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This is the Timbers Army blog, where members can submit blog posts. 

  • 12/09/2021 8:20 PM | Kristen Gehrke (Administrator)

    My brothers and sisters, welcome, the moment is here.

    The Portland Timbers play for the cup at home.

    Across the years we’ve entered into the stadium to watch our team play many games. 

    We’ve stood upon seats with our hearts in our mouth watching the Timbers rise against our hated rivals and fall to amateurs. We’ve played taps, travelled in numbers, yelled in shock at televisions, ridden buses and airplanes and sung, “we’re gonna win the league.”

    There has never been a home game as meaningful as this one that is right in front of us.

    This is a fanbase that spans the globe, that unites every fan through a common bond that is the love of the Timbers. However, this is a fanbase that comes from a place.

    We come from Portland.

    This is our home.

    And this place is not easy.

    We’ve suffered through a global pandemic, deaths in our family, violence in the streets, right wing extremists, police brutality, and a surge of politically driven attempts to cast this beautiful place where we live as the embodiment of everything that is wrong.

    This place is rainy, gloomy, moody, and expensive. This place is beautiful, subtle, caring and passionate.

    We, the fans, are all these things because we are Portland. 

    When the gates open and the stands fill, it will be packed with Portlanders. Some of those were born here. Some of those moved here. And some of those people in the stands grew to love the city because they watched from afar as we poured ourselves into every single kick, every tackle, every simple measure and tactical shift that happens for 90 minutes.

    We’ve seen legends roam our fields from Clive Charles to Scot Thompson to Diego Chara to Diego Valeri. We’ve watched the best in our league come to our corner of the world and falter as they attempt to understand.

    We’ve bonded over pain, failure, disaster, olives and Spiced IPA. We’ve seen the miraculous, the daring, and the unbelievable.

    27 Seconds

    The Double Post

    The Sunshine Goal

    The Sunflower Goal

    Cal FC

    The Andrew Jean-Baptiste Stunner

    Suzuki against Seattle

    Hollywood United

    Dairon’s Bicycle

    Nagbe’s Juggle

    Valeri’s Letter

    The Red Card Wedding

    Olimpia 2014

    Agnellllllllo

    Tony Betts golden goal

    Nemo, Nemo drag him off the pitch

    There are so many that they begin to get lost among the years.

    The thing that ties all of these moments together is us.

    We are the thing that remains. We watch, we endure, we celebrate, we commiserate but we remain.

    We are Portland.

    We gather not just for sports, but for a celebration of this city, this team, this time in our history.

    There is no 2021 game left after Saturday. We’ve come to the end of the season.

    Nothing remains for us but to let loose every bit of ourselves, our love, and our passion for the boys of the field.

    When you step into the stands on Saturday, understand that you bear the weight of responsibility for carrying forward the support, love and belief of every Timbers fan who cannot make it to this game. Understand that for every person who was able to buy a ticket there is another who would do nearly anything to be where you are right then.

    Take this belief, this love and let it lift your voice. Let it fuel your belief in the boys, let it fuel your love for each other and let it bring us home from this incredible voyage.

    And for me, please, when you reach your seat on gameday stop for one moment.

    I want you to look at the stadium, the rain, the rafters, the seats.

    Look at the fans, the players, the banners, the flags, and absorb it all. Hear the ghosts singing our songs, chanting, dancing and believing in PTFC across the decades.

    Create a memory of this moment and hold onto it. 

    Then, let this memory go and with furious abandon give every last measure that you have for this team.

    Together we can make another memory in our long history. Together we can make them believe.

    Together we can show the 11 on the field, the substitutes, the coaching staff, and all the future players who ever think of coming here that we will be there for them.

    We are Portland.

    What we built can never be broken.

    -- John Nyen


  • 12/07/2021 10:24 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)

    Even before the final whistle blew in the Western Conference Final on Saturday and the celebrations began, the planning started. Before Tetris was over, preparations for a historic event — the first ever MLS Cup Final in Portland! — were well underway: Do we host an MLS Cup Eve party? Do we host a postgame bash? Where? How? What do we need? Volunteers were already hard at work, contacting venues, acquiring kegs, clearing their calendar to be boots on the ground and ready to tackle any task. We’re ready to show off the joy that is Soccer City, USA.

