Timbers play the villain in Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Here and Now: The clock has not struck midnight on this Cinderella as the Portland Timbers, glass slippers and all, continue their dance at the ball.

Portland defeated top-seeded Western Conference team FC Dallas in the Major League Soccer two-leg semifinal series with an aggregate score of 5-3. Lucas Melano’s “tippy-toe” goal Sunday afternoon sent PTFC waltzing into the MLS championship final game. This fairytale has a dark side to it, with the victory over Dallas prompting fans’ team swag to say, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” referencing the club’s mascot, Timber Joey, and his tendency to saw logs.

The Timbers are the first team out of the Pacific Northwest to appear in the MLS finals as they are bound for Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They’ll certainly have their mettle tested in the battle with a confident Columbus Crew club, as both have just this one shot at the 2015 Cup. The match will air this Sunday on ESPN, at 1 p.m. PT.

Social media is all over this one, and the hype train has steamed ahead, congratulating the Portland heroes that have made the sudden success possible. Media outlets often credit Darlington Nagbe, Fanendo Adi, Diego Valeri, Dairon Asprilla, and Nat Borchers for making this a legendary season for the Timbers.

The Yesteryears:

On the contrary, how many people remember Clive Charles, John Bain, Mick Hoban and Bernie Fagan?

As thrilling as this season has been, there hasn’t been much light shed on the history before MLS. The Portland Timbers were once in the same championship position as now, and were competing against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Soccer Bowl ’75 – in their very first season 40 years ago. They lost, but Portland and its beautiful game had captured a sizable following. The Timbers often drew crowds of 20,000 during their time in the North American Soccer League (the top U.S. league in the 1970s-80s).

NASL shelled out big money to bring world-class players to American fields. One of the profitable transfers included the globally renowned player, Pelé, who starred in three World Cup titles for Brazil. Pelé was signed to the New York Cosmos for the last stretch of his career, winning his final title in the NASL final played in Portland in 1977, his career finale.

Once notable players like him faded, however, the media came off their high on entertainment soccer and chose not to fund or broadcast NASL. By the mid-1980s, soccer in the U.S. began to lose support.

Meanwhile, former players such as Portland’s Charles began to work behind the scenes to make soccer an integral part of the local community. He had been born into a working class in London, and became a defender for West Ham United (now associated with Premier League). He struggled to find playing time during a period when racial tensions were high and created barriers for black players like him.

He was signed to the Timbers in 1980 after playing for Montreal and Cardiff City. Due to injury, he played only one year for the Timbers, but lead the team into the NASL semifinals in 1981. He stayed in Portland after his playing career and coached the Reynolds High School boys soccer team, and then built a powerhouse program at the University of Portland.

Charles also founded the FC Portland Academy for youth players in 1987. FC Portland Academy paved the way for the re-emergence of the Timbers after the NASL folded in 1985 (it since has come back as a second-tier 11-team league).

Only when the United States was granted the opportunity to host the FIFA World Cup in 1994 did the United States Soccer Federation decide it was time to take another swing at creating a successful national league – the current MLS. MLS also attempted to “Americanize” its version of soccer by experimenting with different 1 vs. 1 shootouts and penalty kick shootout rules, and a count-down clock versus a progressive clock.