Victory!

My unannounced blogging strike is over - the Timbers have won a match! 1-0 over the Virginia Beach Mariners to be precise.

This has been a much more difficult season to cover/blog about than I ever could have imagined. Without the inside glimpse of the team I have been fortunate enough to gain over the past five years as a full-fledged member of the traveling party, it has been almost impossible to get any true read as to what has really been going on during the 11-match winless streak that ended tonight.

Not only do I not know what these guys are like as individuals, I can barely keep their names straight with 30-odd players wearing the Timbers' colors at one point or another this season.

But tonight, that doesn't matter. With their backs against the wall, the squad rallied and was able to grind out three points for the first time since mid-June. Hope has returned to PGE Park, where four matches remain. Four more chances to put a better, brighter face on a difficult season.

Well done.