Entering his third season with the Portland Timbers, MLS veteran Eric Miller’s versatility has been crucial in Portland’s defense.
He played minutes at both fullback positions and at centerback in 2023. The team announced Jan. 9 that Miller signed a new contract through the 2025 MLS season.
Former Timbers head coach Gio Savarese had very appreciative words to say about him.
“We got really lucky that he became available,” former Timbers head coach Gio Savarese said. “I think every team needs players like him.”
Eric Miller is also a standout off the pitch; he has been a vocal ally to LGBTQ people and advocate for causes including pet adoption. The city of Portland and fans should feel fortunate to have a player who is a superb human being and person.
Contributor Phuoc Nguyen had the chance to sit down and chat with Miller last year. Here’s some highlights from that interview.
Phuoc: What do you like to do for fun on an off day?
Eric Miller: We’ve been trying to get out and explore Oregon a little bit. We’ve been doing some wineries, checking out restaurants, coffee shops, kind of all that stuff there. Just getting to know the city a little bit.
Phuoc: Have you found your favorite spots to eat or coffee shops yet?
Miller: There’s a spot—it’s like 10 minutes south [of] where I live, called South Store Café—that is amazing. That’s like in farm country, it is so good. They have an amazing breakfast. Really cool vibe, which is like a restaurant and a house. Then Ken’s Artisan Pizza, really good too, in Southeast. It’s amazing pizza. It’s really, it’s an awesome place.
Phuoc: Do you have a favorite food and dessert?
Miller: Favorite food is probably chicken parmesan. I love it. Favorite dessert is probably anything that my mom bakes. My mom’s, like, an incredibly good baker. She’s working hard around the holidays, making really delicious baked goods.
Phuoc: What is your favorite berry?
Miller: I recently tried these berries from all around Oregon. We went to the Hill Farm Market with our buddies, and we had Mt. Hood strawberries. They were amazing. They were so good, really good blackberries from, I don’t know where they were from honestly, but just like really phenomenal berries.
Phuoc: Do you have any pets?
Miller: We have two dogs. We have a German Shepherd who’s six, named Otto, and an English Shepherd who’s nine, named Cooper.
Phuoc: Have you ever played FIFA as yourself?
Miller: Way back in the day, when I was a younger player. We used to use a bunch of guys who live in the same place, and we were, like, goalies and defenders, so we all put ourselves as forwards and tried scoring on each other, which was pretty fun.
Phuoc: Do you have a favorite movie?
Miller: My favorite movie? I’ll say Saving Private Ryan, that’s a great movie.
Phuoc: What’s your favorite music to listen to? Do you have a favorite artist?
Miller: I like a very wide variety of music. After being in Nashville—my wife was really into country before. She kind of got me to the country. I really like Chris Stapleton. He’s really good. I love seeing him live.
Phuoc: If you could pick an entrance song, what would it be?
Miller: Ah man, I don’t know. We had a guy in Nashville who’s goal song was “Danger Zone.” I would do “Danger Zone.” That’s pretty good. I might go with that, too.
Phuoc: Do you watch any television? If you do: any TV show you’re currently obsessed with?
Miller: We’ve been watching Only Murders in the Building, me and my wife. That’s a really good show. I’ve been watching The Bear, that’s a great show. We, a while ago, finished the show Downton Abbey. It’s, like, a show for old people, but I absolutely loved it. It’s phenomenal.
Phuoc: If you could have a dream vacation, or go to a place you haven’t been to, what would it be?
Miller: My dream vacation? Me and my wife went to Hawai’i on our honeymoon—that was awesome. I loved it. We went to Kauai which was super cool. So, I would say maybe my dream vacation would be to go to, like, the Mediterranean or Europe in the summer, because we don’t really get to do that.
Phuoc: Do you have any items on your bucket list you could share with us?
Miller: On my bucket list? Win MLS Cup, you know? That’d be great. I’d love to do that. Other than that, just travel, see the world. All that fun stuff.
Phuoc: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Miller: Maybe being able to teleport? So I can go see all my friends and family in different places.
Phuoc: Would you rather teleport once every 24 hours or shapeshift for the entire week.
Miller: Teleport.
Phuoc: Do you have a favorite Pokémon?
Miller: No, my mom didn’t let us have the cards. I played video games at my friend’s house, but I’m not a big Pokémon guy.
Phuoc: Who’s your best friend on the team? (Editor’s note: Reminder that this interview was from last year.)
Miller: [David] Bingham, that’s my boy! We golf a little bit together.
Phuoc: If you could take one thing from your hometown [in Minnesota] and bring it to Portland, what would it be?
Miller: Can I choose my family, or no? I choose my family because I should, and it would be great to have them out, especially when we have our daughter[…] But if I couldn’t choose people, I think I would choose like the lakes. The general lake life there is so fun, and we have great weather here [in Portland[ to just have, like, a bunch of lakes, to be able to go to and boat and fish and tube and all stuff. That would be awesome.
