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Op-Ed: “Hey, Portland Timbers- We salute you!”

10/23/2015 12:09 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)

Authored by: Steph Nova (@stefnoves)

Steph offers up her opinions on chanting in the North End. This editorial represents the views of Steph Nova, and may or may not represent the opinion of the Timbers Army, the 107ist, or its board of directors.

“Hey, Portland Timbers- We salute you!”

This is what the players hear as they come onto the pitch, the din of the Timbers Army behind them, singing in full voice. But I’ve noticed something a bit different lately- people are ad-libbing a bit. And it’s kind of distressing.

The idea of the Timbers Army, as I’ve been told, is that we’re here to support PTFC. Support generally means positive, enthusiastic cheering for the good guys in green, but recently I’ve noticed a lot more negativity from the North End. I dunno if it’s new people coming in, folks getting mad at the lackluster results the Timbers have provided all season, or just a misunderstanding of the game. The loudest chants coming from us this season seem to be “Fuck you, Ref!”, really any line with profanity in it, and hollering “dodgy keeper!” at fellas who are keeping embarrassingly clean sheets against PTFC.

The most obnoxious one in my view, though- how we’re starting matches off without “We salute you.” The rise of people chanting “Hey, Portland Timbers- Fuck Seattle!” is shameful as hell. People are chanting that when we're up against any team, not just SSFC and it’s weird. Sure, there’s a few “Fuck [Rival team of the day here]”, but way too many people are hollering about Seattle every chance they get.

Not only are these people proving the ECS right when they claim that the Timbers Army is “obsessed” with them, but it takes away encouragement for the guys we’re ostensibly there for- and that’s totally against the point of what we’re supposed to do.

Think about what kind of supporters you want to be for this final home match (…of the regular season, at least). Sure, there’s no “right” way to support, but do you really want to be the jerk yelling about our rivals when we could be celebrating another season with our beloved, mighty PTFC?


Comments

  • 09/28/2016 11:15 AM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Agreed says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 2:08 pm 
    Dodgy keeper has to go!

    Tim E says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 2:15 pm 
    I’ve noticed this as well, but more as part of a general trend. I don’t have season tickets so I only go sporadically, but the TA this year has been noticeably different than in years past. Much more negative and quiet. The biggest difference to me has been how many people stand in the North End. The last match I attended I would say only about half the side stood for the match, especially 200 and higher. That, to me, is the biggest indicator that something has changed.

    Joe says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 2:17 pm 
    I thought we went to “We Salute You” about 3 years ago instead of “Fuck Seattle”. USL days it was always “Fuck Seattle” or “Fuck [insert name of team]“. Dodgy Keeper goes back a long time and is even done in jest whenever a certain Mr. Josh Saunders is in town.
    I don’t know how serious of a problem it is but I am quite hopeful the fine denizens of the sections I frequent (103 and 104) will quit being dicks to Adi and booing him finally.

    James Belcher says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 5:21 pm 
    Co-sign. Is 15 goals enough to stop the boos, people? Jeez.

    Jamie says:
    Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 7:33 am 
    To me and most I’ve talked to it was never about production. Adi’s style of play for a lot of this season was simply wonky. Obvious example is how many time he was going down when he didnt have to.
    But he has made some big changes in the last few games. CP gave a good couple comments last couple weeks about Adi learning to “play big, play strong and play mean”. The team as a whole looks stronger and more cohesive with the “meaner” style. If that kind of play continues, even if Adi gets no more goals this season, the complaints are going to stop.
    That being said, no reason to boo one ours during a match. There are other ways to voice discontent. But before and during a match shouldnt be one of them.

    Steve says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 2:22 pm 
    @ Joe
    Fuck Seattle was done only to Seattle and it started in the US Open Cup matches. It’s fucking stupid. Dodgy keeper was done to an actual dodgy keeper. Not Nick Rimando who is the best keeper in MLS when we’re down 3-0, which seems to be the case now. It’s even stupider than yelling Fuck Seattle when we’re playing Columbus.

    Stephanzy says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 2:28 pm 
    It was four claps for many years before people started insertion “Fvck Seattle.” “We Salute You” started to drown out the people who felt the need to do “FS” at every opportunity. FTR, I personally choose to go really loud on “Hey, Portland Timbers” and just do the four claps unless a truly witty substitute is offered by someone near me.
    https://youtu.be/Jt49eYgapRQ

    Jodi says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 3:03 pm 
    Hearing “Dodgy Keeper” when we’re up against Rimando or when we’re losing makes me want to crawl into a hole. Ditto when we start up “Fuck you ref” in the first 10 minutes…or ever, really.
    It’s great to be loud supporters, but we used to be smart supporters. I miss that.