    None of the spectacle of gameday happens out of the blue. It’s hundreds of dedicated volunteers spending thousands of people hours tracing and painting banners in a cold warehouse. It’s dozens of volunteers willing to endure the Sisyphean task of carrying flags and drums down the stairs of Providence Park (and carry them back up the beer-soaked steps later). It’s 50 people to pull on ropes and deploy a tifo — and then make it all disappear during the match. It’s people regularly giving up hours of their time before every match to make sure you can get No Pity scarves at cost and face-value tickets without SeatGeek scalping. You may ask, “How does all this happen? Who pays for all this?”

    You do.

    The money you spend at the No Pity Van, buying t-shirts, hats, stickers, scarves, and other great merch, is funneled directly back into the operating budget for the Timbers Army. 

    And, if you’re a 107IST member, your membership in the 107 Independent Supporters Trust buys the fabric and materials for tifo and pays rent on the warehouse in which it is painted. It buys the flags and smoke. It allows us to rent the space in which we can gather and celebrate our love of the Holy Trinity: Team, Town, and TA/Riveters. It pays for outreach in the community, including more than a half-million dollars in donations from members to charitable efforts in the last ten years.

    If you like supporting soccer in and around the Portland area, from the grassroots to the highest professional level, consider joining the 107IST today. Your $25 goes a long way in creating the best supporters the world has ever seen. If you’re already a member, thank you. Truly, it takes an Army. 

    We also invite you to get involved in what we do! There are myriad ways you can contribute. Sign up to volunteer here.

  • 12/04/2021 11:10 AM | Kristen Gehrke (Administrator)

    The views of the author are not necessarily those of the 107IST or its Board of Directors. 

    Since news of the Riley scandal, we have used our buying power to send a message to the FO that we expect more. But the further we run into the playoffs, the more money we give them. As a quick aside, I'm not saying not to go. Hell, I'll be there too. But with every win, I just picture Merritt rubbing a magic genie's lamp. Wishing for another game. He knows he's got us. He knows we're all going to be there for the boys. So he rubs that lamp, and he wishes for another home game so he can laugh about how he beat us and our boycott. Needless to say, I feel a crisis of conscience.

    Tuesday night as I watched the match between the Revolution and NYCFC, it felt like I was the only Timbers fan pulling for the Revs. As a fan of the game, I felt like New England was the more deserving team. Just like all those redemption stories from your favorite sports movies. Underdog team is joke of the league, until legendary coach trying to recover from embarrassing failure comes along and turns it all around. Slow-mo cut to hoisting of the cup, slow fade to aerial shot of the stadium, chop the onions, cue "We Are The Champions", roll the credits.

    But to be completely honest, I wanted the Revolution to host us in the final. I want to see us win a final in our stadium as much as anyone, but for weeks all I can think about is the timing. As each and every one of us clung to our lucky rabbits foot or scarf, I kept picturing Merritt rubbing that genie's lamp.

    So what do we do? We can't boycott buying tickets for the final. He'll make money on those tickets one way or another. Throw in the fluctuating prices for conference final tickets we saw in the box office/Seatgeek, and not being able to secure your reserved seats for the final, it opens a door to price out some of our core supporters. And how deflating would that be to the players who fought like hell to get us that home final? They deserve us being there, loud as ever to create the most electric game they may ever play in. So what do we do?

    And again my mind goes to Merritt rubbing his lamp, but this time I remember the history of the legend of genies in the first place. The Jinn, which is usually considered to be more sentient monkeys paw than the ever impressive, long contained, often imitated, but never duplicated Genie of the lamp we may be accustomed to. Granting wishes with an unexpected twist. Like Wishmaster. Or the D'Hoffryn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Or the Star Wars prequels. Or that time you heard Ryan Reynolds was cast as Deadpool, but it was in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Or the first MLS logo that my brain won't let me remember anymore (thanks little guy).

    But we still have one more game to go before we get to that point, and Merritt still has one more wish. He wants a final in Portland. It has the makings to be one of the most watched MLS finals to date, and everyone wants us front and center. With a win on Saturday, the stage is set. We buy our tickets, Merritt gets his last wish, the crowds file in, the cameras roll, the mics go live, and the intro to "Friend Like Me" starts to play. What do we say?

