I must say, we do home openers exceptionally well here in Portland. Wherever you are and whatever team you follow, I think there's always something special about a home opener and the heightened sense of anticipation that surrounds them, but last Sunday was obviously more than just the first home game of a team's season; it was the very first home game for a brand new club, and 16,479 people showed up all ready to fall in love.
The Thorns made it pretty easy for them, with a convincing 2-1 win over the Seattle Reign. The only thing marring a perfect afternoon was a defensive breakdown that led to the lone Reign goal.
Tons of credit goes to the Rose City Riveters for making the atmosphere so amazing. They did an awesome job revamping some Timbers Army chants to make them work for the Thorns, but they also had some completely new ones that were stuck in my head hours later. I even started getting some videos of them from the sideline.
Mostly though, I was taking pictures. I sorted through several hundred photos and you can check out a few of my favorites in the gallery above.