Considering the marketing department is the most successful in the MLS, I'm pretty sure that if they went for that model, it would be the righ one and the North End would be totally behind it. That group is completely behind soccer in Portland, whatever it's form. As much as UP fans have also accepted the Timbers, I constantly see new fans of the UP team at our games. It is totally good.
Its still a matter of establishing that they are advertising for something other than the men's team. There is almost no text on that billboard. If I weren't already aware that there were a women's team coming, I wouldn't know that the billboard wasn't for the men's team, and would just assume they are advertising the next season of that. I have confidence that the Timbers FO will do right by the new women's team, no matter how that turns out. But if they try to use the exact same marketing for the women's team as they did for the men's, it might not be as successful as they were planning. I expect them to fully roll out the campaign for the women's team once they have officially announced the jerseys, name, and logo.
Haha It was just an observation that the Timbers organization hasn't been ignoring women. I can find another half dozen billboards where they are the focus. Merritt is no dummy. He will figure out what it takes to make the new team viable. I have questioned his soccer decisions, but I challenge you to find anybody to make a case that his franchise decisions haven't been spot on. Guys like him are the best hope for women's soccer.
They've started to release some further clues about the logos. It looks like green will be one of their colors. Red isn't necessarily ruled out yet, but seems to play too large of a role in the little bit shown of the logo not to be a part of the team's colors. @PTWomensFC PDX Women’s FC name and logo clue #1. “I think it’s great to have a professional women’s @ JELD-WEN Field http://instagr.am/p/TJT21dD8aB/
Well, they announced the team name. It was kind of the flip side of the Rosebud theme. Still PTFC and "No pity in the Rose City" Stick it to 'em. I can't wait to see what Nike does with team uniforms.
Well, if it is Nike, like I have heard, then they have a vested interest in doing well on the Thorns's unis, since Nike world headquarters is in a suburb of Portland.
Yep, just another reason why these uniforms should be badass. I expect embroidery image of thorns to be growing down the side of the uniform, maybe down the shorts too. It would look sweet, with a thorned-out rose on the lower thigh. I could see some of the Portland players getting this new logo tattooed just above their tail-bone. It would make the perfect tattoo. Natasha Kai is already begging to be signed on to this team. I believe Portland may be the closest franchise to her original hometown area of Hawaii. She would be a badass player on this team. Throw Rapinoe, Wambach, Sinclair, Foxhoven, Sophie Schmidt, Keelin Winters, and Teresa Noyola on this team, and you got something up top and in your midfield. Amy LePielbet, Allison Falk, Garciamendez, Elli Reed, and Camille Levin on your backline. Lindsay Taylor and Natasha Kai as super sub offensive players from your bench. Now you're talkin'. This team would be the perfect balance between physical/brute strength, size, speed, and skill.
If I'm Portland, I go for this roster: F - Wambach, Christine Sinclair, Danielle Foxhoven, Tasha Kai, Lindsay Taylor MF - Rapinoe, Keelin Winters, Sophie Schmit, Teresa Noyola, Angie Kerr (Woznuk) D - LePielbet, Allison Falk, Garciamendez, Elli Reed, Camille Levin, Danielle Johnson GK - Val Henderson, Bianca Henninger Sinclair, Foxhoven, Rapinoe, Winters, Schmidt, Kerr, Reed, Johnson, all played at Portland. Falk, Taylor, Noyola, Garciamendez, and Levin, all played at Stanford. Henderson at UCLA. Henninger at Santa Clara. Kai at Hawaii. LePielbet at Arizona State. Wambach at Florida. Essentially nearly half (8 of 18) on this roster played for the Portland Pilots in college. Almost all these players played for either Pac-12 (Pac-10 back then) or west schools. Wambach is the only one from the east, but she has a house in Portland. Some of the listed defenders above used to be attacking players or midfielders. Reed, Levin, and Johnson can all play multiple positions, or attack from their defensive position. Foxhoven can be an attacking midfielder, or a forward. