Congressman Earl Blumenauer is serious about his Portland Timbers.
The representative from Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of Portland, took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday to congratulate the Timbers, delivering a 2 1/2-minute ode to the club following Sunday's MLS Cup championship victory.
“I come to the floor this morning barely able to talk, but not having much of a voice is a common [thing] in Portland, Oregon these days, as fans shouted themselves hoarse after the Portland Timbers stunning victory over the Columbus Crew on Sunday, winning the Major League Soccer Cup,” he said. “There is no doubt that my hometown of Portland, Oregon is Soccer City, USA. Fans continue to prove the point with a huge celebration today. I want to congratulate the Timbers for an amazing season and for being such a huge part indeed of Portland and all of Oregon.”
Blumenauer gave a special shout out to all five remaining members of the Timbers' inaugural 2011 MLS team, as well as several other members of the 2015 squad, including “Nat Borchers, he of the beard.” The congressman did butcher Liam Ridgewell’s name, calling the Englishman “Ridgeway,” but he’s a busy man – we’ll give him a pass on that.
No tribute to Portland would be complete without a little love for the Timbers Army, and Blumenauer, who has been showing his Timbers support all week on Twitter, did not disappoint.
“Of course, you can’t mention the Portland Timbers without talking about, as the song goes, the greatest football supporters the world has ever seen: The Timbers Army. Your dedication to team, town and country is an inspiration and very much in evidence in Columbus this weekend. Mr. Speaker, let me conclude by reminding all of America and several places in Canada, that in case you didn’t get the hint with Timber Joey and his chainsaw, there is “No Pity in the Rose City.”
Check out his entire speech, courtesy of C-SPAN, above.