    -- Thomas Harrison, Timbers Army

  • 11/02/2021 5:20 PM | Darren Lloyd (Administrator)

    Earlier this year, the representatives of the Cascadia Cup Council confirmed that the Cup would indeed be awarded in 2021 after a balanced schedule that allowed for supporters to attend in person was made available. After five of the qualifying six matches, the winner of the Cup will be determined by the result of the final match between the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps on November 7, 2021, with multiple tiebreaker scenarios in play.

    Potential results are as follows:

    Scenario A: Seattle wins or draws on 11/7: Seattle wins
    Scenario B: Vancouver wins by 3 or fewer on 11/7: Seattle wins
    Scenario C: Vancouver wins by 4 on 11/7: Vancouver wins
    Scenario D: Vancouver wins by 5+ on 11/7: Vancouver wins

    Tiebreaker rules for the Cascadia Cup are as follows:

    Tiebreaker 1: Greater number of points earned in matches between teams concerned
    Tiebreaker 2: Greater goal difference in matches between teams concerned
    Tiebreaker 3: Greater number of goals scored in matches between teams concerned

    As such, Scenario A is clear: a Seattle victory or draw makes them the winner with the most points.

    For Scenario B (Vancouver wins on 11/7 by 3 or fewer), all 3 teams will be even on 6 points, therefore the goal difference tie-breaker would be calculated among all three teams. If Vancouver wins by 3, GD would be Seattle +2, Vancouver 0, Portland -2, resulting in Seattle named the victor.

    For Scenario C (Vancouver wins by 4 on 11/7), all 3 teams will be even on 6 points, the goal difference tie-breaker would be calculated among all three teams yielding a further tie as Seattle and Vancouver will both be +1 (Portland -2). Therefore only Seattle and Vancouver would be considered in the next tiebreaker, with Vancouver’s victory on 11/7 being +4, giving Vancouver the Cup.

    For Scenario D (Vancouver wins by 5 or more on 11/7), GD is among all teams, with Seattle at 0, Vancouver at +2, and Portland at -2, resulting in Vancouver securing the Cup.

    We hope this clarifies any questions or concerns about the awarding of the 2021 Cascadia Cup.

  • 08/11/2021 9:00 AM | Darren Lloyd (Administrator)

    At long last, the representatives of the Cascadia Cup Council have determined that due to the relaxation of pandemic-related fan restrictions at matches, combined with the opportunity to create a balanced Cup schedule, the Cascadia Cup will have a 2021 champion. The Emerald City Supporters, Timbers Army, and Vancouver Southsiders have discussed all possible options, and the schedule will include:

    • 8/15 Seattle @ Portland
    • 8/29 Portland @ Seattle
    • 9/10 Portland @ Vancouver
    • 10/9 Vancouver @ Seattle
    • 10/20 Vancouver @ Portland
    • 11/7 Sounders @ Vancouver

    Should future matches be postponed or see significant changes regarding attendance of supporters, the Cascadia Cup Council may amend this plan, but we are hopeful that the Cup will be awarded this year as intended.

  • 08/03/2021 4:11 PM | Darren Lloyd (Administrator)

    We’re back. You’re welcome! Maybe this is your first Timbers match. Maybe it’s been awhile. Maybe you never miss a match. Maybe you’re rusty with over a year off. Here’s some information to help make our collective match day experience the best it can be:

    DO observe the one scarf-one seat rule. You can save your seat and the seat of one other person.

    DO stand, chant, and/or clap for the full match, if you are able to do so. Our energy lets the players know we’re with them during every moment of the match.

    DO follow the lead of Capos, Drums and Trumpets when chanting. They’re here to lead us all as one powerful voice in the North End. Some chants have been removed from the songbook over the years because they contained inappropriate or offensive language; if these chants are started by supporters, CDnT does its best to change the chant and redirect the energy.

    DO NOT take home flags. Flags are not yours, they belong to all of us collectively and belong at the stadium. Taking flags out of the stadium as keepsakes is stealing.

    DO NOT set off pyro in the stadium. Use of flares or smoke in an unapproved area may result in a stadium ban for those involved and potentially eliminate our stadium access for future displays.

    PLEASE treat others with respect both inside and outside of the stadium. This includes Capos, Drums and Trumpets, Flag Crew, and Tifo Crew who volunteer their time to help bring unrivaled match day experiences and the No Pity Originals Crew who volunteer their time and design skills to raise the money to do so. Abuse of our volunteers will not be tolerated.
  • 07/23/2021 4:29 PM | Darren Lloyd (Administrator)

    The following is a guest post by Cody Goldberg.

