Community outreach can mean work here in our town, or reaching out to like-minded fans halfway across an ocean to simply grow support. Last year, our own 2017 MLS Community MVP, Keith Palau, connected with the Maui Strikers Soccer Club. When they visited Portland last year, he arranged for them to feel welcome and to tour Providence Park.

This year, they paid a visit to Portland again, attending the July 18th match: 

Aloha Keith,

Maui Strikers Soccer Club is heading back up to Portland this summer.

As you showed us so much Aloha last summer we would like you to know that your efforts of creating a Timbers fan base beyond PDX has taken fruit in our small island.

We are joining you guys on July 18th against Orlando with a huge contingency of Maui supporting our Timbers and (this part is a surprise) our 08 and 09 players will be escorting the team on to the field. We will also be back at the stadium to see the Thorns on the 24th against Houston.

I have no request for you or your group, but gratitude to you and the TA and RCR for making last summer so special and so welcoming that we had to take our group back.

Hope we can at least connect to say hello.

Ignacio Arcas
Maui Strikers Soccer Club

We were happy to give the club the full TA experience: The players got a tour of the Fanladen, were scarfed appropriately, and then escorted the Timbers onto the pitch.

It just goes to show that if you want to be Timbers Army, you already are — even if you're on an island in the middle of the Pacific.