Menu
Log in


Death to YSA

02/23/2011 9:41 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)

What’s ‘YSA,’ you ask? If you don’t already know, then congrats to you. You are part of the solution, and the rest of this article doesn’t really apply to you (but feel free to read on anyway).

If you do know what YSA is, you’re not necessarily part of the problem. However, the longer we allow this moronic element of opponent taunting to continue, the more we do become part of the problem.

Since the point of this written piece is to kill YSA, I won’t publish its meaning here. That would go against my purpose. For those of you who do know what YSA is: can we just agree to knock it off? Pull it from the repertoire? Permanently? (Forever-ever? Forever-EVER!)

The Timbers Army is poised to become the crown jewel among US supporters. We’re organized. We’re legit. We’re envied. We’re original. We’ve got a lot of nice cards in our deck, and we’ve got the knowledge and creativity to play them wisely. If we stoop down to the level of taunting that YSA falls into, then we’re no better than the hooligans that the critics are drooling to paint us as. (If you don’t think certain members of the local and regional press are clamoring to publish the first MLS-era hit piece on the TA, you better think again.)

By now, most of us have read the GQ UK story on the Sons of Ben. Since I didn’t accompany the writer during his ‘research,’ I can’t testify to anything in that story. But we all know it didn’t exactly paint Union fans (or even American soccer fans) in a positive light. In order to stay above the fray and maintain our envied position as the best supporters group in the US, we need to be smart in all our actions from this day forward.

YSA is not smart.

YSA is dumb.

Death to YSA.


Comments

  • 07/11/2016 9:53 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Joanne says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 10:37 am

    Agreed! We’re better than this. We need to make sure we pass this info on to the new fans that have only seen MLS games on TV and assume we would do it too. Not their fault, just a little education needed :-)
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:53 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Scott V Swearingen says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:24 am

    IMHO anytime the Columbus Crew does one of our chants we should pull it from our rotation immediately. They do YSA so we can move on.

    YSA is OVER allready, some people just try to bring it back sometimes. The more concerning chant for me is the now ruined “Hey, Portland Timbers…clap, clap. clap” with the moronic F Seattle added in it. It’s lame, and ruined one of the longest standing chants we had. You should make that the next subject of your blog.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:53 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:49 am

    @Scott V Swearingen

    100% agreed. We got a lot of new kids in the TA this year, so education is key. That said, I also don’t wanna be known as the no-more-bad-chants blogger, either.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:54 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Rob Jerand says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 7:44 pm

    @Andrew Brawley

    yes, education is the key, we need people to step up, and even when it may be unpopular at the time, take a stance.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:54 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Lucas Grzybowski says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 1:14 pm

    @Scott V Swearingen

    Hey Portland Timbers is my favorite chant (loud, trancelike, the thing we sing to greet the Timbers when they come onto the pitch) and I’ll be damned if it’s ruined by that awful addition.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:55 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Garrett Dittfurth says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    @Scott V Swearingen

    It’s even worse when some moron tries to insert it into that chant for Vancouver. Really Vancouver?
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:55 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Rob Jerand says:
    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 7:40 pm

    YSA is long gone, almost to the point where this article didn’t really need to be written…. :/
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:56 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 10:47 am

    @Rob Jerand

    It’s certainly been reduced to near embers, but it did re-appear a few times in 2010, usually when we’re down a goal or two near the end, or the refs are just blowing the game in the bad guys’ favor. Happened enough times to cause me to write this. Hopefully the subject can be avoided in 2012.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:56 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Roger Anthony says:
    Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    One of my favorite moments last spring came when Tony McManus was a guest of John Strong’s on 95.5 “Talk Timbers” show. Strong asked him about playing in Portland, in front of the Army, and Tony said it was always a special moment when the team would come out of the tunnel and hear “Hey, Portland Timbers.”

    We choked YSA down by simply not doing it. I want us to be a little more possessive/aggressive in salvaging “Hey, Portland Timbers.”
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:56 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Nando says:
    Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 10:28 pm

    YSA is long gone in Portland but it thrives in Columbus and several other MLS cities,
    insert the F whomever we are playing is annoying. It takes away from a good chant!
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:57 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Ben Blanding says:
    Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    There is a small group of non internet users who try to bring back YSA it seems. and there were a lot of people who did it at the last home game just to do it “one more time.”

    I will admit, I thought it was funny when I first heard it, but once I started hearing evryone else do it I quickly lost intrest in it.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:57 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Steel Brooks says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    How bout we make a bunch of 2 sticks, all with YSA circled and crossed out, and if anyone tries to start it, everyone just holds up their sign. That way even if it does get started, it’s obvious that it’s not our MO.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:57 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    @Steel Brooks

    All it takes is money and time. Go for it!
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:58 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Dan says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    I am not terribly bothered, or whatever it is you all are by “F*** Seattle” being injected into the “Hey Portland Timbers” chant. It’s strange to me that no one posting these comments can even come out and say what the phrase is. Yeah, it’s a little silly and in poor taste, but that’s all. YSA is just plain dumb, and as others have pointed out, it’s long dead.

    And no, I am not incredibly fond of profanity in our chants, but it also doesn’t bother me that some people choose to chant profanity, so long as it’s something along the lines of “F*** Seattle” because honestly, f*** Seattle.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:58 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:25 pm

    @Dan

    While I agree with your overall message, we do need to remember that there are some politics at play here. In order to maintain face with entities that we need to work with in the long term (FO, MLS, media, etc.), it may be wise of us to pull back on a few things. “YSA” and “Effing Seattle” are some easy changes we can make that will go a long way with everybody. And since they’re not exactly innovative or clever, we should have no problem in letting them go. The challenge will be educating new folks into playing along.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:58 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Scott V Swearingen says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    @Dan

    Why should we chant “Fuck Seattle” when we are playing Kansas City? It doesn't make sense. It also means that we will be constantly battling with our FO since Fuck Seattle is so audible, almost more than the rest of the chant that ESPN was looking at not mic’ing us.

    It’s stupid, in poor taste, and not what we have done for X years before someone did it last year.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:59 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Dan says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 10:45 pm

    @Scott V Swearingen

    I completely agree with you if we are chanting that while playing anyone other than Seattle. That really is just kind of stupid. As for the politics, I understand completely. I just think the 107ist might be wise to preach that angle instead of a family-friendly one. Leave that to the FO.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:59 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    DCExiled says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Although I love to swear, YSA is unacceptable and has no place in our section or in the sport we all love. It is juvenile and unsporting. Thanks to Andrew for posting this.

    Unfortunately, as mentioned by others, YSA did manifest itself at a few of the home matches I was able to attend this season (which is saying a lot since I’m stuck on the east coast and couldn’t attend many). As many know, YSA is alive and well in a number of stadiums in both MLS and USL. It is my assumption that this leads new Timbers supporters to use YSA without realizing that it does not reflect our values as a supporters group. It is not enough to drown out YSA. It is our responsibility as members of the Timbers Army to EDUCATE those who use it as to why it is not welcome in our section or in our stadium.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 07/11/2016 9:59 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Ben Anderson says:
    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 5:24 pm

    @DCExiled

    I vaguely remember the Akron Rowdies using a variation of YSA during the NCAA final this year. If my memory is accurate, their version was directed at their own keeper and was complimentary (“We like your beard” I think).

    While I don’t propose we do this, it shows that other supporters groups get it too
    Link  •  Reply


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software