—by Keith Palau

There are myriad reasons why I’m proud to be TA:

The high level of consistent support for our club before, during, and after the match.

The amazing away support.

The best tifo in North America.

The fact that we have our differences, yet remain unified.

But one reason that may be missed by some, especially outside the TA, is the quality and quantity of support for meaningful causes in our community.  As a member of the 107ist Community Outreach team, I’m privileged to see just how much is accomplished each year by our passionate, caring, and generous constituency.

Below is a description of an upcoming project that’s near and dear to my heart.  Via social media alone, the $3,500 budget was raised, mostly by people whom I know are TA, in less than 36 hours.  There were even a few ECS friends who joined in ;-)

If you gave a specific gift toward the room makeover, thank you!  If you’ve paid your 107ist membership fee, thank you; you help make things like this happen.  If you want to volunteer for the actual room makeover the 2^nd half of August, please let me know.

And thank you again for letting me join you as part of our wonderful Timbers Army.

---

Here’s your opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of kids and families on the west side of Portland, and represent the Timbers and Timbers Army at the same time!

The Timbers Army, Embrace Oregon, and other friends in the Westside Community are coming together to do a major remodel of a family visitation room at the Hillsboro DHS offices (Child Welfare Programs) this August.

The room will be done entirely in a Timbers/Timbers Army theme, with signed memorabilia donated by the Timbers, custom log slice end tables with the help of Timber Joey Webber, a mural designed and painted by TA artists, brand new furniture, and a new flat screen TV and game system. DHS plans on naming it the “Timbers Room”.

The visitation room is designed for children and teens who are in foster care to be able to spend an average of one hour each week with their birth families and other supporters. This is an intimate and critical point of connection for children whose lives have been turned upside down, as well as for biological parents who are working hard and taking steps to get their kids returned home. A visitation room that is homey and warm speaks value and worth to both the children and their families.

Another use for the “Timbers Room” will be when children are removed from their homes for imminent safety reasons and must sit in the Child Welfare office awaiting placement. Volunteers called “Office Moms and Dads” may be available to play with kids for an average of 5-7 hours while the caseworker tries to find a foster placement. In this instance, having an inviting space with activities is very helpful and allows the worker to focus on finding a foster placement.

Now is the perfect time to join us in reminding our children, teens, parents, guardians, and DHS staff that they are valued by creating this lasting legacy of love from the Timbers and the TA.

All of the money raised will go to the direct expenses of furniture not donated, new flat screen TV and game system, paint and paint supplies, shelving and wall mounts, games and toys, etc.  If we’re able to secure enough in-kind gifts to stay below our budget, we’ll have money left over for the proposed Timbers Army room makeover at the Beaverton DHS next year.

THANK YOU for considering taking part in this meaningful and lasting gift to children and families on the west side of Portland.

Sincerely,

Keith Palau

www.timbersarmy.org
www.embraceoregon.org

 

 

Re: The Walk to End Alzheimer’s (WTEA) on Sunday, September 11th at Portland International Raceway

This email is a sincere thank you to those who have already registered and donated -- and a gentle reminder to those of you who intend to do so in the future.

I have been delighted, as have Noeleen and the Conway family, to see the steady stream of testimonials posted on Jimmy’s Facebook page. As a reminder: We are asking friends, family, former teammates, and fans of Jimmy to send us a brief testimonial, and include your name, your connection to Jimmy, and a short comment in support of Jimmy, hopefully with an accompanying photo. Testimonials will be posted on the Fans of Jimmy Conway Facebook page. You can send your testimony and photo to me at mick@mickhoban.com. A little while after the WTEA, we will be producing an event book and presenting it to Noeleen.

Visit our Friends of Jimmy Conway page on the Walk to End Alzheimer’s site, where you can register (free) and/or donate.

Please also visit Jimmy’s Facebook page.

Best wishes,

Mick Hoban
Team Captain
Friends of Jimmy Conway

—Words by William Packwood; Photos by Ray Terrill

Timbers Army FC teams bested those from Emerald City Supporters FC in total points on the day by a 7-4 margin.

It was a perfect day for football with light overcast skies and a mild temperature this past Saturday when four supporters' teams from Seattle came down to face their TAFC counterparts at Rex Putnam HS for a full day of matches.

First up was an inaugural matchup between over-40 sides, with players from Old Growth FC and Nomads FC representing TAFC O40s. This was an entertaining 90 minutes as the teams turned out to be evenly matched with chances on goal for each side. In the end, however, neither side was able to convert their chances and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. Both sides agreed that the O-40's match should continue as a fixture in future Supporters' Derby Day events.

