The entire year of 2020 has put sports in perspective. Why should this weekend be any different?
Two days before they are scheduled to leave for a game in Los Angeles – and one day after their sibling club, Portland Thorns FC, had a home game rescheduled because of Northwest Oregon’s unhealthy air quality – the Portland Timbers conducted their typical preview press conference, where Sunday’s match against Los Angeles FC (8pm PT, ROOT SPORTS) was a second thought.
“Our hearts are going out to all the people evacuating, and the damage,” goalkeeper Steve Clark said, providing the day’s first thoughts. “That's the first priority.”
Wildfires across Oregon had burnt over one million acres of land as of midday on Friday. That morning, air quality in Portland was the worst among the world’s major cities, forcing most Oregonian to stay indoors. Experts are also recommending that people use HEPA air-cleaning filters within their homes, and to avoid common practices like vacuuming and burning candles.
As a result of the poor air quality, the Timbers were forced to find alternatives to training outside at their Training Center in Beaverton. For head coach Giovanni Savarese, the inconvenience was a relative afterthought.
“What 2020 has shown us is that we need to be resilient,” Savarese said, his team having to spend Friday’s session indoors. “We have to be mentally open, to be ready to adapt to different situations, and continue to go on our path. Unfortunately, this moment has been very difficult, not only for us in the training but for so many people here in Oregon who have been affected directly, and others who have been nervous about the situation. Hopefully things are going to get to a better level in order for us to move forward.”
In terms of soccer, this type of obstacle isn’t entirely new for Portland. Hurricane season in Orlando, Florida, during July and August’s MLS is Back Tournament meant some sessions had to be abbreviated or, as it concerned training outdoors, abandoned entirely. The Timbers’ staff had to improvise to keep their team on course.
“Even being in the bubble sometimes, we couldn't practice because of the thunderstorms,” Savarese recalled. “We had to be creative. It happened today, again. The air quality is not the type of quality that we can [train] outdoors, so we have to go indoors. We had to look for ways to be creative and make sure that we continue to do the work that we need to do.”
For so many, that’s the reality of 2020: persisting through the extraordinary. Sports does that from a place of privilege, but the process is relatable. Be it through pandemic or natural disaster, the world goes on in ways we can’t ignore, and while those issues keep sports in a proper perspective, the jobs within sports continue. The Timbers still have a flight to take on Sunday morning, with an opponent ready to play once Portland touches ground.
“Mentally, we’re prepared to travel and be there to play them,” Savarese said, but as Clark noted, that preparation has been a particular challenge.
“It's really a mental exercise of getting the most out of training,” he explained. “I took that as a challenge today, and I enjoy training.
“We'll wait to see what tomorrow brings. This year has been first and foremost a year where you have to take things day by day. It's just another day of staying in the present moment.”
