[custom_adv] The Colorado Rapids are an American professional men's soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado. [custom_adv] The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer as a member of the Western Conference. The franchise began play in 1996 as one of the charter clubs in MLS. [custom_adv] Colorado won the MLS Cup in 2010, their second MLS Cup appearance. The first appearance was in 1997, losing to D.C. United. They were also runners up of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the 1999 tournament, where they lost to the Rochester Raging Rhinos, which was the last time a non-MLS team has won the Cup. [custom_adv] The Portland Timbers are an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. [custom_adv] The Timbers have played their home games at Providence Park since 2011, when the team began play as an expansion team in the league. [custom_adv] The club was founded in 2009, when the city of Portland was awarded an expansion berth to Major League Soccer. The team is owned by Peregrine Sports under the majority ownership of Merritt Paulson, whose companies had acquired the then-USL Pro team in 2007 and later established the Portland Thorns women's team in 2012. [custom_adv] The club is a phoenix club, and the fourth soccer franchise based in Portland to carry the legacy of the Timbers name, which originated with the original team, in the North American Soccer League in 1975. [custom_adv] In 2013, the Timbers finished the regular season in first place in the Western Conference, clinching both their first-ever playoff appearance and a CONCACAF Champions League berth. [custom_adv] Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. [custom_adv] The league comprises 24 teams—21 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada and constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues in both countries.
