Atticus Lane-Dupre (center) shared his wish with his teammates when they played the Portland Timbers on May 1.
The Portland Timbers have only been in Major League Soccer since 2011 but don't tell that to their fans as the city has a history of soccer fandom that stretches back to the mid-70s. And now it has a fandom that actually extends far outside of the Portland area thanks to its involvement with Make-a-Wish Oregon and a viral video about that event.
Even at the minor league level there is great support here and when we joined MLS in 2011 a lot of positive things came together, says Matt Smith, Portland Timbers, director of broadcasting.
Root Sports Northwest produces all of the games and the team has two local broadcast partners in Roots on cable and KPTV Portland, the local Fox over-the-air station. MLS handles the streaming of the live games.
But Smith and his team (the Timbers have two full-time staffers as well as freelancers) create all non-MLS video content, including coverage of the reserve league, friendly matches against non-MLS teams, player pieces, and a weekly half-hour show on the team. The goal is to let fans see the players as people. So when the Portland Timbers were contacted by Make-a-Wish Oregon that is exactly what the production team, the fan base, and nearly everyone involved with the Timbers did. And the result has become a bit of an Internet phenomenon.
Atticus Lane-Dupre, an eight-year old member of the Green Machine soccer club of Portland, was unable to finish the fall season due to cancer and his teammates played an important part in his healing process. So when Make-a-Wish Oregon contacted him about a wish he offered up something beyond a favorite athlete: he wanted his team to play the Portland Timbers.
As the event date drew near there was a lot of interest in the story so we wanted to get the message out of what was happening here, adds Smith.
Portland decided to schedule a friendly at their home park, JELD-WEN Field, and invite the public to view the daytime event. The team also enlisted the help of the Timbers Army and the 107ist supporters' trust, and the fan group rallied their membership to help aid the cause. I had been monitoring the Facebook group created by the Timbers Army inviting anyone to come down to JELD-WEN Field for the very special occasion, and the number of confirms grew to over 1, 500 the day before the match.
There were 3,000-plus people at the event as the fans are really tied to the team and there is an authentic feel to our community, says Smith. When we do something like this our fans never fail to surprise us.
The day for the Green Machine included their own jerseys and a locker room decked out for the squad. Lane-Dupre was able to attend a player meeting and also meet the Timbers players and coaches. A Timbers videographer, armed with a Panasonic AG-HPX170 P2 camera followed Lane-Dupre for the day.
He does amazing work and his mission was to go on his own and capture the days events, shadowing Atticus as he was given inside access, visited the locker room, and the coaches an players meeting, says Smith. We also hired a freelancer to shoot some video with a DSLR for a different look for the video news release.
A highlights package was extracted from the in-house stadium video wall production that makes use of two cameras. But a longer piece was culled from the work done using the P2 camera with editing taking place on Apple Final Cut Pro. And there is even a highlights video on the MLS site with all the bells, whistles, and analysis given to actual MLS players.
You hear how live sports is the driver but we find that when do something like this we are able to get the word out via Twitter [and social media] and that enriches the process, says Smith.
To view the video click here.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
Atticus Lane-Dupre (center) shared his wish with his teammates when they played the Portland Timbers on May 1.
