New Timbers Radio Show to Debut on Tuesday
Our friend Michael Orr of Mao’s Football and the Timbers Offside blog will be hosting a new Timbers radio show this Tuesday from 4-5pm on Cascadia.FM. We are excited to hear this new Timbers radio show, so we asked Michael some questions about the new project.
You run a variety of blogs, what inspired you to do a radio show?
I’ve done podcasts on the mao’s Football blog in the past, often by
myself though occasionally with guests. I’ve had on friends who had a
particular interest: one who is a big Newcastle United supporter, one
who is a big Hertha BSC supporter. So I’ve been interested in doing a
podcast for a while, I just haven’t had the opportunity to produce
anything better than recording myself on the computer. With the
Timbers moving up to Major League Soccer next spring, and with that
process already well in the works, I started to talking to Steven
Lenhart, one of my colleagues at FC Media, and he proposed that we do
a proper podcast under the mao’s Football name. The goal would be to
use the platform already in place from both my blog and my other role
as blogger on the Timbers’ Offside page, to create a show that
highlights our local club as well as devote attention to other leagues
and teams around the world that folks in Portland follow.
How did Mao’s Football Show come about?
The timeline for putting it together and planning it has been
really short. Steven has a relationship with the folks at Cascadia.FM,
having previously hosted a music show in the station’s earlier
iterations. So he approached the brass over there about a month ago,
maybe six weeks ago, planting the seed that we had an idea and that
there was a definitive lack of a Timbers’ specific podcast out there.
Steven had a few meetings with Cascadia.FM and he and I met a few
times to hammer out our proposal and about a week ago we got the
go-ahead to make it official. We’ve done a practice show and and
mapped out our goals for each individual episode as well as the longer
life of the show.
What will be the regular time for the show?
mao’s Football Show will broadcast live from 4-5:00pm Pacific on
Tuesdays. The show will be recorded and available in podcast format
afterwards through the Cascadia.FM website, and hopefully eventually
on iTunes.
What will be the format of the show?
The format of the show is to spend about half of each hour-long
episode talking about the Timbers. In the immediate short-term that
will be a focus on the offseason moves, announcements and rumors. Once
the season kicks back up again we’ll break down past games and preview
upcoming ones. The second half of each show will be devoted to soccer
in Europe, with a particular emphasis on the English Premier League
and the Champions League, the rest of Major League Soccer and also
spend some time talking about local, non-professional soccer. UP,
Warner Pacific, Jefferson High School, etc. While our show will be
based in Portland, Cascadia.FM is a station that is devoted to the
whole of Cascadia, so we’ll reach beyond our particular civic borders
to include more of the expected listener base. We’re also hoping to
have over-the-phone (or in person) guests as part of the show, as
conditions warrant. Our aim is to reach out to podcasters from other
MLS cities and bring them on to discuss their teams and educate the
Portland public on clubs that the Timbers haven’t had much chance to
play over the past ten years.
What else would you like to tell us?
We’re really excited about the show. John Strong does a great job
with Talk Timbers on terrestrial radio, but we want to approach our
club from more of a fan’s perspective than try to become a member of
the traditional media. The supporters’ culture in Portland especially,
but in fairness, across Cascadia, deserves to be highlighted and
featured in a way that helps fans of other MLS clubs realize that the
rivalries and traditions of inter-Cascadia matches are not contrived
or invented for marketing purposes. Major League Soccer has never
experienced the kind of intensity that will is inherent in the
Cascadia Cup system, nor do they realize that there have been cup
competitions between our clubs as far back as the Columbia Cup between
Vancouver and Portland in 1975. Our show is not a Timbers Army
podcast, in the sense that the aim is not to necessarily promote the
Timbers Army. But as both Steven and I are active members of the Army,
the 107ist (Independent Supporters Trust) and our own venture, FC
Media, our associations will naturally bleed into our opinions.
Be sure to check out the show Tuesdays from 4-5pm, it will also be available for download afterward.
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