Pinch yourselves. Seattle has never made it. Vancouver hasn't either. Eighteen teams are on winter break, and only two clubs are still playing. But after winning the Western Conference championship last Friday night in Dallas, the Portland Timbers are one of them. It's the big show. MLS Cup.

It's been a surreal week in the Rose City. Atticus and his family of Green Machine fame—to this point and maybe forever the franchise's proudest day—will be in Columbus for the match, along with somewhere around 2,000 traveling Timbers fans.

It's been a gargantuan effort from the Timbers Army, whose allocation of 900 tickets sold out in four minutes on Monday morning. Raffles for more tickets and chartered Alaska Airlines flights drew thousands of entrants. Tailgates and meet-ups are planned, supporters are flying through Charlotte and driving from Cincinnati and Chicago to make the match, Paul Bunyan has been scarfed, the Morrison Bridge and Moda Center will be lit green and gold, and everyone in Portland will be tuning in.

It's been emotional for those who have followed this club since the beginning. For the first time, the Timbers have gone global. They've been the talk of the American soccer, with everyone who is anyone in the sport in this country descending on Columbus for the big match (1:00 PM, TV on ESPN). For the players, though, there's a job to do. One more win, and the ultimate—a championship on the biggest stage — is theirs.

The History

In their inaugural NASL season of 1975, the Timbers made the Soccer Bowl—but lost 2-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Spartan Stadium. It'd be 40 years until the Timbers would make another final, but here we are: MLS Cup 2015.

Portland and Columbus have plenty in common—big, strong, in-form #9s in Kei Kamara and Fanendo Adi, Argentine playmakers in Federico Higuain and Diego Valeri, wrecking ball midfielders in Tony Tchani and Diego Chara, and oodles of playoff wisdom and experience in Michael Parkhurst and Nat Borchers.

These sides are built very much alike. The team is the star for each, built by young up-and-coming American coaches, and neither has any glaring weaknesses. This promises to be an extremely competitive match.

In their only meeting this year, the Timbers got one of their most impressive wins of the season—beating the Crew 2-1 at MAPFRE Stadium behind a brace from Adi. Darlington Nagbe, a Cleveland native, was absolutely dominant in that game. He always plays well in Ohio, where he, along with Caleb Porter, Michael Nanchoff, and Ben Zemanski, are fondly remembered from their days at Akron.

The one snafu in a week that has come off remarkably well so far was a directive from MLS headquarters that barred the Timbers from wearing their green and gold kits for the match. The third kit, which Portland has used for its entire playoff run and in every game since mid-September, is out of print — and with MLS wanting to capitalize on the marketing potential of MLS Cup, the Timbers will be in their primary, lighter green kits.

Columbus won't be allowed to wear their first-choice black either, as it's deemed too close to Portland's green. If it's any consolation—and it isn't much, considering how synonymous the green and gold has become with this team's success and club's heritage—the last time Portland wore its primary kit was in Columbus in that 2-1 win.

The Tactics

Portland has two injury concerns. Liam Ridgewell missed the Dallas match with a calf problem, while Fanendo Adi was forced off late in the game after a nasty challenge from Kellyn Acosta. But both players have progressed well this week, and should be available to start.

The only selection question for Caleb Porter is on the wing opposite Rodney Wallace. Lucas Melano's cameo was a brilliant one in Dallas, while Dairon Asprilla regressed from his game in the first leg. But expect Asprilla to stay in the starting lineup—he's better fundamentally and does more defensive work, which will be important with Columbus' outstanding fullback play, while Melano's speed off the bench could be decisive as legs tire. The threat of extra time has to factor in as well.

The Crew have a settled starting eleven as well. They do their best work in midfield, where they took apart the Red Bulls. Chara will have a huge job to do in tracking Higuain, and it was a job that Best XI selection and Red Bull captain Dax McCarty struggled mightily with. Darlington Nagbe was terrific on defense in Dallas tracking Mauro Diaz, and he'll have to work just as hard in Columbus. The Crew, when successful, overcrowd teams in the center of the park—which is a danger for the Timbers, considering their 4-3-3. Jack Jewsbury will almost certainly see the field if the game is close.

Nagbe did tire at the end of the last game, possibly as a result of his defensive duties, and more of the playmaking burden was on Valeri all night. Good thing, too, because Valeri is playing his best soccer since 2014 and is, at this point, Portland's most dangerous attacker.

The Timbers' defense is good, but the Crew's attack will be a handful. Don't expect a clean sheet. Do expect, however, that the Timbers will be able to score goals. Columbus' defense has gotten better since Gaston Sauro came into central defense next to Michael Parkhurst, but it's far from impenetrable. Goalkeeper—where the Timbers have all the confidence in the world in Adam Kwarasey—is a possible advantage. Columbus' Steve Clark is a very good player, but he can erratic and blunder-prone.

The Lineups

Columbus Crew

1 - Clark
14 - Francis
22 - Sauro
4 - Parkhurst (C)
25 - Afful
6 - Tchani
20 - Trapp
9 - Meram
10 - Higuain
13 - Finlay
23 - Kamara

Portland Timbers

12 - Kwarasey
2 - Powell
24 - Ridgewell (C)
7 - Borchers
19 - Villafaña
21 - Chara
6 - Nagbe
8 - Valeri
22 - Wallace
11 - Asprilla
9 - Adi

The Pick

It is nearly impossible to think about coming this far and losing. This Timbers team has been the best team in the league since late October, and since the Sporting KC wild card game, they've felt like a team of destiny. Portland will win the final, and the league, 2-1.