    Rachel says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 7:14 pm 
    “Dodgy Keeper” against Rimando would actually be funny if it were done ironically, but in the context of it being done every damn match for every keeper, it just sounds like the dumbing of the TA. I don’t mind ad libbing when it’s clever. The chant modifications lately are not that. I suppose the appropriate response is to just yell louder than the dumbs in hopes of drowning them out. Bitching on the internet makes me feel better too.

    Kevin h says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 4:39 pm 
    Can somebody tell me what’s up with the “nah nah nah nah nah’s” and “fights” in Party in Portland?

    Ian says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 5:56 pm 
    Dodgy keeper has its moments. We overuse it, but I enjoy it when the opposing keeper has earned it. Just like I miss the “how high/wide do you want the goal?” days. The one that will always bug me is cleats up. That’s a dumb thing to tell our boys to do.

    Max says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 7:17 pm 
    My favorite was during the All Star game when we chanted “Dodgy Keeper” at Neuer.

    Tyler says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 8:37 pm 
    The ‘fuck Seattle’ amendment to the chant is not new, as this post suggests. It has been around for at least five years, preceding the ‘we salute you’ variant. In fact, I often heard the ‘fuck Seattle’ part of the chant much more–and with more tenacity–several years ago than I do now. While I might agree with some of the sentiment in this post, the use of disparaging chants has a long history within the TA, which contradicts the even weaker, less explicit, suggestion being made that there there is a changing demographic within the TA that is leading to the phenomenon.

    Steve says:
    Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 1:39 am 
    Are you half-witted? Nobody suggested the Fuck Seattle part was new. They were just saying it is dumb, which it is.

    Michele says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:03 pm 
    enthusiasm in the north end has definitely fallen. Anger, however, and frustration comes out in any and all opportunities to yell “fuck” or any other negatives like “dodgy keeper”. Is it helpful to the boys? Nope. We would all love to be rain or shine but I think a gloom has settled in. We can either let the gloom win in the final match, or give our boys some love.

    Jon says:
    Friday, October 23, 2015 at 10:02 pm 
    Strange. I thought we were there for entertainment. Some people prefer to do and chant things differently than you and you feel the need to chastize them on the internet? That’s even more shameful than what you take issue with.

    Mike Holmgren says:
    Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 3:51 am 
    If you’re there solely for entertainment value, I’d recommend watching from different seats- perhaps a bar stool at a pub or the couch in your living room… Look, the point isn’t that doing things differently is a problem. The issue is that MANY of these alterations to the chants are hackneyed, abusive, and/or ignorant and make the whole section look like a mob fueled by some weird impotent rage. There is far too much creativity and intelligence in that section for that kind of nonsense to be allowed to continue, but nothing is going to improve if people don’t make an effort to make better contributions.

    James says:
    Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 10:19 am 
    The Army is reaping the rewards of the wristband system. I’m not saying it’s the only factor, but supporters used to line up all day together, then enter together. I know there was a lot of “Whaaaaa they are cutting in line” but we ended up with actual supporters in the lower bowl. Now at most a 1000 supporters wristband. 30 minutes later the gate free-for-all starts and you get thousands of randoms filling the supporter section. Many people including myself, have moved to the 200’s just to get away from shirtless bro’s. The positive? You actually get some chanting from up top. Sadly you can’t hear us over the dummies that are screaming about Shittle when we’re playing RSL.
    P.S. I was in 107. I know it’s been more of a shit show since MLS. I think we just saw the issues sooner.

    chris says:
    Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 10:17 am 
    When all is said and done, it’s just a game and I will choose to enjoy that game however I want.
    Get over yourself.
    RCTID

    Scot says:
    Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 10:44 am 
    80% of what the TA does and stands for is great. One of the significant reasons for the other 20% that sucks? When the TA takes itself way too seriously, and spouts ridiculously laughable, fan-shaming b.s. like this piece. Support how you want to support, all.

    Aidan Barbar says:
    Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 11:29 am 
    Thanks for sharing. Couldn’t agree with you more.
    Link  •  Reply


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