Battle for Soccer Soul of Pacific Northwest Tonight!

Things might get a little crazy tonight in Portland -- Seattle's well-planned, Napoleon-complex-having neighbor to the south -- for the showdown between the Sounders and Timbers.

While the Sounders have ascended to the top flight MLS, the Timbers continue to languish in the opaque obscurity of First Divion U.S. professional soccer. (Most Timber players also have night jobs working in Portland's two growth industries: male stripping and weed.)

The Timbers, of course, will join the MLS in 2011. But until then, they will remain pissed that Seattle was awarded a big league franchise first. So, tonight's match amounts to a Champion's League final for Portland fans, who will be joined by a healthy cotingent of neon green-wearing, mohawked Seattleites.

I'm hoping for at least two or three mid-game brawls followed by hearty communal microbrew and/or Pabst drinking afterwards.

Here's Miguel Romero's story in today's Seattle Times about the rivalry, which dates back to the North American Soccer League.

Here's some coverage from the Oregonian.

Here's what my boy Briggs, a die-hard P-town lifer, said about the game:

"The energy for the game [tonight] is crazy here in Portland. Portlanders are envious, excited and pissed by the sounders early success. Tomorrow's prediction; bloodbath for sure, timbers win 3-2. Supposed to be over 3,000 sounders fans, going to be interesting on the smoke deck at halftime. I'm hoping someone beats up Drew Carey."

3-2, Timbers? Sounds like somebody's already been hanging out on the smoke deck for quite some time now.

My prediction: 2-nil, Sounders. Tim-burrrrrrrrrr! No one's getting past Keller in this one. Welcome to big-time soccer, Portland.