Something is very clear with the arrival of the Portland Timbers to the MLS: Timber Joey the Lumberjack is the sweetest mascot ever to hit the league and perhaps professional sports in general. After each goal, Timber Joey hacks off a huge piece of a thick log with his giant chainsaw, forming a thin disc that gets passed around the crowd during home fixtures. Following the matches, Timber Joey collects the discs and hands it those Timber players who notched a goal during the contest. Whoever came up with this idea: genius. At any rate, it helps that the fan support is awesome with their new Portland Timbers Home Jersey. Plus, fans are coming out and getting the affordable Portland Timbers ball, produced by Adidas.
The ball is a relative of the famous Jabulani ball, the same match ball used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I know, I know. You’re saying, “that ball was crazy!”. True, but this Timbers ball takes all the good of the Jabulani and gets rid of all the junk associated with it. The ball has a predictable flight pattern thanks to the removal of those strange dimples. The butyl bladder is terrifically implemented and retains air well over time and performs the job consistently. It is a machine stitched ball with a nylon wound carcass that provides players a soft-to-the-touch ball and a reliable and predictable trajectory as the ball moves around the pitch. TPU construction ensures the ball remains durable and prevents marking and tearing of the outer regions of the ball.
The Timbers ball really borrows heavily from the look of the Jabulani ball, which is a great thing, however. It’s dark green all over instead of white, like the Jabulani. The paneling of the ball is non traditional and pours on the slime green, just like the Timbers kit colors. The famous Timbers logo (which is by far my new favorite crest around the league) sits below a small Adidas logo and the ball is lined with other official Adidas lettering to ensure you know you’ve got a sweet product on your hands. To top it all off, a small MLS logo stands out well against the primarily dark forest green ball. The design comes together in a clean and modern package that looks great.
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