Editor’s Note: The Portland Timbers are on the eve of their fifth season in Major League Soccer—and 40th anniversary of their first season in 1975—as they prepare for Saturday’s season opener against Real Salt Lake (7:30pm PT). There are five players on the roster that have been with the club all five years of its MLS existence: Diego Chara, Jake Gleeson, Jack Jewsbury, Darlington Nagbe and Rodney Wallace. All five have grown with the club and been a part of some memorable Timbers moments.
Throughout this week, we'll showcase a story a day about each of the five. Five players. Five days. 5x5.
Here are their stories.
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"A day that I'll always remember will be the opening night against Chicago that we had here. Even though it was pouring down rain and the weather wasn't great, the atmosphere was probably the best I've ever seen in this stadium, from the national anthem to winning after the game and doing our victory lap. It's one of those things that will be etched into my mind for the rest of my life."
--Jack Jewsbury, who captained the home team on the field on that April 14, 2011, night and helped lead the club to its first ever MLS victory, a 4-2 win over the Chicago Fire.
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PORTLAND, Ore. - Few MLS players can boast of a career as long and as accomplished as Jack Jewsbury.
Last July, the 33-year-old made his 300th career MLS appearance in a 3-2 Portland Timbers road win over the Montreal Impact. Reaching that mark put him in an illustrious group that includes names such as Landon Donovan, Kyle Beckerman, Brad Davis and more.
"To join the list of other guys that are on there meant a lot," Jewsbury said. "And to do that in a Timbers uniform was truly special."
Jewsbury’s path to Portland started in 2011 when the long-time Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) veteran was traded to the Timbers in the preseason. The move proved a challenge to Jewsbury and his family, who had developed such deep roots in Kansas City.
"We were in Kansas City for eight years and family and friends were less than a three-hour drive away. So I think the biggest change for us was not having family and friends so close."
However, from almost the moment he arrived, Jewsbury recognized just how different the soccer environment was in the Pacific Northwest.
"When I first got traded here, we played in a [preseason] tournament against Seattle at Starfire," he recalled. "It was the very first game that I had been with the team. I had heard a lot about Portland and how big soccer was and the rivalry, but you don't understand until you're really a part of it. Even in that small venue that they have there, you could really feel how intense it was between the two teams.
"That was my real first taste of what a real rivalry's like."
It wasn't long after that the veteran Jewsbury proved his worth both to his new team and to the Timbers faithful. Named the club’s first-ever MLS captain, Jewsbury had a career year in 2011 scoring seven goals to go along with eight assists and was voted by fans to his first AT&T MLS All-Star Game. His teammates named him the 2011 Player’s Player of the Year.
In 2012, it was Jewsbury’s cannoned shot on the road against Vancouver Whitecaps FC that gave the team a 1-0 win and captured the Cascadia Cup and in 2013, he was awarded the club’s Unsung Hero Award.
Since 2011, Jewsbury has seen his role in the team develop year after year, from being an attacking presence in central midfield to playing a more defensive role as a holding midfielder and also right back. It's this versatility, Jewsbury says, that has helped him stay on the field throughout his long career.
“It's just about how fast you can adapt, and luckily for me it's gone well,” he said.
Having been here from the beginning of the MLS era, Jewsbury understands what it takes to be a member of Portland Timbers as he was among the first leaders to help set the tone. To him it's no surprise that players like Darlington Nagbe, Diego Chara, Rodney Wallace, and Jake Gleeson—all players who have been here all five years—have all remained with the club.
"They're quality guys on and off the field. You know what you're going to get from them," he said.
"The one thing that we continue to preach is consistency, day-in and day-out. You set good habits in training and it carries over to weekends. I think all of those guys have continued to do that over their time here."
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Jewsbury, for one, doesn't take for granted how fortunate he is to have landed in the Rose City.
"When you look at the support that we have here and the atmosphere that's created in games...it's something that, when I first started in this league, you never would have thought would have been realistic. So to come into a team like this has been pretty special.
"This city has really embraced us all in a way that we can never really pay them back for, but I truly appreciate it."
