The drum thumps. The chant starts. “Hearts.” Hundreds clap in unison. Over and over, faster and faster. Thump. “Hearts.” Clap. It’s the heartbeat of a fandom that has embraced this inaugural Portland Hearts of Pine season.
On Sunday night, the Hearts played their USL League One semifinal in Spokane, Washington. Watch parties were held all over Portland, with the biggest gathering at the State Theater. Thump. “Hearts.” Clap.
Thirty years ago, just days after I graduated from the University of Maine, I attended a Faith No More concert at the State Theater. It was loud, face-melting American rock n’ roll. The next night, as legend has it, Mel Torme stopped his show when he was hit by plaster falling from the ceiling — we shut down the Velvet Fog. Over the ensuing 30 years, I’ve been to the State numerous times, and that Faith No More show remained the loud benchmark, until Sunday night, when Dirigo Union, the Hearts of Pine fan club, and other fans took over the place.
“Just the fact that they involved the fans from the beginning, the fans fell in love with them,” said Naneen Chace-Ortiz, who attended the State Theater watch party with her husband, Mike. “We loved them before it was a team, when it was an idea.”
Zoram Blancas-Ruiz plays trumpet in the Valentine Band, Dirigo Union’s musical arm. Before he joined the band, he hadn’t played trumpet in 25 years. It took him a few games to get his wind back and for his lips not to ache after playing throughout an entire game. But it was totally worth it.
“It’s a party every time they play,” Blancas-Ruiz said.
None of this should be a surprise. This team came built with an enthusiastic fan base. The Hearts of Pine led the USL League One in attendance this season, averaging more than 5,700 per home game. Last month, they set the league’s single-game attendance record when 6,440 fans crammed into Fitzpatrick Stadium for a 6-1 win over Spokane.
On the secondary ticket market, seats for a Hearts game sold for more than seven times their face value.
At the State Theater, Mike and Naneen hung the custom flag they had made from the barrier keeping fans from the stage, where a movie screen projected the game. The flag bears the team’s logo in the middle. “Westbrook Hearts” is in the upper left corner. “On Tour” is in the upper right because they plan to bring the flag overseas to games. In the lower left are their names, Naneen and Mike, and in the lower right, “UTFH!” — we’ll let you figure out what that stands for.
Fifteen minutes before the game started, a highlight video was shown and the band played. The crowd sang “Ballad of the 20th Maine,” the Ghost of Paul Revere song that has become a staple of Hearts games: “Stand fast! Ye are the boys of Maine.”
The only time the room went quiet was when Spokane scored in the 44th minute to take a 1-0 lead. The silence was abrupt and jarring but didn’t last long.
Across town at the Portland Zoo — the Bayside bar that has been a Hearts fan favorite all season — fans crammed inside the main bar and the shed to stay out of the rain and watch the game.
When Portland tied it 1-1 on Ollie Wright’s goal in the 52nd minute, there was a brief delay. Did he score? He did. Then, euphoria.
This is season one, and the Hearts of Pine have already given their fans plenty to cheer about. That spirit was on full display at the State Theater, the Portland Zoo, and other bars and homes throughout the state.
Thump. “Hearts.” Clap.
Stand fast! Ye are the boys of Maine.
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/09/fans-show-their-love-for-hearts-of-pine-at-watch-parties/
