Oregon Magazine

Cover

World Cup Commands
Woodburn's Attention

By Fred Delkin

On June 11, World Cup soccer will capture the planet's attention, but nowhere more than in Woodburn, Oregon. To know why is to read an absorbing report by journalist Steve Wilson, "THE BOYS FROM LITTLE MEXICO, A Season Chasing the American Dream." Woodburn, population some 23,000, is in the Willamette valley halfway between Portland and Salem. The rich Willamette valley soil and a mild climate have nurtured agricultural activity since the arrival of Oregon Trail survivors. This circumstance has resulted in an influx of Latino farm workers in the past four decades, with Woodburn a focus for their settlement...and thus earning the sobriquet "Little Mexico."

The soccer field, not the diamond, the gridiron or the cage floor, is dominant in the Woodburn prep sports scene. For 25 straight years, the Woodburn Bulldogs ("Los Perros" to team members) have qualified for the state high school playoffs and no other Oregon prepsters in any major sport have been so good for so long. This reviewer is no great kickball fan, but, as the World Cup illustrates, what Brazilian soccer legend Pele called "the beautiful game"is played in every corner of our planet and on June 11, 32 national teams will begin televised matches in South Africa to, a month later, determine a new titlist.

Author Wilson has skillfully crafted a chronicle of a Woodburn soccer season wherein a team of
Hispanic kids is guided by two devoted white mentors into a state championship match. The reader shares these players' hopes and dreams and a play-by-play account of their games. Immigration issues hover as a constant worry for these athletes, whose non-Hispanic classmates wear T-shirts to games that proclaim "These are our brothers." The Woodburn soccer coaches have a mission to help their immigrant players achieve academic success and qualify for college scholarships. The cultural issues portrayed in this book are startlingly important in a United States currently embroiled in a southern border immigration conflict.

Wilson creates riveting sports writing coupled with a compassion for his subjects' lives. Wilson will appear at Powell's Bookstore in Portland June 9th at 7:30 p.m., timed with his book's publication release.