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Rivalry means something to some of us

10/10/2014 2:08 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)

—by Mike Coleman

The views expressed here are my own. They are not the views of the Timbers Army or the 107ist.

As most of you know, I’ve not been around the Timbers nearly as long as some of my friends. But that doesn’t mean my love of the club is any less than those who’ve been around since 2001 (or 1975). Sometimes I feel like I live and die by what the club does on the pitch. The Timbers Army are my family, and I know that this thing we have has literally saved lives.

My relationship with the TA and the Club is nothing to be trivialized or trifled with.

So the suggestion that I should, for one night, root for Fishing Village FC is not only ridiculous it’s insulting.

Some readers may say “Lighten up, Francis”.

From where I sit, those people don’t get it; feel free to go root for a club that plays on gridiron lines, and offers refunds to its customers. That's certainly your choice - but, it won't be mine.

Let’s leave logic out of this. Let’s forget that we were up by two goals in Toronto and lost 3-2. Let’s forget that we took 5 out of possible 24 points in the first two months of the season. Let’s forget that Fishing Village FC has put 8 goals in the back of the net in two visits to our park (and, let’s forget in one of those games we were up 4-2 late in the match).

Because, clearly those aren’t the reasons we’re teetering on the brink of elimination from the playoffs.

Take care of business on your own, and you never have to rely on anyone else to do it for you.

But, back to the point at hand: Our owner feels that we don’t have a sense of humor if we found his permission slip ridiculous.

I say this to him: It was ridiculous for our club to sink to that level. To give those scum to the north the satisfaction of seeing our club groveling at their feet.

Let me be completely clear on this: I will not, ever, root for those clowns running around in rave green with their flamethrower goal posts and marching bands.

Even if it means my club's season ends on 10/25.

Sometimes you have to sit with the consequences of your actions.

Do I want the team to make the playoffs? Sure. But, not if it means rooting for the one team I hate more than any other in all of sports.

In case that wasn’t clear enough for you, let me state it differently:

Fuck. ‘Em. All.

Comments

  • 08/15/2016 9:30 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Robert Wagner says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 1:37 pm

    TA is synonymous with integrity. I applaud your stance. Well said.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:31 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Chad Conner says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 2:35 pm

    couldn’t agree more
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:31 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    A Thoughtful Pigeon says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    You guys have issues. Seek help immediately.

    – A Thoughtful Pigeon
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:31 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    John says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 3:19 pm

    Simple question to ask yourselves, would you like to be watching football in a month from now. In my opinion, club over everything else (including rivalries). Someone has to win/tie tonight, let’s not forget they are BOTH our rivals, so we might as well hope for a positive result for us.

    Does it suck we are in this position? Yes.
    Would it be awesome to be in control of our destiny? Yes.
    Should your hatred for another city deter the ultimate goal of success for your club? No.

    My humble opinion.

    Cheers
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:31 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Riff Randal says:
    Monday, October 13, 2014 at 11:05 am

    @John

    This. ^^^
    My love for the Timbers is bigger than my hatred for Seattle.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:32 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Mike Coleman says:
    Monday, October 13, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    @Riff Randal

    My love for Rock and Roll High School might be greater than my love for just about anything else on the planet.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:33 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Orlando Lopez says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 3:19 pm

    Word

    Doesn’t matter if its a joke, asking diehards to support shittle is offensive to us.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:34 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Miguel Velarde says:
    Monday, October 13, 2014 at 9:51 am

    @Orlando Lopez

    Word
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:34 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Casey says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 3:36 pm

    I don’t know you, but I respect you.

    It’s RCTID and I ain’t dead yet.
    Tonight my bonfire has 2 tops.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:35 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    RCTID... But swallowing my own spitup tonight says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    You sound like just the person who should be heading to Ebay to spend $100 on an ACES scarf.

    Enjoy your pedantic and myopic anti-Seattle standpoint, even if the outcome you desire puts us in the passenger seat for the rest of the season.

    Or, we could pull our heads out of asses, realize the whole damn thing was quite obviously tongue in cheek, and a not-all-that-clever copycat of Klinsmann’s WC note.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:35 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    TA Cause I Want To Be says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 4:37 pm

    It is attitudes like this that lead to me to believe the TA is more about supporting itself than supporting the team. The mere fact that anyone would rather have our team fail to reach the post season than to hope Vancouver loses tonight so we have a chance at the MLS cup is NOT support. It is arrogance. It is NOT rose city till I die. That is ACES till I die. And if that is your attitude please don’t masquerade as a Timbers Support to do it.

    How many times have we belittled the 1906 Ultras because they are more about hating other teams than supporting their own? That is EXACTLY what you are doing here.

