"Portland has been a sports-mad city for a while. Here's a look at a few of the teams that have made us root, root, root over the past century-plus. This wasn't the only local Japanese club to ply the West Coast in the years before World War II and the imprisonment of Americans of Japanese descent, but nearly a century later it's the most famous, thanks to a retro apparel line from Seattle's Ebbets Field Flannels."
"Our NBA expansion team was born in 1970 and became league champs in 1977, the year we became Rip City. Since then, we've somehow made it through the Drexler era, the Roy era, and the Lillard era without a repeat-but it's only the 10th-longest title drought in the league."
"The WNBA team would showcase Sylvia Crawley and 2001 Rookie of the Year Jackie Stiles in its three seasons at the Rose Garden. After the league transferred the team franchises to the owners of their NBA counterparts in 2003, Blazers owner Paul Allen decided not to maintain the team and a local bid involving former Blazer Clyde Drexler was declined."
"One of eight founding teams in the National Women's Soccer League (and the only one left that hasn't moved or rebranded, though that doesn't mean there haven't been some serious problems), the Thorns have won the NWSL championship thrice, in the inaugural 2013 season, 2017, and 2022. Marquee players have included a homegrown goalkeeper and the most prolific international goal scorer in the world."
Portland’s sports identity remains fueled by strong fan energy, even when major league teams are absent or when players are traded and “what-if” scenarios linger. The city has long been sports-mad, with teams that have drawn lasting loyalty over more than a century. The Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 and won a championship in 1977, later enduring multiple star eras without repeating a title. Other teams and leagues also left marks, including a short-lived WNBA presence at the Rose Garden and a Japanese baseball club that became well known through retro apparel. Portland’s Thorns represent a stable NWSL foundation, winning multiple championships and featuring notable domestic and international talent.
Read at Portland Monthly
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