She Paints Me Green: And Greener. With A Bit Of Blue Thrown In

The times, they are a-changing. When I accepted the position of chief Sounders writer for SBN Seattle, the MLS had but one team in the Northwest, and although the rivalry was fierce, it rarely needed to be addressed. But now, as Portland and Vancouver join Seattle in the league, there will be in the background a competition within the competition, the need to not only be one of the best in MLS, but to always be performing better than the other regional teams.

And with that change will come a change in the direction of SBN Seattle's soccer coverage. While one might believe that because the name of this site is "SB Nation Seattle," it will only provide information and updates about the Sounders, the strength of soccer in the Pacific Northwest is too great to completely leave out the Timbers and Whitecaps. These teams don't exist in a vacuum, and by giving more details about each of the three, the supporters of each team will be that much more knowledgeable about their rivals. And really, what it all comes down to is being able to make clever, pointed, relevant remarks about the opposition that earn kudos from other fans.

On a personal note, this change is a hard one for me. I've enjoyed being able to write about the Sounders in a distinctly biased manner, allowing my rave-green allegiance to show through. Now, although my colors won't change, the writing style will. Based in Portland, I'll take on more Timbers coverage, writing from a much more objective standpoint. We'll be trying to provide a more neutral space, a niche that hasn't really been filled -- one site, reporting on all aspects of Pacific Northwest soccer.

Alas, we must all grow up sometime, put away our childish rivalries and...ah, who am I kidding. For excellent yet biased reporting of the teams, visit Sounder at Heart, Stumptown Footy, and 86 Forever. And continue to expect snarky observations from my point of view -- but now, they'll be distributed over all three teams.