This Week in PTFC | Beat Seattle Week + Glass Spiders were in Portland

Brian Costello

Looking Ahead

Coming off a clutch 3-2 win over Real Salt Lake, the Portland Timbers now turn their sights to Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders FC. The fireworks begin Sunday as the two teams meet at Providence Park (5:30pm PT, TICKETS, FS1).

For the Thorns, they’ll aim to continue their six-game unbeaten streak as their stretch of road games continues with a trip east to Florida to face the Orlando Pride on Saturday (4pm PT, FOX 12 PLUS, Paramount+).

One Year Ago

This week marks the one-year anniversary of a very unique Timbers victory.

On Aug. 11, 2020, the Portland Timbers found themselves at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. Facing Orlando Pride SC in the MLS is Back Tournament final, the game marked the end of a near-two months of a quarantined bubble life of soccer with nearly all MLS teams living and playing across the Disneyworld complex.

Richard Farley wrote about it at the time saying, "It was unique, impromptu, and unlike any of the league’s other prizes, but it was also a show of what Portland has built – just one of many reasons why this title might forever be special."

Glass Spiders at Providence Park

Closer to home but many years earlier than the MLS is Back win, Providence Park – then known as Civic Stadium – played host to a spectacular phantasm of a show 34 years ago this week.

Aug. 14, 1987 brought David Bowie and his Glass Spider Tour to the stadium as part of his Never Let Me Down album release. The global tour was heavily theatrical with spoken word sections, stage vignettes, dancers, multiple acts and dramatic set design which included, not surprisingly, a giant multicolored spider that descended over the stage. While generally panned by critics then, the cultural impact of the Glass Spider Tour has grown over time to be considered one of the best designed rock shows ever.

In anticipation of the show here in Portland, Stuart Tomlinson wrote in The Oregonian that, "the stage, the lights, the dancers, the video screens and the multi-media assault are breathtaking."

The show took four days to install in the stadium and the day following the show, The Oregonian reported on it all, "While about 24,700 people heard the concert from inside the stadium, a few thousand more listened from nearby streets and from rooftops, fire escapes, windows and balconies of neighboring buildings. Countless neighbors, meanwhile, listened involuntarily – simply because the music from the controversial outdoor concert was too loud to be ignored."

It just so happens that a bootleg of the Civic Stadium set exists. Listen to it on YouTube:

Women’s International Champions Cup

Don’t forget: some of the best women’s club teams in the world are coming to Providence Park Aug. 18-21 for the Women’s International Champions Cup (WICC) presented by Budweiser.

The four participants have each qualified for the WICC by winning championships in their 2020 tournaments, competitions, and leagues. The Thorns host the tournament and have qualified as winners of the 2020 NWSL Fall Series. The remaining three clubs are Olympique Lyonnais, who qualified as winners of the 2020 UEFA Women’s Champions League and 2020 D1 Féminine, the Houston Dash, who qualified as winners of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, and FC Barcelona Femení, who qualified as winners of the 2020 Primera División winners.

Barcelona plays Lyon at 5:30pm PT on Aug. 18 with Portland hosting the Dash at 8pm PT (TICKETS). A third place game on Saturday begins at 4:30pm PT with the championship at 7pm (TICKETS). Tickets get you to both games each day.