—by John Nyen

Hello friends,   

We stand together perched on the precipice of the yawning void that is the playoffs. Every possibility is before this team, with glory and failure looking at each other in equal measure.

One game left.

This is a call for bedlam.

Let’s be honest with each other. It’s been a long season. At times it didn’t appear that the Timbers would bring us here. We’ve been through the warm summer days, the doldrums of June and July, and the midweek games that seemed to play out without much pomp and circumstance.

We’ve blooded our friends and family in the Timbers way. We’ve brought our neighbors, friends, and relatives to games over the past 8 months. We’ve spread the love from coast to coast with the Timbers diaspora scattered across the nation.

Now we must transform, all of us. We must become louder. We must become more engaged. We must become more passionate. We must become, again, the heaving, pulsating, breathing pulse of this club.

There is nothing for you to hold in reserve anymore. Every game from here on out should be given your all.

Vancouver doesn’t come here after knocking the Timbers out of the playoffs and the contention for them in 2016, 2010, and 2009 with the Cascadia Cup on the line and get a free pass. It’s time to make it difficult for them to play. It’s time to make it difficult for them to hear, to talk, and to simply exist on our field.

This isn’t 11 v 11 when they come into our city to play.

This is 11 v 21,144 in the stadium.

This is 11 v 639,244 in the city.

This is 11 v 2.4 million in the metroplex.

We outnumber them, and they will know this by the sound of our voices lifted as one. They will know this by our solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the North End that extends beyond the curve of the stadium. We will stand united and become more than ourselves to give our team everything that we can.

If you can’t stand, then sing.

If you can’t sing, then clap.

If you can’t clap, then believe.

Talk to your neighbors. Talk to your friends. Talk to strangers around you. No free rides this Sunday. This is the time of year everyone contributes. Get your neighbors louder, help them with chants, help them with songs, and get them a chant sheet if they need one. Wave flags, make banners, make two-sticks, listen to the drums, and listen to the capos. We are all in this together.

Grab an oar and row.

You are the capo of your seat, you are the leader of your row. It’s time to get everyone around you chanting, singing, and participating.

This thing belongs to all of us. Believe those words and live them.

This beautiful thing that we share belongs to each and every one of us and it is up to us to show our love for our city and our club.

This is a call for bedlam.

Let’s get it.

Audio inspiration for this piece provided by Popcast_41_Dallas