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Here's how Portland can mastermind this roster: Attempt to get Wambach, Rapinoe, and LePielbet as their trio of U.S. fed payed players. These three would be contacted ahead of time about the masterplan for the roster. They would all push for Portland to be their #1 choice, as a trio together. Attempt with aggression to get Sinclair and Schmidt as the duo of Canada fed payed played. Both played for Portland in college. Canada might want these two to play together anyways. Attempt with aggression to get Noyola and Garciamendez from Mexico (played for Stanford). Both will probably want to stay out west together, with either Portland or Seattle. Portland is closer to Stanford than Seattle. I think they both ultimately end up in Portland. Mexico may want both of these players to stay together on the same team. Now your seven fed-paid players are: Wambach, Rapinoe, LePielbet, Sinclair, Schmidt, Noyola, and Garciamendez. Not bad. Probably better than any other roster will have of seven fed-paid players. Next, you need goalkeeping. Who are the best goalkeepers to play for Portland, Santa Clara, UCLA, or Stanford, combined in the past decade? Well, that's easy. Nicole Barnhart (Stanford), Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara), Val Henderson (UCLA). You can't get Barnhart, as the team already has three U.S. fed-paid players, and Barnhart will probably be one of the 24 U.S. fed players paid. But gobble up Henninger. Now you need another goalkeeper. Who can you grab? Van Henderson played for UCLA. She will probably prefer to play out west (like she did for the Sol when WPS began). There's no Los Angeles team (yet). Grab Henderson to a one year contract. What about more attacking players to join Sinclair and Wambach? Sign Danielle Foxhoven as a free agent. She played for Portland in college. Reach out to Tasha Kai. She will totally want to play on this badass team. Sign her. And gobble up Lindsay Taylor. She played for Stanford, and strengthens the offense from the bench. Need more defenders? The team already has fed-paid players LePielbet and Garciamendez. But you need more. Allison Falk played for Stanford, and still has some life left in her. She will want to prefer to play on the west coast still (her first preference was with the Sol if they still had a team). Sign Falk to a one year deal. Camille Levin is out there. She will also probably want to play out west. Portland again is the closest franchise to Stanford geographically. I don't think it'll take much of a sales pitch to sign Levin as a free agent. You also have Elli Reed and Danielle Johnson who can play in the midfield or defend, whom both played for Portland. Sign both of them. At the same time, gobble up Keelin Winters for your midfield. Those last three players played together at Portland. Heck, sign them as a trio on the same day. They'll love to play together again. Angie Kerr (Woznuk) is still out there, and has a few good years left in her. She'll definitely want to join this team in Portland. And there you have it. This 18-player roster will compete for a championship. They are definitely a playoff team. And might be the front-runner to win it all.
I was first taken aback by you grasp of geography. Portland isn't even closer to Eugene than to Seattle, but then I realized you were being Palo Alto centric. And ther are plenty of good keepers. Hope is from the tri-cities, only about an hour and a half from Portland. Barney looks to Be in our extended territory also. And there are two keepers that perhaps be coaxed out of retirement, Cori Alexander and Kelsey Davis, who was on the Nats until she broke her Jaw. They are both coaching D1 though. The lost years of soccer being only on the East Coast may have doomed their careers. I kind of hope we get Sinclair, Kerr, and Rapinoe in the mix. When those three won the national championship, they were a sight to behold. Maybe Huie can be coaxed North. And Portland has never had a Danielle Johnson, I assume you mean Kendall. She just graduated this week, but has a year of eligibility left. I'm kind of hoping she does a semester of graduate work. If she goes pro, it will be because of her National team aspirations. Both she and Reed are left side players, although I think either could move. Jessica Tsao is local and may be about done with her Fulbright Scholarship stint in England. She played right side. And Danielle Foxhoven is in Portland (assistant this fall for the Pilots after a brutal season in Russia) and I am sure would rather play in Portland than in Europe.
Yes, I meant Kendall Johnson. LOL, Danielle Johnson is a club soccer player I knew from a couple years ago. I don't know how I mixed her up with Kendall Johnson. Their talent difference is night and day, lol.
I just saw a potential name for the singers and chanters: The Bramble. Fan reaction to PTFC - Portland Thorns Football Club -- has been very positive.