    So what is it going to be? Are we going to support our club at all costs and push them off the victory in any way possible, or are we going to be “ultras” and be steadfast in our hate?
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:36 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    beeg says:
    Monday, October 13, 2014 at 12:16 pm

    @TA Cause I Want To Be

    I’m confused. Can’t someone be proud of the teams accomplishments without groveling at the sounders feet? I support the timbers and don’t pretend that I wasn’t happy to see those guys lose. I’ll support them over the next to games while they continue to try and earn a spot. From you stand point we should have been cheering for Seattle to win every game since they clinched a playoff spot because it “helps” us. Sorry, no.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:36 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Mike Coleman says:
    Monday, October 13, 2014 at 12:52 pm

    @TA Cause I Want To Be

    Supporting your rival is not supporting your club – it is by the very definition the opposite of that.

    There are multiple scenarios where PTFC makes the playoffs even with a Vancouver win.

    I would have loved for Vancouver to have dropped those points, but I’m not going to “support” or “cheer” for Seattle. I watched the match, and honestly I was pretty happy Seattle lost.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:36 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Debbie says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    The outcome of the Seattle-Vancouver is not dependent on who we root for.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:37 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Cindy says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Well said, Mike. While I get that Merritt’s thingy was tongue-in-cheek, there is no way I would ever lower myself to support the FVFC. They are nauseating enough as it is andI’m happy in my little vat of hate that is always cooking for them.

    If we make the playoffs, grand. If we don’t, well we haven’t played to be playoff worthy this year and maybe everyone has learned what needs to be done to make us playoff and cup worthy. Maybe. I try to think positive.

    I love my team, my town and my TA. I will support the boys no matter what, but never the FVFC.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:37 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Sundaze says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    “a not-all-that-clever copycat of Klinsmann’s WC note.”

    Yeah, no.

    Not EVER rooting for Shittle. ACES.

    Klinsmann's note was for all of the USA fan base to get out of work and support – NOT go root for Brazil or Germany or other damned team you hate.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:39 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Victor Castorini says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    Playoffs > Hate.

    Rivalries are fun but a chance at silverware is more important.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:39 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Mike Coleman says:
    Monday, October 13, 2014 at 12:54 pm

    @Victor Castorini

    But this match didn’t decide if we would make the playoffs or not. It was one of 3 matches left in the season where there are multiple scenarios that allow us to make the playoffs and not have to “cheer for” or “support” the clowns to the north.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:40 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Basmah says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    So…agree w/ Coleman for the most part…those tools deserve nothing but disdain from the entire soccer world. However…I want that star SO bad!!!

    (Mostly just praying for a miracle..perhaps a draw and a lot of red cards on both sides)

    Last season we went out after owning our conference…and the bad guys snuck into playoff contention via wildcard. I still think we deserve a shot, broken bones and battle scars shouldn’t be for nothing.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:40 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    107 seats d1-4, 2001 says:
    Friday, October 10, 2014 at 9:21 pm

    Playoffs are not =/> hate if you care for the club. Playoffs are a silly distraction from reality. How many times have we made post season only to be routed by Vancouver or Seattle? More than I care to recollect. All that matters is rivarly crowned by the Cascadia Cup. The NASL, A-League, USL, USSF Division 2, MLS, these leagues are fleeting, the clubs endure. (Yes all three of them; fair play to Sounders fans for voting out names such as “Seattle Republic” and “FC Seattle” in the lead up to 2009). We would be no different than the fans of rest of the MLS teams if all we cared for were playoffs. We are supporters of a Cascadian club with history, and our history involves a storied rivalry with Vancouver and Seattle.
    What matters is the season, what matters is the rivalry, what matters is the passion. If you don’t get that kindly move (back) to LA to support the Galaxy, you’ll have plenty of playoffs.
    “We’re gonna win the league, I don’t know how I don’t know when, we’re gonna win the league”
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:41 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    +10 points for the Stripes quote.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:41 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Brendan O'Hanlon says:
    Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    It’s a joke. It’s something done for facebook or twitter or whatever stupid (and all too useful) method of communication it is that we all subject ourselves to.

    Paulson isn’t asking us to root for Seattle. No one is cheering for Seattle, yelling “Go Dempsey Go” or anything of that sort. Whoever devised this little permission slip is simply recognizing something that all of us already did: a Seattle win is better for our playoff hopes, while a Seattle win is also injurious to our Portland hearts. It’s definitely not a win/win situation for us.

    So does Paulson or whatever Marketing person came up with this deserve some sort of blame or hatred or something? No, not at all. If some Seattle joker talks about it, big deal, because this is literally less than nothing (and nowhere near as funny as “Deuce face” or “Bule”).

    Remember, this isn’t actually a permission slip. None of us need permission to root for whatever team we’d like to root for, and I very much doubt that Paulson or anyone else wants us to do so. It is just a joke, and nothing more. It doesn’t affect our culture, it doesn’t affect who we are, it literally doesn’t affect anything unless you choose to let it.

    I don’t mind your viewpoint, I just think its unnecessary and, perhaps, a bit divisive.
    Link  •  Reply


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