This announcement surprised me today; maybe it shouldn't have: http://www.mlssoccer.com/awards/2011/fairplayaward The fact that Portland earned the least fouls, and were among the lowest in getting red and yellow cards, confirms for me what I saw and what I suspected throughout most of the year watching the Whitecaps and MLS: What I saw: many MLS referees have a shaky grasp of the FIFA rule book, while others (yes you, Mr. Toledo) are shamlessly--and shamefully--out to be the center of the show. What I suspected: The American expansion Timbers were treated very differently by match officials than the Canadian Whitecaps, especially early in the season. As far as I could tell, while they weren't as bad as Philadelphia, Portland was at least as--or more--chippy than most other teams. To give them the most sportsmanlike team award points out some definite issues with competitive fairness in the league.
You don't think that the prospect of a Canadian (read foreign) team--lead by a former EPL CEO, with as many European and African players as Americans, and a development program led by a Dutchman--bursting out of the gates (remember that 4-2 win in the first game) didn't make the MLS brass a bit insecure? The insecurity would have subsided pretty quick, I'll admit, as we obliged by sucking for the whole rest of the season. If I'm wrong about a deliberate hobbling by the MLS, fair enough. But making Portland the most sportsmanlike team in the league still suggests the the use of some pretty fancy hallucinogens.
Wow.. You've gone full on conspiracy theorist now. You want to know why the Timbers got the fair play award? It was because they were an extremely timid team for the first half of the season. Their defenders never closed on players and they rarely tackled. It's hard to commit fouls when you're giving ground rather than trying to actually defend. The Whitecaps flat out sucked this year and they didn't need any help from the POS refs that cover MLS games.
errr... I think what you meant was the Whitecaps flat out sucked this year and they NEEDED help from the POS refs that cover MLS games. They just didn't get anymore than anyone else Although I do feel Hassli was unfairly targeted for the first half of the season (he took it on himself to disappear in the 2nd half) I didn't watch nearly enough of any other teams to know how sportsmanlike they are. In my day of amateur sports/high school sports, they always gave the sportsmanship award to the shittiest team, because despite sucking they still came out week after week. Maybe dehun is just a bit upset at being snubbed for that?
You're right, I am bitter. We won that trophy fair and square--we were the worst, dammit! Judging by the games I saw the Timbers play against us (including preseason in Tukwila), I still think they're Team Hack 'n' Whack.
Because rivalry matches are a good way to determine how a team plays in the other 30 games of their season. If you didn't watch any of the Timbers' other games you really have no standing to complain about whether or not they deserved the Fair Play award.
Sure, rivalries are more intense than other games, but: looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...probably not a swan.
No... Rivalry games are outliers. It doesn't matter how "clean" a team is outside a rivalry game, they are always going to get a little bit dirtier in a rivalry game. However, like I said, Portland was a very timid team for the first half of a season and that deflated their foul and card count. As they got more assertive towards the end of the season, their foul count increased.