Subscribe Feed (RSS)By now, most of you have seen this story, I assume. It says Portland is the No. 1 most unhappy city in the country.
Now I might quarrel with that, seeing as how I can’t imagine someone in, say, New Orleans, being happier than those here. But we are a rather unhappy bunch at times.
You’re going to think I’m kidding about some of this but I’m not. I believe it would be a much happier town if we had Major League Soccer here. People think just because I don’t happen to be a soccer fan, that I don’t want it to come to town. That’s baloney. I’d love to have it here. Hey, I’m a professional curmudgeon but I’m not a jerk (honest). Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want everyone else to have it.
I make fun of soccer because it’s fun to do that. But I don’t begrudge others from enjoying it. And here’s the deal — what has always upset me most about small-town Portland is that our politicians, for years, haven’t ever considered sports as a viable option to making this town a better place to live.
I saw a story last night on television that said movies are enjoying a huge financial uptick lately. It’s quite obvious why — people need an escape from these depressing times. For a couple of hours, you can go inside a theater and forget about the real world.
Sports provide the same service, but do it even better because they allow the populace to come together, blow off some steam and unite behind their own team.
Football? Baseball? Lacrosse? Hockey? Whatever sport you’re talking about there are people willing to pay to watch it in varying amounts. Just about EVERY OTHER CITY IN THE WORLD recognizes this and doesn’t feel guilty about building stadiums, arenas, parks and fields where its citizens can enjoy watching the local team play.
Here, even though the Trail Blazers have proved over and over again how important their franchise is as a uniter of people and a (once again) source of pride for the community, it’s almost as if our city fathers (ouch, tough expression to use these days in Portland) have been embarrassed to push professional sports as a serious tool here to help people feel better about themselves and their city.
For decades now, it’s as if you have to apologize for wanting more pro sports in Portland. Soccer fans, you may well hate baseball. That’s fine, but now do you feel the pain of the MLB-to-Portland supporters, who have tried in vain just to find a politician who knows how to play catch?
What? The No. 22 market in the country thinks it ought to have another big-league sport? Disgraceful! Not while our streets have potholes! Not as long as our education system still isn’t perfect!
Yes, because, of course — you can’t have repaired and safe streets while having professional sports in your town. You can’t educate your kids while watching pro soccer. Of course. I mean, those fools in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Dallas, Miami, New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, etc., etc. — they’ve got NOTHING positive going on at all.
Meanwhile, here in Portland where we have no pro soccer, MLB or pro football — we’ve got all our problems solved!
The whole thing is kind of depressing.
Tags: Dwight Jaynes, MLB, MLS, NFL, Portland
not to mention how the city chased away American Lemans and the Indy Car series. makes me cry in my cheerios
Unemployment in Portland is 8.1% and 5.4% in New Orleans according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
http://www.bls.gov/web/laummtrk.htm
As someone who’s spent time in both, it sure sucks more to be in Portland during the winter than NOLA in the summer. On the other hand, that article might just be bad.
“Portland is unhappy” because some lazy writer and their equally lazy editor needed something to put between both ads they sold this printing.
If either one had actually applied themselves in school, maybe either one of them would have the life background to report on something people could use to make informed decisions, instead of thinly disguised ads and inane happy talk stories that used to be reserved for totalitarian outlets like Xinhua.
Times are tough, indeed – but hope is a decent Rx…works for me, at times.
How much does the weather have to do with PDX (or NW’erners) being unhappy? I tend to love the weather – but isn’t there something like seasonal affective disorder or something of the like?
Gotta love gross over-generalizations like this.
I wonder how this writer would explain why portland rates so high on the ‘best cities to live’ lists time and time again, or why our real estate market tanked nearly last due to the large, steady stream of people relocating here for the quality of life…etc., etc.
I’d rather watch paint dry than watch soccer. Just another sport where flopping is king and the scoring is far and few between.
Fine with me as long as there isn’t one cent of additional taxes or fees going into it.
Although I agree with the point that city leaders have been pathetic when it comes to getting behind professional sports in this town, it (obviously) has nothing to do with are supposed misery overall. Several other contributing factors come to mind:
*Seasonal Affective Disorder
*Lower rates of church attendance
*Higher rate of diagnosis (more people working here in health-conscious or otherwise more “self-aware” professions that are more likely to reach out for professional help)
*Assisted suicide law
*More transplants (less emotional support from extended family)
I have noticed in my business, that everyone is really cranky. But in my opinion, the media (not you Dwight) is responsible for most of this unhappiness. Everywhere you turn the media is dooming and glooming everything….
Another way to look at it is, there is not enough corporate philanthropy or private philanthropy from the wealthy, for a market of this size.
Of course, there is only 1 Fortune 500 company with an Oregon HQ and they tend to have only… ahem…educational pursuits.
We are lucky to have our favorite Seattleite Paul Allen though.
Dwight this is a well written piece
The one thing that has always bugged me about our beloved state is we tend to think small. It goes even beyond attaining major sports teams. They build a lightrail that is not double decker and provides limited parking. They build a convention center that is too small to attract major attractions. We also look for every reason not to try and bring sport teams here. We never look at the real joys it can bring to our community.
Our city and state leaders have always thought small time so we get small time
I have lived or traveled across the country and without a doubt Portland is one of the best places to live The west coast in general for that matter). You can have your freezing winters of the midwest, and boiling hot/muggy weather of the south and east. I live in a city that has good transpotation services, and can be in the mountains, ocean, or desert within 2 hours flat. Yah we have rainy winters, but give me those anyday over the freezing temps
Anyways great piece of writing here as you hit the heart of the matter. Laugh at pro soccer if you want, but in this town this is realistically our best shot at getting another pro franchise for atleast 10-20 years. Getting this franchise will also help to give our baseball team a new stadium it deserves
I’ve also read many times over that smart people tend to be less happy. Which actually makes sense– ignorance is often bliss in this screwed up world. Portland, therefore, is the smartest city in America according to that Bizweek article.
And I’m with Graham above– all sports are welcome, but I don’t want large chunks of tax money filling the gap of bad business models that make a select few rich. (You’d think the recent TARP fiasco would be a valuable lesson in that regard.)
NHL hockey would make me happier.
I agree with your argument Dwight, I just don’t think MLS is the answer. I think Portland should wait for the NFL or MLB. Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but I think it’s worth the wait.
I’m not touching this story, other than to say it is quite possible that Dwight has been abducted by aliens.
Have you been huffing the bottom paint fumes?
I agree with Bob! Stop the press!! Or I guess I should say start the press as there seems to be fewer and fewer to stop these days…there goes that gloom again! It’s everywhere!
The wannabe Bob chimes in….. How weak and unoriginal……yawn.
I tend to agree with your sentiments, Dwight. I think a ballpark is much better than a lot of the streetcars, trams, and other nonsense they shovel down our throats.
However, to re-renovate Civic Stadium for the second time in 10 years in order to possibly get a minor-league franchise—and yes, the MLS is indeed still minor-league when it comes to world soccer—is crazy.
Glanville’s Vikings will have better digs, but will they have to move out to Hillsboro for another season?
What is wrong with pulling in some bleachers like they did at Breakers games or—as I am told—how they did it with the old Timbers? A resurfacing of the field and some temporary bleachers can’t cost more than $4 million or so, can it?