The Big Picture

It's an exciting time for soccer in the City of Roses. Loads of players and fans, newbies and viejitos (spanish conjunction for "sweet older person") alike are joyously basking in the glow of a new Golden Era, not experienced by many American cities. With more teams to follow, channels to watch, and games to play, soccer is maturing and its legions of followers growing. That's Portland.

And so the OPSL Spring 2012 Season commences. With fewer teams than in previous seasons, the league is more treacherous than ever. Tonight FC Kells Swoosh locks horns a young and endowed DNA FC. Saturday's match at Buckman is also at 8pm and pits the defending champions IPS/Marathon Taverna against a capable and clever the club PCU, coached by Jeff Enquist. The final match of the weekend at Buckman is Sunday, 6pm between PDX Reds and the Kells Swoosh Over 30's.

Sometimes less is more. It's not easy but the OPSL is committed to upholding competitive standards. We now have a league where any team can land a knock out punch on the other every time they lace them up. That's exciting; each game is a war, a real contest with real mystery as to the outcome.

Years ago I read an article that compared the "mental state during playing a game" to what it might be like to be in heaven. A period of time when you are fully possessed by the moment where all your other concerns are set aside, a state of bliss and rapture. And the tighter the test the more complete the feeling is.

So here we are ready to start another season. We would like more teams to play against, more of this and more of that. But I know we can all appreciate what we have built. The league is looking to grow and evolve with its neighbors. Other men's leagues provide great opportunities for teams and players to battle it out and grow. Ours is the OPSL. This spring we will bring some high quality soccer to our city, something we can all be proud of.

Good Luck To All Who Dare To Dare!

Phil Coates
OPSL President