Incidentally, the O40s match was the third "new" match added by TAFC to the day's competition in as many times hosting the Derby.  The D4 match was added in Portland 2012 and the Women's match was added in 2014. Both of those events were held at Buckman Field.

The noon match saw a return of the D4 competition, with Northern Alliance having won the right to represent TAFC by virtue of being the current Cuppy del Norte defending champs. The boys from the other side of the Columbia did TAFC proud by dominating the match 4-1. Goals were scored by Jason Thoma (assist by Ben Melnick), Joe Stevenson (off of a corner set), and Alex Zinda (assist by Evin Westcott). The name of the scorer of the final TAFC goal was lost in the elation of the rout. Man of the match was GK Jason Stevenson, who had a monster performance in goal.

Next up were the defending Women's champs: Whipsaws FC.  The women continued their winning ways and turned in another dominant performance against ECS FC.  At the final whistle, Whipsaws stood as 3-peat champs with a score of 4-1.  Goals were recorded by Brandi Fritz, Kathy Lopez, Jennie Birt, and Sandita McDermott. The women continued their victory celebration on Sunday with drinks from the cup in the North End at Providence Park.

The final match of the day was the D1 derby, with players from Portlandia and Nomads on the TAFC side against the defending ECS FC D1 team. Here TAFC's fortunes fell flat, and despite many individual performances that were full of heart and skill, the TAFC boys were unable to develop sustained team chemistry and couldn't convert any of their chances. ECS turned in a 4-0 win and remain the defending D1 match champs for another year.

Photo by Rachel Etnire

On the whole, it was another successful Supporters' Derby Day, and the 7-4 aggregate points total from the day's matches led to the TAFC players striding into Providence Park on Sunday for the BIG match with their heads held high —and we all know how we strode/danced OUT of that match.  Thanks again to all who participated on the pitch and in the stands.

For more photos of both the Women's and D1 matches, check out Ray Terrill's excellent work here. 

—by Mike Coleman

The Timbers Army tifo crew was wrapping up painting on their “Legends Never Sleep” tifo for the 7/17 match. All that was left to paint was the star on Freddy’s sweater.

That’s when inspiration struck one of the project managers. They had the thought to invite a player into add the coup de grâce. So, a couple of phone calls were made, and Diego Valeri agreed to visit the tifo garage with his daughter to paint that final piece.

But, as well all know, the first rule of tifo is you don’t talk about tifo. So before Diego arrived, the tifo crew folded up the banner so that all Diego and Coni, his daughter, could see was the blank star.

Of course he was curious what he was working on. He asked one of the PMs if he could see the rest of the design.

Nope, not until match day, was the response.

Diego smiled, and nodded.

Diego gets it. 

Gracias Diego por todo.

—by Matthew Lindley

As the sun set on this year’s annual Timbers Army BBQ, a new tradition was brought to the pitch at Providence Park. The Championship of the GPSD’s TAFC League is a match for the coveted Cuppy Del Norte and the right to face the representative from Emerald City Supporters later this season on Cascadia derby weekend.  This year’s final assured a first-time champion at Providence Park as Multnomah Forest AFC faced rivals from across the I-5 bridge, Northern Alliance FC.

An interesting backdrop was provided as cheering sections gathered for each team let their voices be heard from the opening whistle.  Adding to this was the 2^nd half of the US National Team’s rout at the hands of Argentina being broadcast on the PP video board.

Both teams began the match at a quick and physical pace, with MFAFC on the front foot for much of the first 20 minutes.  That changed in the 26^th minute when NAFC’s Joseph Stevenson put a header off the woodwork, coming inches away from taking the match's first lead.  Moments later, a second cheer went up as Darlington Nagbe was subbed in on the big screen for that match's waning moments. MFAFC briefly turned the tide when a great free kick attempt sailed just over the bar, bringing us to halftime.

The halftime entertainment for the evening was provided by the TAFC version of “Lil Timbers” as the Old Growth FC Over-40 and Over-50 teams faced off in a mini-match in the North End, further celebrating the great soccer culture created by the TA and the TAFC.

Northern Alliance began the second half on a tear, looking quite dangerous with numerous tests of the Forest defense.  This changed in the 65^th minute when Tim Elzinga of Multnomah Forest turned a great run into the best chance of the match by either team, barely stopped by the NAFC keeper.

It stayed a back and forth affair until the 88^th minute, when Jurgen Hartung found the back of the net to give Northern Alliance the match’s first lead in the late stages.  The final nail was driven moments later when Hartung drained a screamer from long distance moments from the referee’s final whistle, to deliver the “Cuppy” directly into the hands of the men from Vancouver.