    "The Timbers Army is a force for good!" These are the words I can recall hearing MANY times over 10 years ago when I started spending a lot of time with Timber Jim Serrill. It was Jim who decided that the first Harper's Playground should receive the blessing of "The Army" and it was he who pushed for a scarf to help raise funds. It was the Timbers inaugural season in the MLS, and the Army stepped up. $25,000 was raised through that first scarf, and over another $75,000 has been raised through the sales of 3 more collaborative scarves.

    I am delighted to share the news here that we have a new project and a new scarf and patch. This is our biggest and best playground design, and the scarf is as special as it has ever been. I believe this is the first scarf, outside the Northern Alliance, focused on Vancouver, WA? I know this is special as it combines elements from Harper's Playground, Jim's "Spread The Love" mantra, The Axes & Rose, The Vancouver Fire Fighters crest and it looks really, REALLY cool!

    Harper's Playground is all about inclusion, and so is the 107IST. We share a vision of a world where everyone feels welcome, everywhere. Except for racists and homophobes and people filled with hate. Those people need to change first, then they are welcome. We agree on this. In partnership, we have developed this special scarf dedicated to helping create a special space in Vancouver, WA, at Marshall Park, that will welcome everyone and celebrate everyone’s unique abilities. All abilities. All ages. Everyone.

    I'm incredibly humbled by these 10 years of support and I hope that everyone will want one of these scarves and will maybe buy two, one for themselves and one for a friend. Spread the love, right!? We will raise $1.5 million in the next year, and these scarves will be an important part of that. They will help raise much needed $ and they will help raise awareness for the need for more inclusive places.

    Thanks to the 107IST, to Timber Jim, to The Vancouver Firefighters Union, the No Pity Originals team and thanks to everyone who will be buying and waving the latest Spread The Love Scarf at Providence soon!

    -Cody

    Fundraiser details

    • All net proceeds will be donated directly to Harpers Playground to benefit the Marshall Park project.

    • Preorder will run from 7/23 – 8/22. Cannot guarantee any availability outside of the preorder
    • Ways to support
    • Expected arrival and distribution of all pre-orders the end of August beginning of September
  • 05/10/2021 9:00 AM | Darren Lloyd (Administrator)

    Since its inception in 2001, the Timbers Army has advocated for affordable ticket pricing. We believe that football is for the fans, and we champion authentic, homegrown support of our players and the beautiful game. We believe in General Admission to allow supporters to choose their level of involvement in their active support of the Boys in Green. We say, "If you want to be Timbers Army, you already are." To that end, we facilitate face-value ticket exchanges to ensure that anyone who wants to attend a match is able to do so at an affordable price.

    While limited capacity means that reserved seating is a necessity to continue safely distancing during a pandemic, the North End is still the home of the Timbers Army. When tickets go on sale at 10 AM, it’s only tickets in the North End and only offered to season ticket holders who have tickets in the North End. That supporters then choose to gouge their fellow supporters—the very same people who make the atmosphere unequaled in North America—is against everything for which the Timbers Army stands. Don’t profit off the North End.

    Secondary market prices make it difficult to allow supporters to attend Timbers matches. These prices don’t "Spread the Love." "Me" is not a part of the Golden Triangle of Team, Town, Timbers Army. We encourage supporters to consider their fellow supporters. The 107IST facilitates the Timbers & Thorns Ticket Exchange on Facebook, as well as a day-of-game ticket exchange at the Fanladen when circumstances allow, and we encourage their use.

    With the Rose City Riveters and 107IST, we continue to discuss solutions to this issue with the Timbers and Thorns front office, as it is of mutual interest to all supporters.

  • 05/05/2021 8:51 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)

    The following is a post by Nancy Flores-Sánchez, a member of the BIPOC Advisory Board, the Timbers Army, the Rose City Riveters, and the 107IST.

    “Living on borders and in margins, keeping intact one's shifting and multiple identity and integrity, is like trying to swim in a new element, an 'alien' element.” — Gloria E. Anzaldúa

    “If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.” — Junot Díaz

    I’d like to preface this post by saying a few things. First, when I refer to “we” I am not speaking for all undocumented Latinx people in PDX. However, I know the proceeding experiences are common amongst many of us. Second, just because I only detail one story, doesn’t mean it’s the only one. I am not going to list them all here. Third, when I refer to you, I am speaking to those that caused harm. You know who you are; if you don’t, continue reading. If you find yourself getting defensive, then you’re probably included in that “you.” Fourth, being a part of a marginalized community, such as the Latinx community, does not mean a person can’t be an oppressor. Lastly, there were some situations where accusations were made that have not been verified. This post is not about that. This is bigger than that.

