When the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders meet one another on the field of play, there's more than just a soccer game on the line. There's more than pride or dignity, or other cliche things, too.
More than advancement to the Western Conference Championship, even.
At least that's the case for the two cities' mayors — Seattle's Mike McGinn and Portland's Charlie Hales — when the two Pacific Northwest clubs square off twice in a period of five days in one-half of Major League Soccer's Western Conference Semifinals.
More from The Sideline
- VIDEO: "Tifo: Inside the Timbers Army" highlights passion of soccer's supporters groups
- Galaxy's Quest for Three: Where would they rank among other famous three-peats?
- Dressing up Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact for Halloween night at BBVA Compass
What's at stake between the two mayors? The man whose team loses the series has to wear the scarf of the winning team, as well as send a case of local microbrew to the victor.
“Sounders fans have been looking forward to this for a long time,” McGinn said of the wager on his official website. “We want an MLS Cup and this year the road to it goes through Portland."
The two teams split their three-game regular season series 1-1-1 a piece, with each team claiming a 1-0 victory and a 1-1 draw. Speaking for neutral observers, hopefully this week's series will provide a few more goals than the regular season matchups.
Let's take these politicians on an up-and-down roller coaster ride of "I'm winning, I'm losing, I'm winning, I lost."
Speaking of sports wagers, what's the best (or worst) sports wager you've ever made with a friend or foe? What was the game, and what were the stakes?
And most importantly, which mayor will go home happy?
