Portland Timbers officially launch MLS work

As Merritt Paulson faced 50 PGE Park employees Thursday morning in the first official staff meeting of the Major League Soccer Portland Timbers, he spoke in grand terms of the franchise that begins play in 2011.

“This is bigger than the Pacific Northwest being the hub of soccer in North America,” Paulson said. “This is about soccer finally taking hold in the country. You know, for years people have asked, ‘When will the world’s biggest sport finally matter in America? When will all those kids who play soccer actually watch soccer?’ And I tell you that that time is now.

— Excerpt from OregonLive.com, February 4, 2010