A sold-out chartered plane carrying Minnesota United fans to Portland for Sunday's first-round playoff game leaves that morning and returns that night.
In between, they'll try to make Providence Park's hometown advantage a little bit of home in a stadium where the Loons haven't lost since April 2018, early in their second MLS season.
"It'll be nice," coach Adrian Heath said. "We've generally had a few people there, but not in the numbers we'll have there this weekend."
Heath remembers a "healthy crowd" of fans traveling to Chicago for a game.
"They certainly made themselves heard and we have to make sure that we give them something to be excited about and to make them a part of the game," Heath said. "Sometimes crowds can influence players or sometimes a player has to influence the crowd."
Fourth-seeded Portland went 11-4-2 at 25,215-capacity Providence Park this season. The Loons went 3-7-7 away from Allianz Field.
A plane-full of visiting fans are barely a spot in a sea of green, but Heath maintains they can make a difference.
"It reminds you who you're playing for, who you're representing," Heath said. "Never let the lads forget who they play for and their responsibilities to the people. My dad used to take me to the games and say to me, 'When you're a player, you have an obligation to give everything you've got for the people who actually pay to go and watch you play.'
