Rarely does a large hunk of wood make news in the professional soccer world, but they do things a little differently in the Rose City.
It’s as much a part of the club’s lore as Providence Park, Timber Joey, Clive Charles, “Double Post” and those gold and green colors – so of course the Portland Timbers are sending their “Victory Log” across the United States to this year’s MLS Cup, just like they did on their first trip to the league title game in 2015.
The club officially confirmed another cross-country journey for the log shortly after the Timbers’ dramatic 3-2 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the second leg of the Western Conference Championship Thursday night, even inviting local media to a sendoff event before it’s trucked some 2,500 miles southeast to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for next Saturday’s title bout vs. Atlanta United (8 pm ET | FOX, UniMas, TSN, TVAS).
A freshly-cut piece of lumber that typically measures five to six feet long and can weigh nearly a ton, the “Victory Log” is what Timber Joey slices up to celebrate goals and shutouts at Portland home games.
The wood journeyed east to Columbus for the 2015 MLS Cup. And while hosts Crew SC declined to allow it inside MAPFRE Stadium for that game – updating their venue rules to explicitly ban both chainsaws and “logs of any wooden variety” – it nonetheless got to be part of the occasion and might’ve provided encouragement for the thousands of Timbers fans who congregated in central Ohio to watch their side knock off Columbus 2-1.
"The victory log is part of the family," Timber Joey said back then, "and it is important that it is with us in Columbus."
As of Friday afternoon there was no official word yet as to where large lumber falls in relation to MBS’ policies.