With the victory in the books, next up for the new champions are the enemy from the North later this summer.  But many left the terraces with the hope that this becomes an annual summer tradition for seasons to come.

See the full set of match photos taken by TA photographer Ray Terrill.

—by Andrew Brawley

A recent review of the Timbers Army chant catalog resulted in the elimination of a chant deemed offensive to a select group or groups within our membership. I fully support the 107ist Board's decision and subsequent action.

Furthermore, after conducting my own review of the since-updated chant sheet, I wish to submit the following list of words and phrases found herein that could also be deemed offensive to select audiences.

I humbly ask the 107ist Board to reconvene at their earliest convenience to review this list and modify or remove the affected chant(s) deemed offensive to our community.

Thank you for your time.

Word or phrase	Potential offended audience
We / Friends / Us / Party / Team / League	Sociophobics
Green	Chlorophobics
Gold	Aurophobics
Gold Gold Gold	Monologophobics
Up	Acrophobics
City	Urbanphobics
Shake	Kinesiophobics
Gates	Claustrophobics
Hell	Christians; Atheists
Time	Chronophobics
See	Blind people
Smiling	Geliophobics
Prison	Incarcerophobics
TV	Televisiophobics
Say	Glossophobics
Whoa-oh-oh	Erotophobics
Keep it up	Medorthophobics
Don't let up / forever	Apeirophobics
Boys / Men	Androphobics
Best / Victory / Win	Atychiphobics
Sing	Decantophobics
Sleep	Hypnophobics
Tonight	Nyctophobics
Love	Philophobics
Stolen	Kleptophobics
Mental	Special needs communities
Buried	Taphophobics
Barmy	Homichlophobics
TRUE	Alethephobics
End	Apocalyptophobics
Noise	Phonophobics
Jump	Catapedaphobics
Sunshine	Heliophobics
Happy	Cherophobics
Sky	Anablephobics
Gray	Glaucophobics
Wise	Gnosiophobics
Rush	Tachophobics
Falling	Bathophobics
Hands	Chirophobics
Die	Thanatophobics

 

 

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the Timbers Army.

Mick Hoban, Portland Timbers alum and team captain for the Friends of Jimmy Conway team at this year's Walk to End Alzheimers on September 11th, has a special request. If you know Jimmy, or have a Jimmy story to share, please see Mick's message below:

Dear friends of Jimmy Conway,

We invite you to share a 'testimonial' describing your connection and relationship with Jimmy. If you have anecdotes and, possibly, some pictures too, that would be wonderful.

Initially, we will ‘publish’ all testimonials on Jimmy’s Facebook page - Fans of Jimmy Conway. We will collect all ‘testimonials' and photos and publish them in a book of photos/quotes to be presented to Noeleen, some time shortly after the ‘Walk to End Alzheimer’s’ this September.

To get things started, here's mine:

Name: Mick Hoban

Connection: Former team-mate at the Portland Timbers

Testimonial:

I have known Jimmy since he first arrived in Portland in 1978. He was a great footballer and team-mate and an outstanding coach who devoted his post-playing career in the US to the development of the sport.

What I remember most about Jimmy, apart from his great sense of humor, was his willingness to help new immigrants to the US. In many cases Jimmy was the first person to lend a helping hand by finding them work coaching soccer as many of them had coaching qualifications from their homelands. I know of individuals from Poland, Romania, Egypt, Mexico and the UK whom Jimmy helped.

As he did with his team-mates, including me, Jimmy always had time for others, always was there when help was needed. He was, and is, a true friend to many.

God Bless you Jimmy.

————

I’d appreciate it if you would send me your testimonial to the email listed below. Please use the same format I have: your name, your connection to Jimmy and your ‘Testimonial’. Please include any photographs you may have of Jimmy/Jimmy and yourself/Jimmy with others to accompany your testimonial. 

Keep it short, try and make it personal. Humor is welcome, because we know how much Jimmy likes a good laugh.

Best wishes,

Mick Hoban
mick@mickhoban.com

Team Captain
Friends of Jimmy Conway
Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Sunday, September 11th, 2016

Don't know Jimmy Conway? Read more about him in Stephanzy's excellent 2014 write-up prior to a work party. Want to do more to help? Sign up to walk and/or donate for the Friends of Jimmy Conway team. On behalf of Jimmy and his family, thank you.

—by Sherrilynn "Sheba" Rawson

A statement on behalf of the 107IST Board of Directors

As of today, the “Portland Boys” chant has been removed from our web list of chants; new chant sheets printed for stadium distribution will no longer include “Portland Boys” lyrics; and capos and drums/trumpets will no longer lead the Timbers Army in singing “Portland Boys.”