    If you want to be in the TA...

    Instead of creating a welcoming space for our BIPOC community, which should have been an easy ask with a high return, while taking a minimal amount of effort, we created a hostile environment. An environment which many of the potential Timbers fans that attended that night will not want to return to.

    This exclusive and harmful behaviour started before Wednesday. While trying to find tickets I came across a thread on FB, where many of you were demanding that Club América fans not wear their team's gear in the North End because the rules “are *literally* printed on the ticket. Don’t be a dick.” This was followed by several ignorant comments like:

    “tell me you just moved here and haven’t been to a timbers game, without telling me”
    “Any jabronies acting like victims because you can’t wear your CA kit into the home supporters section at an away game, is clearly a troll. This is the stadium policy, and VERY common even at the MLS level. They know it’s the norm, they just don’t think they’ll get showered with batteries and rocks for it here in Liberal Wypypo Portland. Let’s show them they’re wrong and throw batteries into the stadium from the roof of the old Oregonian building.”
    “If you are a Club América supporter trying to play footy tourist for the night, Nuh uh, take your candy ass back to your own supporter section where you belong. We aren’t here for your entertainment or your IG story and we want nothing more than to destroy your team. If that makes me Exclusive. Welp, I guess thems the breaks. I’ve been called worse.”

    “We are just as inclusive as you’ve heard when it comes to race, sexual orientation and the like. Not allowing opposing fans in the dedicated supporters section is unrelated to that. It’s protocol in practically every stadium in the world.”

    Well ok then. There’s a whole lotta toxic masculinity with some casual racism thrown in to unpack. I have said this so many times, this match is different. The same rules do not apply.

    A mix of anger and straight up disappointment

    The right to belong: You’re assuming that many of these fans “just moved here.” You are already labeling them as outsiders when, in fact, the majority live here, have lived here for a long time, and will continue to live here. You are “othering” a whole group of marginalized people that are your literal neighbors and who are already part of the community.

    You are assuming that these fans know the rules; they just don’t want to follow them. Many of these fans have not been to a Timbers game even though they love fútbol (probably more than you do) because we don’t make it accessible or welcoming for them. So no, they probably don’t know the rules. You are also assuming that every fan in the stadium reads their ticket, can read their ticket or can understand what the ticket says.

    All América fans that want to wear their gear are trolls. Or maybe, maybe they’re just fans that for once have their team here and want to show their pride. You are assuming these fans are the ones that throw batteries. Which means you are still assuming, they are not from here. You also want to throw batteries at them.

    You are again, again, assuming that all the América fans at this game will be from other places. You are repeatedly showing that you see us as “others.” “Take your candy ass back to your own supporter section where you belong.” Again with the insistence that we don’t belong. Also, what about the fans that support both teams? Trust me when I tell you that América fans are not entertained by you, they are not impressed and they most certainly won't put you on their IG story when they have Memo Ochoa on the field. I mean, come on.

    “We are just as inclusive as you’ve heard when it comes to race, sexual orientation and the like.“: Are you though? I mean there is a reason there are hardly any BIPOC supporters at games. This game showed that it’s not for a lack of BIPOC soccer fans, so it must be something else. *I wonder what it could be, she types sarcastically*. This is not the same as the Sounders coming to town. Again, a lot of these fans are not visitors. They live here.

    The statements posted in this thread reflect the feelings that a lot of TA members had. These feelings are conducive to the unprovoked hostility some América fans received. These situations are what prompted me to speak as to why this game was full of microaggressions and racism.

    Justifying bad behavior

    América fans are obnoxious.

    (mostly true) but so what?

    They throw bags of piss at away supporters in their stadium.

    Are we at Azteca?! Did I magically become a U.S. citizen and am suddenly able to travel to Mexico?! Are these the Azteca supporters that are here? Are we the Chivas? Is this El Clasico? No? Ok then, that’s irrelevant.

    This is soccer they should be used to this.

    This is soccer in a different country. No, we are not used to gatekeeping drunk white supporters.