[quote=" Fan reaction to PTFC - Portland Thorns Football Club -- has been very positive.[/quote] Of course it is. This is the right market, and the right team (city) to have a kick-ass name and logo. Portland fans starve for something cool, and something intimidating to the opposing team. They also crave great soccer. They're gonna get it. I expect them to lead the league in attendance. Their passion will show why Vancouver needs to get a franchise in 2014 or 2015 as well. This league will succeed this time. Portland will have a big say in it. They will "raise the level" of expected fan enthusiam across the league. Other franchises will learn from Portland. And will empower their fan-bases across the country to "strive" to be more passionate, like Portland's. No other team will match Portland, but the fact that the other franchises and fan-bases will strive that much more, only HELPS the league. You don't need Marta in this league. You just need passionate soccer grounds like Portland. I think Seattle, Kansas City, Chicago, Boston, Western New York, and D.C. can come close to matching enthusiasm. Los Angeles and/or Bay Area would as well (in sheer population turnout), if/when they get an expansion franchise(s). The jury is still out on Sky Blue's fan-base. Same for Philadelphia if they ever get a franchise again. Same for St. Louis. Same for Atlanta (if they don't have a top notch roster). Atlanta's attendance in 2011 wasn't all that compared to 2010. I don't know how enthusiastic Connecticut's fan-base would be, but I know that Connecticut is one of the best overall states in the northeast for soccer demand as a sport (per capita). Dallas and Ottawa would also be good markets for fan enthusiasm and demand. Not too sure on Florida though, from a soccer perspective. If I had to guess, we'll never see a Florida franchise in this league. We would see a Texas franchise (such as Dallas) before a Florida franchise. Last but not least, Denver would be a solid market for fan enthusiasm and overall demand as well. As you can tell, I want this league to have 16-20 franchises by 2020.
Probably but it will have to be in 2014 currently Levin have 1 year left on her 1½ year contract with Göteborg.
I don't see how the league will ever be able to support 16+ franchises on its current model. I mean, that dilutes the funding contribution from the federations by about half per team. If we assume Mexico and Canada at some point up their number of funded players to match the US, that buys us eighteen more players, so maybe three more teams if each team is getting seven or so. If Costa Rica jumped in for 24, then that's three more. Even with those rosy suppositions, that gets us to fourteen teams. Those aren't likely to happen, but even then you'd have to dilute to get 16 teams. I think we can fit in a couple more excited markets, Connecticut, Vancouver, maybe Ottawa or a pair of Cali teams if we stretch and can get Canada, Mexico or CR to step it up a notch, and that's about it without diluting away the federation support that's intended to make this league functional. I think too much expansion is a very, very dangerous thing to ask for right now.
We shouldn't be having expansion discussion in a team thread, (WPS_M has a really bad habit of making every thread all-inclusive,) but just for me two cents: if the league expands to 10 for 2014 (and maybe 12 in the near future) without losing any teams by 2016, I would take that to mean that the team owners are happy with the support they're getting on the ground level, so at that point I don't think the NT subsidies would matter much anymore. Anyway, "The Bramble" is as epic as "Thorns" is. I must say, Portland fans know how to swag. I'm expecting some impressive tifo from the Bramble.
That would be a rather generous allocation. I would figure out of 24 WNTers, a team should expect one player each out of the top eight (notable starters), the second eight (lesser starters plus better backups), and the third eight (reserves).
USA = 32 funded players (ultimately, entire player pool, or close to it) Canada = 24 players (ultimately) Mexico = 24 players (ultimately) Costa Rica = 12 players (ultimately) Brazil = 12 players (ultimately) Colombia = 8 players (ultimately) ------------------------------------------------- = 112 players 112 players / 16 teams = 7.00 funded players per team
Let me clarify... that's the goal. There is no official announcement for that. Costa Rico, Colombia, or Brazil haven't committed yet, but there is some interest possibly going forward. We're talking about the proposal of max. funded players 4-5 years from now. As the league continues to grow in # of franchises, the # of funded players need to grow in quantity as well. Otherwise, not much expansion will happen.
Are you, like, someone who would know these things? Is there any reason we shouldn't assume these are just the messageboard rantings of a fanboy, given the New Member rating you've got? I am highly skeptical.