"The Wildest Crowd" by Mahzi Keene

Mahzi Keene, interviewing Hearts of Pine head coach Bobby Murphy after a practice session

They may not have known Portland, but Portland wanted them

“When they told me I was coming here, I thought I was moving to Oregon,” one of the Hearts of Pine players said.  Another said he moved when offered the job because his wife heard Maine was amazing. While some may be used to the cold weather, like goalkeeper Hunter Morse from Michigan, several said they liked the hot weather more. 

Head Coach Bobby Murphy shared, “For some of these players, this was their first time in front of a crowd this large and this loud, and they may have felt a lot of pressure, but now they are learning to use the crowd to their advantage.”  And it turns out, the crowds in Portland are the largest in the league.  “For most teams, the games here are the biggest game they will play. But for us, every game is that big,” Murphy added.

“I play better when there is a crowd cheering against me,” said midfielder Mikey Lopez.  When asked if the fans should boo for him then, Lopez, originally from Texas, and his teammate Shandon Wright from Costa Rica, quickly said no. Other Hearts of Pine players hail from as far away as the West coast or from West Africa. But while they may have come from a great distance and not known much about Portland, Maine at first, the players feel a lot of support from this wild crowd.