They’ve got Mt. Hood, we’ve got Mt. Rainier. They’ve got BridgePort, we’ve got Manny’s Pale Ale. They’ve got Intel, we’ve got Microsoft. That’s right, baby, it’s rivalry weekend as the Seattle Sounders face off on the Xbox pitch this Saturday night against the Portland Timbers. We’re certainly pumped up. And, in the spirit of the competition, Team GeekWire has put down a wager with Portland’s very own Rick Turoczy of the Portland tech blog Silicon Florist.
What’s at stake, other than pride?
If the Sounders win, Rick (a fellow soccer nut and former keeper at Whitman College) has agreed to write a guest post on GeekWire about his impressions of the Seattle tech community. If the Timbers somehow prevail, I’ll do the equivalent about Portland’s scene on Silicon Florist. (The loser will also will pick up the beer tab when we meet next time).
A draw? We’ll double down and increase the stakes for the Sounders’ July 10th match in Portland. (Here’s Rick’s post on our friendly wager).
Like the Sounders, Turoczy said that the Portland tech community has really rallied around the new franchise. “The tech scene is a huge part of the Timbers’ Army,” said Turoczy, adding that a lot of the support comes out of Portland’s strong open source software community.
The Timbers also have made efforts to connect with tech-savvy fans through Twitter, Facebook and mobile applications. But just like Seattle’s tech community is bigger, so is the Sounders’ social media presence? (We’ve got 181,759 Facebook fans to the Timbers’ 47,490. And we’re just ahead in Twitter followers at 17,999 to their 14,550).
Now, there’s certainly a lot on the line for us here at GeekWire. And I wouldn’t make this bet if I weren’t confident that Fredy Montero and crew could get the job done. So, I am predicting a 3-1 victory on Saturday night, and looking forward to Rick’s post.
But I could use a good luck charm (and a screaming partner) from the Seattle tech community to help bring home the victory. I’ve got a free ticket for the GeekWire/Sounders fan who can provide the best case as to why he/she should join the festivities.
Just leave a comment below (or email me) about why you’d make a good addition to the GeekWire crew for Saturday’s match. We’ll pick a winner later this evening.
LET’S GO SOUNDERS!
