2021 MLS Cup in Portland - Travel and Logistics Thread

S SKY Third Rail is marching from the hotel they got a block of rooms at (Courtyard Marriott) at 9:30
 
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I headed back to the hotel a bit early from the NYCFC afterparty, but holy shit what a day. Thought it might be useful to list the good and the bad in this thread, from a logistics perspective. Hopefully the intern reads this.

  • The weekend was all in all very well organized, considering there was about a week notice. The FO and supporter groups deserve a lot of credit for putting together the room block at the Courtyard, organizing the march to the stadium, and the welcome Breakfast/afterparty. Obviously they needed to order more food, but the coffee was plentiful and much needed after a late night flight.
  • Tickets. A lot of the credit here probably goes to the Timbers and MLS, but the fact we were able to organize 2500+ away tickets for a very cheap price (whether it be $10 or $58) is still amazing to me. This is one system the MLS has that other sports teams/leagues ought to copy, cause it’s a great fan experience. DONT EVER GET RID OF IT.
  • The fan experience was great. We saw like one fight in our section early on, but that quickly resolved itself and even when we let in the tying goal, people who may have had a few drinks didn’t start shit. Great atmosphere, and great fandom overall. NYCFC should continue to try and foster that culture wherever possible.
 
I headed back to the hotel a bit early from the NYCFC afterparty, but holy shit what a day. Thought it might be useful to list the good and the bad in this thread, from a logistics perspective. Hopefully the intern reads this.

  • The weekend was all in all very well organized, considering there was about a week notice. The FO and supporter groups deserve a lot of credit for putting together the room block at the Courtyard, organizing the march to the stadium, and the welcome Breakfast/afterparty. Obviously they needed to order more food, but the coffee was plentiful and much needed after a late night flight.
  • Tickets. A lot of the credit here probably goes to the Timbers and MLS, but the fact we were able to organize 2500+ away tickets for a very cheap price (whether it be $10 or $58) is still amazing to me. This is one system the MLS has that other sports teams/leagues ought to copy, cause it’s a great fan experience. DONT EVER GET RID OF IT.
  • The fan experience was great. We saw like one fight in our section early on, but that quickly resolved itself and even when we let in the tying goal, people who may have had a few drinks didn’t start shit. Great atmosphere, and great fandom overall. NYCFC should continue to try and foster that culture wherever possible.
Same, even the part about leaving the party early. But mainly the Third Rail and Front Office really shined this week.
 
I headed back to the hotel a bit early from the NYCFC afterparty, but holy shit what a day. Thought it might be useful to list the good and the bad in this thread, from a logistics perspective. Hopefully the intern reads this.

  • The weekend was all in all very well organized, considering there was about a week notice. The FO and supporter groups deserve a lot of credit for putting together the room block at the Courtyard, organizing the march to the stadium, and the welcome Breakfast/afterparty. Obviously they needed to order more food, but the coffee was plentiful and much needed after a late night flight.
  • Tickets. A lot of the credit here probably goes to the Timbers and MLS, but the fact we were able to organize 2500+ away tickets for a very cheap price (whether it be $10 or $58) is still amazing to me. This is one system the MLS has that other sports teams/leagues ought to copy, cause it’s a great fan experience. DONT EVER GET RID OF IT.
  • The fan experience was great. We saw like one fight in our section early on, but that quickly resolved itself and even when we let in the tying goal, people who may have had a few drinks didn’t start shit. Great atmosphere, and great fandom overall. NYCFC should continue to try and foster that culture wherever possible.

Likewise! That was an unbelievable experience, one I'll never forget. I loved seeing the players up close. I was right behind maxi as he was on someone's shoulders - didn't realize it was him right away. They were having a great time.
 
Likewise! That was an unbelievable experience, one I'll never forget. I loved seeing the players up close. I was right behind maxi as he was on someone's shoulders - didn't realize it was him right away. They were having a great time.

It's so cool that they came to the after party. The bond between soccer players and their fans is better than in any other sport. Legendary moment. This organization had a hell of a last few weeks. From all they did for you folks in Portland, the watch party in New York which was beyond epic ... they went all out this week and they can be very proud of their work.
 
It's so cool that they came to the after party. The bond between soccer players and their fans is better than in any other sport. Legendary moment. This organization had a hell of a last few weeks. From all they did for you folks in Portland, the watch party in New York which was beyond epic ... they went all out this week and they can be very proud of their work.
This might change if MLS grows into a behemoth the way other sports leagues are here, but for right now? Its a great experience we can’t get anywhere else.
 
Such an insanely incredible experience and loved that I was able to share that with many of you guys.

I’ll probably post some more pics later, but here is one post game.

It was so awesome hanging out with joe joe, mgarbowski mgarbowski, Shwafta Shwafta, L LIexpat, Matt Kelly Matt Kelly, MumonA MumonA.

Great running into FredMertz FredMertz at the breakfast as well and LionNYC LionNYC several times.

I couldn’t bear to watch the penalty kicks so I just had the crowd reactions to go off of and Matt Kelly Matt Kelly giving me the breakdown.

 

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