Today Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced their remaining 2020 schedule. Now that their games against Canadian opponents are all out of the way, it’s time for the Caps to turn their attention to their American foes, especially Cascadian rivals Seattle and Portland.
Because it’s 2020 and Everything Is Terrible™, playing American teams is a bit more complicated this season. You see, there’s this pesky little thing called the Canadian-American border and it’s rather closed at the moment. The federal government is understandably not keen on the idea of American teams visiting Canadian cities as the COVID-19 infection count continues to climb at a terrifying rate south of the border. So instead, just as Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays were exiled to Buffalo, the Whitecaps have been sent south in need an American home. And they’ve found one in Providence Park, home of the hated Portland Timbers.
Yes, the Whitecaps will be playing the rest of this year’s “home” games in the base of one of their biggest rivals. With the ban on fans in attendance set to continue indefinitely, we won’t have to worry about the Timbers Army making our boys feel it home. Nevertheless, it’s going to be a strange sight to see the Whitecaps take the pitch surrounded by a stadium decked out in Timbers green. Then again, it will be an even stranger sight if Providence Park ends up covered in Whitecaps blue for Caps home games! On the bright side, at least the Caps will have an excellent selection of local craft beer to enjoy for the rest of the year.
Whitecaps FC’s first home game in Portland is scheduled for Sunday, September 27th and will be against the Timbers. Because of course it will be.
What do you think about Whitecaps FC’s move to Portland? Let us know in the comments below!
Ballcap Sports 
I like that the Whitecaps jumped right over Seattle and went to Portland. Good thinking.
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I think the Seahawks took care of that problem for us!
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It’s enjoyable to read your articles. For what it’s worth, I’m not in favor of games without fans and I have stopped watching sports on TV. I am greatly concerned about the prospect of our culture becoming increasingly remote/virtual and believe that the harms outweigh the goods. As for the Whitecaps move to Portland, it is no different than playing in an empty stadium anywhere else – a basically lifeless situation that resembles playing a sport in outer space. I wonder about the extent to which remote/virtual life along with increased social restrictions is sustainable. A lot of people seem to think that it’s not only sustainable but preferable. I disagree that it’s preferable (to me it’s downright miserable) but I could be proven wrong about sustainability (I don’t want it to be sustainable but I’m afraid it might be). In my view, a “modified” sports experience is actually worse than no sports at all. But many will disagree. Even if a lot of people feel it’s not as good as before, they still might find it good enough to pay for. Or they might actually find it better and more representative of a new era. I guess all I can say is that now is not a good time for purists!
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Thanks for reading, Leighton. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on a topic, as you often get me to think about it in a different way.
I’m not sure the empty arenas bother me as they do you. Sure, it’s more fun as a TV viewer to have the energy of the crowd amplifying the energy already present in the game itself, but I don’t find it crucial to the experience to have drunk rich yahoos shouting from their overpriced seats. The players are still playing the game. The referees and coaches are still ruining the game and complaining about said ruining, respectively. We’re just missing some of the window dressing. Ironically, I actually find it to ultimately be a purer sports experience.
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Like you, I’m no fan of drunk yahoos (I have no idea how rich they are, as most people I know who make a religion out of attending games can’t make their car payments) and I would vote in favor of alcohol being banned at sporting events. I also think that attendees should have to comply with a formal dress code.
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