Generally and historically speaking, as a board we don’t weigh in on chants. Other than the annual printing of chant sheets for the stadium and updating the website to match, our general practice as a board has been to leave it to the capos to lead chants and to allow for every person in the stadium to either accept or reject that leadership—bad chants often die because no one will sing them and good ones live because they catch on, not because the board dictates the details of individual chants.

At the same time, although we have heard and read a variety of member opinions and interpretations with respect to “Portland Boys,” not all of them negative, the board recognizes that there are members of the Timbers Army and of the 107IST who find the chant lyric offensive for a variety of reasons.

We considered that we had three options: (1) do nothing; (2) change the chant line in question; or (3) recommend that the chant be removed from the chant sheets, website, and capo/drum and trumpet repertoire.

The board rejected the first option. The arguments in favor of doing nothing would primarily be to honor TA tradition (the chant has been sung by the TA for many years, predating our entry into MLS) and/or to recognize that there is a lack of clear consensus of opinion among TA as to whether the lyric is offensive and why. Given that the chant doesn’t have unique central ties to either TA culture or history (it is a chant with variations sung by many supporters who are fans of many different soccer teams), and given that members offended by the lyric expressed grave concerns to us about issues that relate to our core values as Timbers Army/107ISTs, we decided that doing nothing was not an option.

The board considered attempting to change the chant lyric. Several acceptable alternate lyrics were presented and discussed, both online and in person, among members and within the capo/drum and trumpet corps. The Timbers Army has had a history of changing chant lyrics in the stands before, so we had a sense of what it would take to do so in this case: messaging in the stands both face to face and via papers on seats; reprinted lyrics on chant sheets; repeated direction from capos at multiple games; and a concerted effort by MANY individuals in the stands to educate their peers on a game-by-game basis. Given the potential for creating continued divisiveness within the stands through what would definitely be a long, drawn-out process, the board ultimately rejected this option as well.

Given that inaction was not an option and that changing the chant lyric was rejected, the board voted unanimously to remove “Portland Boys” from the chant sheet, website, and capo repertoire.

We recognize the importance of honoring and recognizing our history; but we also stand for something more. We reject racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia. We reject hate. We value basic human rights and dignity. And if members are concerned that a chant in our canon contains lyrics that run counter to our core, we have a responsibility to decide what we value most.

No single chant defines us, or our ability to show our love for team, town, and TA. Ultimately we know we’ve made the right decision.

Onward, Rose City.

—by Sherrilynn "Sheba" Rawson

Twenty-seven seconds.

AP Photo/Paul Vernon

That's how long it took El Maestro to score the fastest goal in MLS Cup history.  The last notes of the national anthem had barely finished sounding at Mapfre when Diego Valeri capitalized on Steve Clark's less than stellar attempt to control a back pass and Valeri put the ball into the back of the net on the way to the Timbers' 2-1 MLS Cup victory on December 6th, 2015.

And now he has made an amazing gift to the Timbers Army in memory of that moment.

Valeri has signed the ball he struck to make MLS Cup and Timbers history and has donated it to us. Here's his message to the Timbers Army about the gift (haga clic aquí para ver su mensaje en español).

There is no way that words can adequately express our gratitude for his leadership and grace, both on and off the field. (Feel free to give it a try anyway at his Twitter handle, his Instagram, and/or in the comments below.) For now, we'll just leave it at:

Gracias, Maestro. 

—by Sherrilynn "Sheba" Rawson

A statement on behalf of the 107IST Board of Directors

The Timbers Army has grown and changed over the years, from the by-now-nearly-mythical “twenty guys banging on pickle buckets” to thousands of supporters spanning the globe. We are a huge, disparate lot, and we disagree about many things, large and small, in person and online. But there are a few things on which we all agree.

• We support team, town, and TA.
• We support soccer in and around Portland, Oregon, from the grassroots to the highest professional level.
• And we have zero tolerance for hate.

There is no room in the Timbers Army for racism, sexism, xenophobia or homophobia. None. If recent world events have taught us anything, it is that we need to say no to hate, early and often, at every opportunity. This is not a political stance: it is a stance that respects basic rights and dignity for all humans.

We have lots of opportunities to stand up and say no to hate and yes to humanity, on the stands and in the streets. This next weekend, you are invited to march with us in the Portland Pride Parade. All are welcome: if you want to be Timbers Army, you already are. Unless you want to hate on fellow humans. Then you’ll want to look elsewhere.