    All of these statements show your ignorance.

    The never-ending fight against assimilation and the internal struggle it creates

    For myself, and many others like me, having this Liga MX team here means so much more than your privileged, fully able-to-roam-the-world-selves could ever imagine. We were taken away, without any agency or choice, from our homeland by our parents for a better life. We arrived in a country that continuously undervalues, oppresses, abuses, judges and threatens us. We grew up trying to prove that we belong here while being surrounded by a dominant culture that in no way reflects our own. Because of this, many of us internalized the racism that we experienced and became ashamed of our heritage.

    I remember many Latinx students in high school making fun of our own music saying it sounded like “polka” music, in front of white peers and then dancing all night to it at the next Quince1. I remember being ashamed of the delicious corundas2 my mom made for my 13th birthday party because my “friends” thought it was weird and gross. I remember many of us being ashamed of our families' accents, of their inability to conform to the social norms of the country they brought us to. Now I am only ashamed that I ever felt that way.

    While we were being made to feel ashamed of our heritage by the white people that surround us, we were also being berated by our own people for “sounding too white” and listening to “white music.” “Are you even Mexican?” was a common question I was asked.

    We were placed in a lose-lose situation that many of us have yet to recover from. It took many more years to begin to dissolve the internalized racism we have developed. It took even longer still to accept that we can in fact, be both proud of our Mexican heritage and proud to be an Oregonian. Which means we can be both die-hard América fans (Club Atlético Morelia for me) and die-hard Timbers fans.

    Yet even though we are proud of our cross-cultural identity, it seems that we can’t escape being shamed by white peers. There were several instances before, during and after Wednesday's match, where we were once again reminded that we are not accepted by you. You claim to accept us and to want to include us, yet the one chance you got to truly show your appreciation and acceptance, you only used to remind us that there is still a dominant culture that refuses to accept another. Not only that, but you attempted to make us choose. Do you have any idea how fucking harmful that is? No. You don’t because you don’t have to. This isn’t a choice between whatever state you transplanted from or Oregon scenario. This is our culture, our entire being.

    As insignificant as it may seem to you, telling us we aren’t real Timbers fans if we are also fans of our home country team, is you telling us that part of us isn’t valid. You are basically telling us we can’t be both, when it took us years to accept that we are.

    By asking us to choose a team and stick to it, you are demanding us to assimilate or risk being excluded. Maybe it wasn’t your intent to make us feel that way, well guess what? Intent doesn’t matter.

    Gatekeeping in the TA

    Yelling at children that are América fans, children, is exclusive, racist, and just generally shitty behavior.

    Why? Because you are targeting a community that lives here, some of which root for the Timbers throughout the year. Why should you let them sit in “your” section? Because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of them and they call PDX home too. This is their city, they are not visitors. Chill TF out and let others enjoy themselves.

    If they aren’t harassing you (no cheering loudly isn’t harassing) then let them be. Better yet, be happy for all of us. We finally have something that is from home. Something familiar. We felt this deep in our hearts. You do not and will never understand the pain that goes along with not being able to go where you are with your people...where you are not the “minority.”

    This match had the promise to be a tiny relief from that pain for so many of us. You should have had some empathy. The majority of the América fans I saw in the TA section were families. The only harassing I saw in that section was from Timbers fans.

    Right now, I bet many of you are scoffing at this. You’re probably thinking this is an overreaction or you’re thinking that América fans deserve the hate or you’re saying “whatever get over it.” Maybe you’re thinking “well, I didn’t see any of us starting anything. It was all the América fans crossing the line.” Or “They know what it’s like; they’re fine.” Perhaps you’re justifying this behavior by pointing out that this is a huge game and this is to be expected. Maybe you’re thinking some variation of pics or it didn’t happen. Some of you might be thinking, nah we’re not like that.

    If you’re thinking any of that right now, you’re not fucking listening.

    Who created that energy?

    This wasn’t a normal game. This wasn’t Seattle or even LAFC.

    This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for so many of us. I am not an América fan, in fact I dislike them very, very much, but I jumped at the chance to attend this game. Not only because I wanted to see the Timbers, but because this was a tiny bit of home that was coming to me when I can’t go home.

