Jonanna Widner is, among other things, the Portland Thorns beat writer for StumptownFooty.com.
