The Largest City Without A Baseball Team (Portland, Salem: house, live in)

[hamellr]

How much of the Timber's presence here is due to the large foreign population now living in Portland who are used to Football in their home countries?

I've never attended a game, I'd pretty much prefer to stick a plastic fork in highly uncomfortable places then watch sports, so I don't know how the language/racial demographics at Timber's games is which is why I ask

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by hamellr

How much of the Timber's presence here is due to the large foreign population now living in Portland who are used to Football in their home countries?

I've never attended a game, I'd pretty much prefer to stick a plastic fork in highly uncomfortable places then watch sports, so I don't know how the language/racial demographics at Timber's games is which is why I ask

Not really that much. There's a number of Hispanic fans and I'll always hear some European ex-pats at the games, but the demographic is largely the younger fans of the Timbers Army(pretty white) and a good number of families from throughout the area--a little bit of a mix.

Though I went to a friendly match of the Timbers versus a Mexican club and the section and side of the stadium I sat in had a huge number of Mexicans who were all cheering for the visiting team. You couldn't even hear anyone cheering for the Timbers where I was sitting. But I guess that's like Blazer games vs. the Lakers or Celtics where I'll see a ton of transplants who still have allegience to their old team.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

So 2.3 Million people live in Portland metro or 2.8 Million if you count Salem and Longview metropolitan areas. So how does Portland feel about not a baseball team. Is Portland just too close to Seattle and do most people in Portland just cheer for the Mariners it's only 2 hours away. Would Portland be a great baseball town. From an outsiders view one concern I would have that Portland is too liberal and too granola and well to Portlandia to have a baseball team. Maybe it's just a stereo type about Portland that everyone there cares more about being a vegan and anti-pop culture and hates corporations. How would a baseball team do in Portland attendance wise? Much has been discussed on the baseball forum and consensus seems to be that San Antonio would be a better baseball town and to some extent Orland and Vegas or Sacramento. Just wanted to get the view point from people from Portland.

MLB Expansion: Baseball Discussions to Add Two More Teams « MLB reports

MLB: Top 15 Cities the Cleveland Indians Should Consider for Relocation | Bleacher Report

Hey Milwaukee City,
We moved here from Chicago but spent 15 yrs in Milwaukee WI area. Ahhh- I can remember many great evenings tailgating at both County Stadium and Miller Park. GREAT PLACES FOR FUN!!

It seems to me that local Portland folks just do not have strong ties to MLB, NFL or even NBA (though there is an NBA team here). The people who grew up here just do not seem to get into it for whatever reason.

Now if you want to talk about a bike or biking, you will find plenty of people with that interest. Some people drop some serious coin on bikes out here.

When I want to discuss Pro Sports news, I search out transplants that have a dirdect interest in the game. They usually support the team from where they came. I do see Cubs, Yankees and interestingly, Pirates gear around town.

Fortunately, there are enough Wisconsin folks out here that one can locate a Packer bar without problem.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

It seems to me that local Portland folks just do not have strong ties to MLB, NFL or even NBA (though there is an NBA team here). The people who grew up here just do not seem to get into it for whatever reason.

The Blazers have the longest sellout streak in all of the big 4 professional sports:

Dayton Dragons break Portland Trail Blazers' sellout streak record - ESPN

So as someone who did "grow up here", I really have no idea what you are talking about.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

The Blazers have the longest sellout streak in all of the big 4 professional sports:

Dayton Dragons break Portland Trail Blazers' sellout streak record - ESPN

So as someone who did "grow up here", I really have no idea what you are talking about.

Yeah, it's always funny to me when I hear people not from Portland say no one is into the Blazers. I know people who grew up in Portland who hardly follow any sports except for the Blazers like my girlfriend who's passionate about the team. They're the only team in the Western Conference to not win a first round playoff series in the last ten years yet they still get a lot of attention.

What usually drives the observation is that transplants meet other recent transplants and come to the conclusion that their lack of interest in the Blazers or sports represents the whole city. When I go out to my neighborhood sports bar, it's usually packed and not just for Blazer or Timbers or Ducks games...

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

The Blazers have the longest sellout streak in all of the big 4 professional sports:

Dayton Dragons break Portland Trail Blazers' sellout streak record - ESPN

So as someone who did "grow up here", I really have no idea what you are talking about.

Good point- I am not an expert on all Portland by any means.
I guess the people I have met, work with, and started to hang with do not represent the entire area. I suppose if I specifically searched Blazers fans out I would find bunches. Most of the sports talk in my workplace centers on Beavers or Ducks as opposed to Pro teams.

I will shut up now.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

No worries at all ccjarider, we're all coming at this stuff from our own personal experience. I actually do think there are a fair amount of transplants who have only experienced the Blazers during the past decade and bring their allegiances with them. This is pretty common (and a source of consternation for long time locals in Arizona and Florida).

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Update - looks like Hillsboro city council votes this Tuesday to build a stadium for a single A team. Sound like a complete no brainer to me. The only bummer for me is that we moved from Hillsboro last year, oh well

Hillsboro council to vote Tuesday on 20-year deal with Yakima baseball club | OregonLive.com

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

It seems to me that local Portland folks just do not have strong ties to MLB, NFL or even NBA (though there is an NBA team here). The people who grew up here just do not seem to get into it for whatever reason.

I was visiting my mother over Memorial Day, when my brother-in-law showed up. One of the first things he did was turn on the TV to watch the Daytona 500, watched for maybe 10 minutes, then left without turning the TV off. It apparently never occurred to him that we wouldn't be interested in watching a bunch of cars drive around in a circle for hours.

While I'm not above watching an occasional game on TV, there's no way I'm going to pay $100 for a ticket to watch a game, and there's no way I would subscribe to the premium sports packages on cable. I'll spend my money on sports I can actually do. At my age, that's fishing and trap shooting. If you think bicycles are expensive, try shopping for a high end trap or skeet gun. Jet sleds aren't exactly cheap either. The thing about bicycling, shooting or fishing is that they are sports you can actually do, rather than sit and watch.

I understand why people from Wisconsin watch football. The weather there is too miserable to do anything else. Pretty much anywhere else in the USA, outdoor activities are either too far away or the weather is too miserable to enjoy being outside. Even something as simple as walking is difficult in many areas. I can spot people from the South on the street, because they don't really walk. They have this sort of desultory shuffle designed to avoid heat stroke. The NBA and Portland are a good fit because that's the only time of the year people would rather not be outside. In the rest of the country, pro sports are popular because there is no competition from personal sports.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by hamellr

How much of the Timber's presence here is due to the large foreign population now living in Portland who are used to Football in their home countries?

I've never attended a game, I'd pretty much prefer to stick a plastic fork in highly uncomfortable places then watch sports, so I don't know how the language/racial demographics at Timber's games is which is why I ask

Professional soccer began long before the Tech boom, which is what brought most of the foreigners to town. The Timbers team started in 1975, in the old NASL. And was hugely popular. It came and went as the various leagues did.