Over this weekend, with yet another MLS season getting underway and approximately less 24 hours till the Timbers home opener, my passion for the game of soccer is at an all-time high right now. But how could an almost 16 year old girl become so passionate about a game where all you really have to do is get the ball in the back of the net? The simple answer is that I see it as much, much more than just that, as do all real football fans.
I probably got my love for the game from my parents, who both treasured the game of soccer too. My Dad attended a few Timbers games during his later teen years in the ‘70’s and he recently described the games as the loudest, craziest thing he’s ever been too. My mom babysat a few little kids who were avid fans of the Timbers and said she would always watch the games when she babysat them. My mom also said that she wished she would of played soccer in high school, but the cruel reality was when she was in high school, there where almost no women teams to play on.
To be honest with you I’ve only been an avid fan for about 6 or 7 years, but because I am still young, it feels like I’ve been a fan forever. Despite my parents love for the game they weren’t the ones who taught me about the real world of soccer, I heard my youth soccer coach talk about Clive Charles and the University of Portland women’s soccer team in the summer of 2004. However in 2004 I was only 8 so Clive Charles was just the name of a man and University of Portland women’s soccer team was just a soccer team, I had no clue what my coach meant when he said they had a chance to win another national championship, but I did listen up when he suggested to our team that we should watch them play if we ever could.
The first game I saw them play was during the end of the 2005 season on T.V. only 5 minutes into the game I remember thinking how cool it was that I could watch women play a soccer game, and they were really, really good at it too. That was the first time I ever dreamed about becoming a soccer player, and those players, on the 2005 University of Portland women’s soccer were my first ever true Idols of any kind, and of course Christine Sinclair was my favorite play from the team at that time. Watching them win the 2005 national championship was the first time I truly realized that I loved absolutely everything about the game of soccer. The first game I went to was on September 17, 2006 when the Pilot took on Portland state at Merlo Field. The #6 ranked Pilots won 4-0 that day. I then realized, even though it was a women’s college game, how much more exciting it was to attend a game, then to sit at home and watch it.
The first world cup I ever watched was the 2007 women’s world cup, it was also the first time I understood that you don’t always win games and they don’t always go or way as the U.S. lost 4-0 to Brazil. Later that year I discovered Fox soccer channel one Saturday and the game that was play at the time was Manchester United vs. Manchester City. I decided that I needed a team to root for so, because I liked the color red, Manchester United it was. I had discovered a whole new world of the game. By this time I was watching 4 or more soccer games every weekend, I was only 11 and I was a serious soccer addict. I just couldn’t get enough of it. Football had become a major part of my life. I decided to study more and more of the game. Once I had learned about the soccer cultures around the world and different leagues, I decided to go back a little and learn more about the history of the game.
I’ve spent the past 5 years of my life studying the game about as much as another person might study to get their PhD. I enjoyed knowing that there was some sort of history behind every soccer game I watched. I spend hours upon reading about the first international game played, the winners of every world cup, FA Cup, the best teams in the world, best players in the world, and the champions of the leagues around the world and even difference in soccer cultures. The one thing I enjoyed the most was watching old clips of the best players in the world, players like Sir Stanley Mathews, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Duncan Edwards, George Best, Johan Cruyff, Geoff Hurst, Ferenc Puskàs, Maradona, Pele and many more. I learned a lot from just simply watching their graceful skill on YouTube videos.
In 2009 I became a real fan of a team when my mom told me about the Portland Timbers; I finally had a home town team to support. Within just days of becoming a fan of the Timbers I knew almost everything about the team from 1975 to the last game they had played. The first Timbers game I ever attended was on May 29, 2010 against Boca Juniors. It was the first professional soccer game I went to. It is one of the things I will never forget in my life. While the Timbers won 3-2 in stoppage time and it was only a friendly, the Timbers Army taught me what it meant to truly support your team. My family has been Season Ticket Holders since last season and have and only missed one game due to my soccer tryouts.
Any way you put it, soccer is my life. It means everything to me. For me it’s about supporting your team through championships, heart breaking loses, knowing your clubs history and knowing why you are really a fan. My room its decorated, along with a lot of pink, in Timbers scarfs, University of Portland posters and lots of other soccer memorabilia. My favorite movies, which of course are soccer ones, include, “The Damned United”, “Fever Pitch” and “Goal”. And yes, you guessed, it my favorite book is about soccer too. East End Heroes, Sate Side Kings by Brian Belton is about three West Ham United players, including former Timbers, Clive Charles and Clyde Best. (Also featured Ade Cocker) who were the first three black players to feature together in an English side on April 1,1972.
“Some people say soccer's a matter of life or death, but it isn't. It's much more important than that” Who says 16 year old girls can’t be passionate about the game of soccer??
