Now that the Portland Timbers have won the MLS Cup, the next stage of being a powerhouse sports franchise is about to become a reality: Bandwagon fans.

Greetings, soccer newbies.

If you watch "The Simpsons" or just got bored with rooting for the Seattle Seahawks after they didn't make the Super Bowl, you probably know that bandwagoning is part of a rich - if not always respected -- sporting tradition.

Now that you've decided to follow the Timbers in the afterglow of their championship season (we're assuming you've already picked up your official No Pity scarf), we'd like to offer up a little history lesson.

Consider these 10 facts from the earliest days of Timbers history as part of a survival guide for when you find yourself on a MAX train or in a brew-pub with the Timbers Army's hard-core soldiers. Hopefully, these info-nuggets will help you blend into Major League Soccer's most devoted fan culture.

Maybe you've heard the joke: "An atheist, a vegan, and an American soccer fan walk into a bar. I only know because they told everyone within two minutes."

(Warning: That's not the best icebreaker).

In fact, there's probably nothing more respectable among the disciples of Timber Joey than knowing a thing or two about the weird, fast times of the 1975 season.

That was pro soccer's inaugural season in Portland, when Timbers players smoked on the sidelines and the uniforms weren't kinetic, sweaty Alaska Airlines billboards.

Let's go back.

1. The Timbers weren't part of Major League Soccer back then.

In fact, MLS wasn't founded until 1993. The Timbers were in the North American Soccer League (1968-84), which developed a strong following in the Northwest with the Timbers, the Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Initially, the MLS was reluctant to acknowledge the NASL's history. But the Northwest's ready-made rivalries and fanbases prompted the new league to reconsider.

"I know for a fact we have supporters that look back with fuzzy memories to the NASL days," says former Whitecap Bob Lenarduzzi in the book "Rock 'n' Roll Soccer" by Ian Plenderleith. "When the MLS started out, they didn't want us, because they wanted a fresh start. But if you look at the Northwest now, it's living proof that there is a material leftover from the old NASL days."

The MLS didn't revive the Cosmos in New York, but allowed the Timbers, Sounders and Whitecaps to keep their original team names.

2. Of course, the Timbers were nearly called the Pioneers.

According to a March 9, 1975, story in The Oregonian, Pioneers was the most popular entry in a naming contest. Of the 3,000 entries submitted by Portland area residents, 157 were for Pioneers.

But the 39 stockholders of Oregon Soccer Inc. passed on the mascot because it was also the name of Lewis and Clark College's athletic teams.

Twelve people submitted the name Timbers.

The other finalists included Trappers, Pride, Ports, Rainbows, RainDrops, Steelheaders, Oregonians, Columbians and Volcanos.

3. Portland wasn't exactly Soccer City U.S.A. back then. In fact, The Oregonian felt the need to run a diagram and description of how the sport was played by then-coach Vic Crowe, as told to soccer beat reporter John Polis. We're trying to figure out why Polis didn't just write the thing on his own.

4. Yes, there were open tryouts for the team. But Crowe went on a mission to England to recruit some of the best players from elite First Division clubs for the Timbers' first roster.

He succeeded, but with some unforeseen problems later in the season. (More on that below.)

Michael Hoban, the first Portland Timbers player from England, arrived in the city on April 11, 1975. "You're like a pilgrim," the 22-year-old told The Oregonian, referring to promoting soccer to "unknowing" Portlanders. "You go into a new country to spread the religion, and soccer really is a religion."

5. In 1975, Buffalo, N.Y., had an NBA team called the Braves, whose starting guard, Randy Smith, wanted to play in the NASL. However, the team's head coach - a guy named Jack Ramsay - said no. Two years later, Ramsay led the Portland Trail Blazers to a world championship.

6. The Timbers' bitter rivalry with the Seattle Sounders was born from the franchise's first game. In a steady downpour on May 2, 1975, before 6,913 fans at Civic Stadium, the Sounders "sloshed their way to a 1-0 win," The Oregonian reported.

7. Even members of the modern Timbers Army probably wouldn't recognize the atmosphere and theatrics of the NASL.

We're not just talking about the cheerleaders and professional athletes taking smoke breaks. The San Jose Quakes actually hired a superfan named Krazy George, who would enter the field on a camel, in vintage cars, on a hang glider, in a helicopter, on a trick bicycle or in a police car to whip up the crowd, according to "Rock 'n' Roll Soccer."

"The home game with Portland turned nasty when the Quakes' English defender Derek Craig chinned his compatriots on the opposing team, Graham Day," Plenderleith writes in the book. "While Day lay unconscious, Krazy George incited fans from the roof above the Timbers' bench to boo and start throwing objects, prompting Portland coach Vic Crowe to ask for police protection."

Portland players were also known to hang out with fans at the Benson Hotel after games.

8. Pro baseball and pro soccer co-existed, with the Timbers and Portland Mavericks scheduling around each other.

9. Remember those hot shot English players recruited by Crowe to play in Portland? As the beginning of the First Division season approached in England, their home teams told the Timbers they were needed back home. One problem: The Timbers, in their first season, were headed to the playoffs.

10. Fortunately, the Timbers struck a deal with the English clubs to keep the players on the roster through August.

In the playoffs, the Timbers toppled the hated Sounders in front of 31,523 fans at Civic Stadium on the way to the Soccer Bowl against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. On Aug. 24, 1975, however, Portland's dream of a national championship in its inaugural season went "t-i-m-b-e-r," according to a headline in the next day's paper.

There. That should give you a few things to chat about on the bandwagon.

P.S. -- #RCTID. (You should also probably know what that stands for).

-- Joseph Rose

503-221-8029

jrose@oregonian.com

@josephjrose