Portland, Ore. - Is it too late for the 2014 World Beard & Moustache Championships—held in Portland last October—for a new entry?
New Portland Timbers defender Nat Borchers could make a strong case to win the whole event.
Tall and imposing with a fiery red beard, Borchers was acquired via a trade with Real Salt Lake on Monday. The veteran center back comes to Portland with a long list of on-field MLS accomplishments: 2010 MLS Best XI selection, 2010 and 2011 RSL Defender of the Year, 288 career MLS appearances—287 of them starts—a 2010 MLS Cup title and being a vital part of the team that made a run to the 2013 MLS Cup final.
And then there’s the beard.
“I wish I could tell some amazing tale of why it was grown and how it came to be, but it was started for the playoffs and MLS Cup in 2013,” said Borchers. “I got a lot of good response for it going into the offseason, and I just kept going. It’s been a lot of fun. The fans get into it.”
Borchers played the past seven years in Real Salt Lake becoming a fan favorite. Prior to that, he spent time with with Odd Grenland (now known as Odds BK) in the Norwegian Tippeligaen for two seasons after breaking into MLS with his hometown Colorado Rapids in 2003.
Through it all, Borchers has maintained a strong relationship with fans, the origins of which can be traced all the way back to growing up in Colorado and attending Rapids games a teenager.
“After the games there were a couple of players that would hang out and sign autographs and interact with fans, and I loved those guys,” he said. “I really looked up to them.
“I like to pay it forward. I love interacting with the fans and showing how much their support means to us. I think it’s just huge, and that’s what I tried to do with RSL fans, and that’s what I’ll try to do with the Timbers fans as well.”
Leaving a team behind that he had such success with in RSL is, as he put it, “bittersweet,” but Portland presented an exciting opportunity and one that he has embraced.
“At this stage of my career to come to a team that has so many good pieces in place and is a team that I’ve enjoyed watching from afar, I’m definitely very excited for the opportunity,” he said.
Aiding with the transition into his new Rose City environs will be a familiar face in Timbers captain Will Johnson. Teammates for five seasons at RSL, Borchers can’t wait to reunite with his old friend.
“I missed Will,” said Bochers with a smile. “Training with him day in, day out was so much fun, and the guy is just such a fantastic player to share the locker room with, to go to battle with on the field. I am, without a doubt, very excited to team up with him again and to go to work with him.”
Married and with a young baby, Borchers and his family have already been hitting Johnson up for suggestions on places to live in Portland and getting the lay of the land.
“That’s going to help the transition a lot,” he said.
Averaging over 28 starts a season, Borchers is known as rock-solid anchor to a backline who leads by example. His philosophy is clear: Keep it simple.
“I’m very committed to defending,” he said. “I’m not trying to be flashy. I’m not trying to do anything that’s going to be risky in terms of possession. I just want to make things very simple and make sure that I’m doing my job defensively.”
Now working towards getting settled in Portland, Borchers can’t wait to play in front of the Timbers Army next season.
“I think one of the most exciting things to look forward to is just those home games where we get to come out of the tunnel and then hear that roar of the crowd happen behind me instead of against me,” he said. “To have that kind of crowd and that energy behind you definitely gives you a push in the right direction.”