    One of my friends mentioned how their dad is a die-hard América fan and so is his younger brother. His brother grew up idolizing América because of his dad. His dad talks about experiencing a game at Estadio Azteca, and his son can only imagine what it would be like to be at the famed stadium. That experience can only happen in his imagination because he cannot go back home either. This match was like getting a tiny taste of what it would be like to be surrounded by your community instead of a lot of white people for once. An infinitely small glimpse into a home match at Azteca. For his dad, it was nostalgic, it was almost, almost like home. Until he was confronted with “why are you cheering for them?!” and several middle fingers in his face.

    My friend's family absolutely loves futbol. They live and breathe it; even so, his dad or his brothers have never been to Timbers game before. They might not come back. My friend said if they and many other people from that game do go back for a regular Timbers game “They will already be expecting hostility; they will be on alert" and who created that energy?

    You did.

    Yes, América fans do instigate and troll, but tell me why with the many, many instances that Sounders fans have done the same, you managed to find a way to deescalate the situation to avoid fights, but with these fans you couldn’t?

    It could have been so beautiful

    Why is it that we have collaborations with Chicago fans, but we couldn’t find a way to reach out and collaborate with fans from our own community that we supposedly want to include more?

    Why is it that you can arrange a supporters match against Seattle, our most hated rival, but you couldn’t manage to create something similar for América fans? (Yes COVID, but I am sure something else could have been arranged.)

    Why is it that you can find ways to bond with other fans from different states, but you couldn’t find a way to do the same with the América fans from your own city?

    Is it that difficult to find a way to include Latinx fans?

    This team isn’t even in our league, we literally have no rivalry with them. We will probably never play them again. So why didn’t you try to make it a great experience for these fans?

    You could have gained life-long supporters. You could have finally made the TA a little bit less white, why didn’t you try?

    You seek to find ways to fundraise for the Latinx community, but you didn’t capitalize on the one event that not only could’ve unified our communities, but could have also raised money for DACA students or the other Latinx organizations you know. You didn’t even think of a way to turn this into an event that would have welcomed the Latinx community for once. Why didn’t you think of that?

    How can you continue to say that you are going to do the work to learn about racism, oppression and do better, and then contribute to this situation?

    Some of you have been at the protests regularly, you have stated over and over again that we need to listen to the oppressed. Is this only true when you aren’t the ones being oppressive?

    What is it that you hate so much about América fans? What was it about them that made you instantly label them as outsiders? What prevented you from seeing them as members of your own community? What is it that makes you treat them worse than Seattle, the team you supposedly hate the most?

    Think about it.

    Go ahead and have a conversation with yourself about these questions. Don’t come to me for answers. It is not my job to teach you. I have explained to you more than I needed to. It is up to you whether you are going to be defensive, call me all sorts of things, believe that I am just angry and overreacting or if you’re going to really take in what I said. And please, please do not come to me with apologies and sympathy, the last thing us BIPOC people need to do after we are wronged, is comfort you when you feel guilty. Deal with your guilt by actively listening and educating yourself, not by telling me how sorry you are and/or how bad you feel. Because honestly, I don’t have the energy to care anymore.

    If anything were to happen between Timbers supporters and América fans at Estadio Azteca, it would not justify the behaviour of the TA here nor does it negate anything I have written. Any Timbers supporters that traveled to Azteca would be in a much, much different situation than the América fans we saw here. Traveling Timbers fans are not an oppressed people trying hard to become valued members of the local community near Estadio Azteca.

    The América fans at Azteca are not the members of our community. It would not be the same situation.

    Quinceañera or quinceaños: a latin version of a sweet-15 celebration

    2 Mexican type of tamale, but wrapped in a long corn plant leaf, and folded, making a triangular shape or spherical shape

  • 04/18/2021 12:00 PM | Darren Lloyd (Administrator)

    Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Vancouver, BC, April 16, 2021 -- As the 2021 MLS season begins, representatives of the Cascadia Cup Council are still working through the details on how to award the 2021 Cascadia Cup, given pandemic restrictions in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver. At this time, many MLS teams (including Seattle and Portland) are not allocating tickets to away supporters or promoting away travel, and Vancouver will, at least temporarily, play “home” games at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT with no fans in attendance. The Emerald City Supporters, Timbers Army, and Vancouver Southsiders continue to evaluate options on how to properly award the supporter-owned-and-driven Cup using the most fair methodology, and expect to make an updated announcement in, or before, July 2021.


Member, Independent Supporters Council

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