Memories of Seattle Sounders FC’s first Major League Soccer meeting with the Portland Timbers remind us: some of a match’s most important stories take place beyond the field. Because for whatever spark the teams’ May 14, 2011, meeting gave their 36-year-old rivalry, much of the action within that day’s whistles was ultimately unremarkable. Two goals split just after halftime left the rivals drawn, 1-1.
The feelings around that game, though, have proven remarkable: in the anticipation that built in the years before; in the scenes in Seattle’s SoDo district around the match; in the relevance in the result that’d follow; in the legacy that game would help foster.