Pilots vs. Virginia Tech, Friday 11/20, Merlo Field

Hello Telionis - Congratulations on reaching the round of 16. Good to see another Easterner here. We have regular contributors who are also Penn State and Fla. State fans. I am a Syracuse fan, but (as you know) that is pretty much like being a masochist, except for the roundball game.

This is a great site - I really enjoy it. There are many knowledgeable contributors and lots of humor. I also like being an eastern contributor, because I can get on in the mornings and post uninterrupted while the west coasters are still sleeping, except Geezer, who doesn't ever seem to sleep and can post at any time. It seems that lots of us posters are retired and probably have nothing better to do, so we post a lot.

I get out to Portland once a year for a few games. Otherwise, I follow the team from a distance. Portlanders (Portlandites?) who see all or most of the games in person could probably do a better job of describing the team, but I'll give you a few opinions. The city of Portland is a soccer hot bed, and the Pilots usually leads the nation in attendance, so your girls can expect an exciting experience, and probably a cold one - if you are coming, bring layers. Your team can expect to be chasing a lot - the Pilots stress ball possession and lots of short passes, and they are VERY good at it. We have an extremely well-balanced team without a real go-to star - all of our front 5 are serious scoring threats, as are the outside defenders. We have good speed around the outside and rock solid play in the middle, led by a Canadian National team member and the captain of the US U-18 (?) team. Our goalie is 2nd team all-american.

So, good luck (not really) and congratulations again.

up7587 wrote:I suspect it is 97% VA Tech Football!

Indeed. Why wouldn't it be? You guys are just as guilty of favoring the sport your school is really good at:

Look at this forum:
Posts in M Basketball: 6,941
Posts in W Basketball: 283
Posts in M Soccer: 1,183
Posts in W Soccer: 13,221 <<
Posts in Baseball: 167

Every now and then we do really well in another sport... Men's Soccer in 2007, Softball in 2008 (beat the US Olympic team!, their first loss in 200+ games), and our men's basketball is decent... but we are a football school through and through.

Also, we have a couple of top-notch bench players, one who was all-conference and scored both goals yesterday and one who had a goal and assist on Friday, both impressive.

Telionis wrote:

up7587 wrote:I suspect it is 97% VA Tech Football!

Indeed. Why wouldn't it be? You guys are just as guilty of favoring the sport your school is really good at:

Look at this forum:
Posts in M Basketball: 6,941
Posts in W Basketball: 283
Posts in M Soccer: 1,183
Posts in W Soccer: 13,221 <<
Posts in Baseball: 167

Every now and then we do really well in another sport... Men's Soccer in 2007, Softball in 2008 (beat the US Olympic team!, their first loss in 200+ games), and our men's basketball is decent... but we are a football school through and through.

Well, you have to factor out the posts that devolved into discussions about beer.

up7587 wrote:

Telionis wrote:

up7587 wrote:I suspect it is 97% VA Tech Football!

Indeed. Why wouldn't it be? You guys are just as guilty of favoring the sport your school is really good at:

Look at this forum:
Posts in M Basketball: 6,941
Posts in W Basketball: 283
Posts in M Soccer: 1,183
Posts in W Soccer: 13,221 <<
Posts in Baseball: 167

Every now and then we do really well in another sport... Men's Soccer in 2007, Softball in 2008 (beat the US Olympic team!, their first loss in 200+ games), and our men's basketball is decent... but we are a football school through and through.

Well, you have to factor out the posts that devolved into discussions about beer.

Beer is completely it's own category, and the women's soccer posts will continue to grow in the coming weeks. It will either be celebratory posts or what ifs about Enyeart and everything else. One great thing is that possibly our two biggest sports right now women's soccer and men's basketball have seasons that don't overlap. So, hopefully even if our basketball team keeps improving, we will continue to lead the nation in attendance for women's soccer.

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Random question for PN administrators/moderators: Why doesn't cross-country get it's own posting category? Why is it categorized as one of the "other sports" when we've had so much success for about 30 years now in the WCC and are now establishing national prominence?

Is it a good idea to feed "artisan" chili to that many people, who will then all be sitting in close proximity to each other for a couple hours afterwards?

This will bring a whole new level of intimidation to Merlo Field...

fan from afar wrote:This is a great site - I really enjoy it. There are many knowledgeable contributors and lots of humor. I also like being an eastern contributor, because I can get on in the mornings and post uninterrupted while the west coasters are still sleeping, except Geezer, who doesn't ever seem to sleep and can post at any time. It seems that lots of us posters are retired have Pilot OCD and probably have nothing better to do, so we post a lot.

Fixed.

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:I just received the following via email:

PILOTS HOST NCAA PLAYOFFS!

The Pilot Women’s Soccer advances to the third round of the NCAA Playoffs after beating Denver 4-0 on Friday and defeating Washington 2-1 on Sunday. The Pilots host Virginia Tech on Merlo Field this Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:00pm Full Story

FRIDAY 11/20 –3rd ROUND GAME
Portland vs. Virginia Tech

Merlo Field – 7:00pm
>>Pre-game chili bar beginning at 5:30pm in the tent at the Chiles Center Plaza. Artisan chili, beer & soda will be available for purchase.

All tickets will be available for purchase on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 11:00am, through Ticketmaster outlets or in-person at the Pilot Box Office (11 a.m.-5 p.m. and 60 minutes prior to start times). For more information, call Beth Connell at 503.943.7525.


Artisan chili?

Does anybody else out there miss the "Bluff's Best Bar-b-que"? I tried some of the stuff they had Friday night before the DU game and it just wasn't the same and, frankly, artisan chili worries me. And what's up with only serving an IPA? Does the Pilot Club serve better/more options than the pre-game tent? If so, then maybe it's time to upgrade my fan status.

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:On Call Daily?

I guess that's a better way to read it than obsessive and compulsive about the Pilots (which I know I am!).

I guess those of us who are obsessive and compulsive AND retired (and on call daily) are . . . whatever.

I do miss the Bluff's Best BBQ. It was worth coming early for that BBQ. I'm assuming the cart catching fire at a game might have something to do with them not being around this year, but it's too bad.

What??!!! The Bluff's Best BBQ cart caught on fire??!! No wonder we're stuck with hot dogs and kettle korn!

PilotNut wrote:Is it a good idea to feed "artisan" chili to that many people, who will then all be sitting in close proximity to each other for a couple hours afterwards? This will bring a whole new level of intimidation to Merlo Field...

Sometimes it's best to a "fan from afar".