When longtime Portland Timbers and Thorns national anthem singer Madison Shanley drove downtown to meet club front office officials on Wednesday, she did so in an attempt to rejuvenate her faith in a club who she’s been singing for since she was in eighth grade. Shanley, whose decision to wear a shirt with the words “YOU KNEW” while singing the anthem before a recent Timbers match against the LA Galaxy made her one of the.
Madison Shanley first auditioned to sing the national anthem for the Portland Beavers at what was then PGE Park all the way back in 2008. She was a middle schooler. Shanley impressed in the audition. She started singing the anthem for the Merritt Paulson-owned Beavers, and then, in 2009, sang her first anthem for Paulson’s Portland Timbers. Shanley has been singing the anthem ever since—through the Timbers’ elevation to Major League Soccer, two major stadium.
An independent investigation into the Portland Timbers' handling of domestic abuse accusations leveled at midfielder Andy Polo concluded that the team's offers to help his estranged wife were not meant to persuade her to drop charges.