The following is a guest post from Sam Prince, 107IST, TA, and Riveters volunteer. 

I moved to Portland not for the soccer, but for my dream job. Opal School, a then flourishing charter attached to the Portland Children’s Museum was, at that point, one of the most progressive schools in the country. The teachers at Opal were brave, entering the school year without a set curriculum in mind, following the children where they wanted to go.

I was less three years into my career as a teacher, still a baby by the standards of that particular field. There were a lot of moments when I was incredibly frustrated. A child acted in a way I did not expect. A lesson bombed. A colleague gave hard feedback. In those moments what I wanted to do was to lash out or tune out. I wanted to react, to end the interaction or get space, I wanted to be heard and then for the moment to be over.

During a meeting with a mentor, she revealed a concept that, though incredibly simple, changed my whole outlook. She asked to ask questions when I was feeling dissonance.

“What makes you say that?”

“What does this bring up for you?”

“Can you explain to me how you got to that point?”

Very often the act of reflection in the moment, of staying in the moment, allows there to be more nuance than we thought there could be. Asking questions takes this tiny, loud instant and allows us to examine its nooks and crannies. Very often the extremes of feeling made so much more sense.

The last day, and really the whole season, have been spaces of massive emotional shifts. We’ve interrogated the players, the club, each other. We’ve tackled massive issues that transcend sport and go into organizational policies and personal values. Both clubs have had massive wins and devastating losses, but if I’m honest it seems inconsequential to what is taking place off the pitch.

I’m begging you to stay in inquiry here.

When there’s big news and someone or something is not what you expect it to be, please ask questions before jumping to conclusions. If something seems out of character for an org you’ve known, or even been a part of, wonder why. Silence is sometimes people trying to figure out what to say, and making sure they say the right thing. It isn’t complicity or an admission of guilt.

We have to have each other’s back; we have to believe the best in each other as supporters.

There are folks out there who would love to subdivide us now. The more scattered we are, the more segmented, the easier it is to ignore us. The more unified we are the more powerful we become.

Today is a game day and the Cascadia Cup may come home. I cannot wait to be in the stadium with you. Let’s be loud, let’s be heard.

The following is a message from the Timbers Army Steering Committee.

Seattle’s Emerald City Supporters (ECS) published a blog post on 8/25/22 admonishing the Timbers Front Office for multiple missteps in their handling of sexual assault and domestic violence allegations involving players and coaching staff. The post also mentioned that ECS reached out to the Timbers Army about coordinating an in-stadium action during the match.

The steering committee felt that a shared action or protest at this time would be viewed as an escalation and damage conversations between the 107IST board and Front Office, distract from the progress the board and Front Office are making on last fall’s list of demands, as well as detract from our support of the players. We responded to ECS on 8/17 stating, "GDO says sincere thanks for the offer but are not ready for a massive coordinated protest at this time (though there will be plenty of protest in the stands and you are welcome to do the same at whatever level you’re comfortable with). We are also very interested in collaboration around healthcare in the long-term."

The Timbers Army appreciates a diversity of tactics to drive change and are grateful that ECS reached out to us to discuss this matter. We continue to discuss our options with all supporters groups while also supporting the efforts of 107IST to continue our push for accountability and transparency from the Timbers and Thorns Front Office.

On July 9, 2022, individuals in the Timbers Army supporters section at the Seattle Sounders v Portland Timbers match deployed smoke bombs inside and outside of Lumen Field, a violation of stadium policies.

These actions are also a direct violation of the 107IST Away Code of Conduct, which governs conduct in our away sections and to which individuals agree to abide by when they purchase tickets through the 107IST. 

Unfortunately, these incidents may cause sanctions to be imposed against the Timbers Army as a whole by Seattle Sounders FC. Sanctions could include the prohibition of banners, flags, tifo, and drums for an as-yet unspecified amount of time.

The Timbers Army Steering Committee, 107IST Board of Directors, and Away Travel Team have been and will continue to be in conversation with the Timbers Front Office about this matter. In the meantime, the Sounders Front Office, Lumen Field management, and the City of Seattle are reviewing footage of the incidents.

We invite those involved in deploying smoke to reach out to awaytravel@107ist.org to help preserve the away game day experience that we and our players have come to love.

In light of the recent allegations against a former Portland Timbers player, we have decided to reallocate money that would have been spent for our 2022 home opener tifo display to organizations that support individuals experiencing domestic violence.

$2,500 will be donated to Call to Safety to help support individuals experiencing domestic violence.

$2,500 will be donated to Rose Haven to help support individuals facing an intersection of issues including homelessness, poverty, and domestic violence.

If you can, please consider joining us by making an individual donation to these organizations or a similar organization in your local area.

For more information or to donate directly, please visit www.calltosafety.org or www.rosehaven.org

Thank you, the Timbers Army Steering Committee

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE:

Oregon Call to Safety Line (888) 235-5333

National Domestic Violence Help Line (800) 799-SAFE

The following is a post from Fernando Machicado.

I’ve been a season ticket holder for over 15 years, and I have gone through many changes with the Timbers front office. Other supporters and I have suffered through terrible owners, managers, and players. Some of these things are normal in the lifecycle of being a supporter.

What we have witnessed in the past three years, however, is not normal. It is heartbreaking. These are events that should not happen. The managers and owners of the Timbers/Thorns are supposed to protect players and their community. Everything that has come to light shows that the management has failed in every aspect of this — and failed so far that their responses seemed filled with nothing but arrogance and greed.

I ask myself:
At what point do we stop supporting them?
Do I cancel my season tickets?
Do I stop going to matches?
How I still show support to the players and the badge?

Instead of celebrating trophies for the Thorns and the Timbers MLS cup appearances, we again have to hold our FO accountable. We are struggling with how to continue to witness the failures of the organization.

The Riveters and the Timbers Army have long been excellent stewards of the community that supports the team, and each person should be able to support on how they feel; to do what is right for them.

Speaking for me, I am going to go to matches. I am going to show my distaste in their actions. I will confront them in our church, the grounds that all of us built. I am not going to let them take that from me. I am going to hold them accountable as much as I can. I am going to support my fellow supporters any way I can and help the organizations do the right things in our community.

At the same time, I respect everyone else’s process on how to deal with this, and I hope that we can all come to the same conclusion.

The only answer right now is for the management to fire the top of their leadership and sell the team. 

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

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.

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

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.

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.