Sending the Beavers Downstream

If you ever have the chance to make it down to a local river bank, you might be lucky enough to spot a beaver chomping away at an old pine tree. It's quite interesting actually, because you'll notice two things: They are absolutely relentless, and they always finish the job. Not too far from there, you might even be lucky enough to see one of those beavers taking their wood down to build their dam. Absolutely fascinating to watch. And as hard as it may be to imagine, you've actually been watching this happen for several years now. The only difference is that the ones you've been watching are your very own Portland Beavers...and that these beavers haven't exactly been chomping their trees down.

For many of you, the time you started hearing the most about the Portland Beavers , has likely been in these past two years. Why? Because it hasn't been until quite recently that Portlanders have actually had any reason to know about them, nor has the press had any reason to report on them. Sure we all knew they existed; but at this point, 9/10 people probably can't tell you the name of any player on their team. It's gotten that bad. Today, the only reason you hear their name so often now, is due to notion of them not just leaving the city, but the state. Now before you sigh and start thinking "FINALLY!!", know that moving this team doesn't come without a price. Believe it or not, the Portland Beavers have a very rich history with the city of Portland. As a team originally established in 1903, they've sustained countless new owners, eight name changes, and all kinds of switches to their league and class-level. For years and years they rebranded and recreated their image so they'd be able to continuously fill Portland's nitche for baseball. Wow!! Hold up!! We have a nitche for baseball in Portland?!?! It's a small one, but we actually do. Hard to believe now though isn't it? With all the excitement surrounding Portland's NBA basketball team and soon-to-be MLS soccer team in The Trailblazers and The Timbers, it's difficult to consider that people in Portland are actually thinking about baseball. It's not as common to hear about now as it was in the late 90's and early 2000's when it was actually a growing campaign to bring MLB baseball here to Portland. You have to remember the logo they used; you know the one where they used the official MLB logo, only they made the hitter's bat into an umbrella? Well as it turns out, bringing an MLB team here is quite a pretty penny and Portland was honestly not as hyped about MLB baseball like we all thought. So how did the city answer those calls? We continued on with our own Portland Beavers to take care of the job. Obviously, they haven't been fullfilling their purpose as planned.

More than three years after purchasing the team, own Merritt Paulson has thrown his hands up with what to do with this failing team. You might be thinking "wait, he's seriously giving up on this team after only three years?". But I can tell you with no doubt, that those three years have been quite painful for Paulson. The man has literally tried everything to keep this team here, with an understanding that you don't have a team since 1903 for no reason. He even pushed so hard as to get the 2009 AAA All-Star game awarded to Portland; not an easy task mind you. When the idea of moving this team first came up, he never wanted it to leave Oregon. He hasn't forgotten why he loves The Portland Beavers, which is why he constantly attempted to take the burger AND the bun. He's tried countless locations from The Memorial Coliseum, to Lents Park, to Delta Park, to The Portland Expo Center, to Portland Meadows, all the way down to just random locations in Beaverton and Clackamas. So if you're ever going to criticise Paulson for giving up on baseball in Oregon, you should know that you're dead wrong. He's an avid sports fan, with an undeniable passion for sports. To say that he just gave up, would be a disservice to his love for what he does. For these rough three years, he has been The Beavers biggest advocate, and loyalist fan. But at the same time, there's a very big difference between being loyal and being foolish.

PGE park can seat 19,566 people. At one time The Portland Beavers attracted average audiences of over 5,000. However, they've also attracted audiences as low as 250 people. There's no way they can be profitable right? Well oddly enough they still remain profitable due to the attraction of The Portland Timbers, their PGE roommate. However, even though they stay afloat, it's only by one breath. The Portland Timbers are coming into their first year as an official MLS team this next 2011 season, so there will be little room for such an unnecessary commodity anymore.

After trying and trying again, it has finally been announced that there is no location in Portland or Oregon that will be acceptable to host the Portland Beavers. Bitter of a pill as it was to swallow, Merritt announced last month that the team was up for sale and relocation. As it stands right now, there are three locations in San Diego that look to be the front-runners. Owner of the San Diego Padre's, Jeff Moorad, has now formed a group of investors to make the move possible.

Listening to it now, it actually sounds really sad to be honest. Doesn't matter whether you watched The Portland Beavers or not, it's bittersweet to know that your baseball team of over 100 years is now leaving for good. But as I briefly mentioned earlier, these beavers haven't exactly been chomping their trees down. Do you know why? Because throughout their entire existence in Portland, they've tried to please the itch for baseball with this team, and many times it worked. But truth be told, these beavers chomped away and chomped away at their tree for over 100 years, and it still hasn't fallen. And when you can't chomp your tree down, you certainly can't make a dam...