Love Fest ’11

It was almost two months ago when North America’s fiercest football rivalry was reignited in top flight soccer here in the U.S. The Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders met for the first time as MLS clubs and drew 1-1 in front of 36,593 fans in Seattle.

Although the buildup in the media was immense, the game on the pitch wasn’t quite the knock-down, drag-out brawl the two sides have displayed at times in the past. Instead, the real fireworks took place a few days later when Portland head coach John Spencer took issue with post-match comments made by Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid.

Those hoping for a sequel (“Spencer/Schmid Live at JELD-WEN! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!”), might be in for some disappointment. At this point, just a couple days before the teams square off for a second time, the two coaches don’t appear to fancy another war of words.

“I have no issues with John Spencer,” Schmid said by phone to the Portland media. “I thought John was a great player, he was excellent as an assistant coach, and he’s a good head coach.”

Apparently, the feelings are mutual.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Sigi,” Spencer said earlier this week. “He’s one of the best coaches that have coached in the game here.”

So both coaches are saying that they respect each other, but all evidence was to the contrary after the first meeting. Schmid implied that Portland just plays long-ball, a put-down akin to saying a high school team plays kick-and-chase. Spencer followed with a jab at Schmid for saying the rain played a roll in the outcome of the match—when it obviously rains a lot in Seattle. Spencer also said he felt Schmid was making excuses for why his team was unable to win the match in their home stadium, and even suggested that Portland may bring tissues on their next visit for Seattle to wipe away their tears.

But whatever fuel the back-and-forth added to the rivalry, it appears now as though the only thing they’re trying to wipe away is any importance of their comments.

“I never had a problem with Sigi,” Spencer said. “I’ve said that time and time again. For me, that was professional, it wasn’t personal. We move on.”

And for his part, Schmid seems ready to move past it all as well.

“We’re rivals because we coach Seattle and Portland and we’re both very competitive individuals,” Schmid said. “There’s no hard feelings—maybe that disappoints people—but there’s no hard feeling on my side. But on the other hand, we both want to win the game when we step on the field.”