No one should have more power when the
Portland Timbers play at Jeld-Wen Field than Merritt Paulson. He bought
the team in 2007, built it into a Major League Soccer franchise and
turned the team into a local phenomenon.
But even Paulson has learned the limits of his influence: You don’t mess with the Timbers Army.
On
May 29, he watched his dejected team leave the pitch, beaten 3-2 by D.C.
United. It was the Timbers’ first MLS home loss after winning five
straight. Team captain Jack Jewsbury and striker Jorge Perlaza had each
scored—it wasn’t enough—and they and the rest of the team filed into the
locker room without stopping to acknowledge the Army.
The Timbers Army is a
living force: Thousands of chanting, singing and (often) drinking fans
form a raucous choir whose singular voice floods the stadium. In
exchange for this passion, the Army demands recognition and respect.
That includes
honoring its traditions—some dating to the original Timbers, circa 1975,
who played in the original North American Soccer League. At game’s end,
players typically stand before the Army’s sections, known as the North
End, and applaud the fans. And players who score must hoist log slices
cut by the team’s chainsaw-wielding Timber Joey. This is Army
tradition—win or lose.
Catcalls and a few obscenities rained down from the North End as the team slipped out.
Paulson rushed to the locker room.
“Guys,
you’ve got to come out, you gotta get your log slices,” Paulson recalls
saying as he dragged Jewsbury and Perlaza back on the field. “The fans
want to recognize you.”
IMAGE: Jacob Garcia
Not just any
fans. The Timbers Army fills 3,600 seats every game, and that doesn’t
include thousands more who identify with the beast of the city’s soccer
subculture. Lawyers and high-tech execs cheer alongside construction
workers and waitresses—many waving banners, others beating drums. Some
are tattooed with the anti-establishment emblems of the Army. Most wear
the ubiquitous “No Pity” scarf.
The
Timbers’ unofficial supporters group grew out of a handful of passionate
soccer fans a decade ago. Its founders rejected the slick,
team-approved branding that goes along with many booster clubs. Instead,
they wanted the Army modeled on support groups that surround soccer in
Latin America and Europe. That’s antithetical to the traditional
American concept of sports fanship. The Army wants an identity
independent of the team it loves—like a teenager who rebels but will
never move out of the house.
Alexi Lalas, a former
star on the U.S. national team and an ESPN commentator, says the Army
is on par with many supporters groups in other countries. He says Major
League Soccer is marketing itself to younger adults epitomized by the
Army—and that means an edgy experience beyond the family-oriented
approach of the past.
“Portland has done a
great job of tapping into this and making it about the drinking and the
fan experience leading up to the game,” Lalas says. “It’s not G anymore,
it’s not R—but it’s certainly PG-13.”
The
Army has shown its power and bent the Timbers’ front office to its will,
from getting stadium rules changed that allow for its smoke-bomb
demonstrations to taking a cut of the ticket sales from the stadium’s
North End. When the team unveiled its official MLS logo last summer,
members of the Army shouted it down—many with obscenities—and Paulson
quickly caved and changed the design.
Keith Costigan, a
former Timber who also played professionally in his native Ireland, says
the Army has always been a savvy group—and that the team is smart to
recognize its influence.
“In five years, Jack
Jewsbury won’t be around,” says Costigan, now an analyst for Fox Soccer.
“Players move on, but the fan bases stay. You need to know that they
have a voice and are appreciated.”
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.widea.jpg "lede_3643(main) - Caption: NO PITY: Behind the scenes, the Timbers Army is run by a nonprofit corporation with revenues of $200,000 this season. - Credit: IMAGE: Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers")
As passionate as the fans are, I must ask how many of them really know what's going on down on the field. It seems like most of them turn out for games just to hoot/holler, sing, drink beer and wave their scarves. It's a big party that just so happens to be located next to a football match.
What is wrong with that? They are paying money and supporting the team. They make Tivo so you can go back later and see what you missed by hooting and hollering.
This post is as ridiculous as the article itself. If we wanted to go to a party we'd go to a party. We are there because we love the game, and we love the team.
Brandon - In most stories on Timbers games when the opposing manager or players are asked about the experience playing at Jeld-Wen Field there is a consistent impression that Portland fans are well educated in terms of the game. I've been there, and the general level of football intelligence is high, not just among TA members, but the general crowd as well.
Brandon is way off base here. Go to youtube and watch some of the Timbers goals where the camera is on the Army. They are totally in tune with the game. If anything it's the corps in the KeyClub (UK equivalent: prawn sandwich crowd) that are a bit out to lunch. Showing up late. Coming back late to seats after halftime. Bailing as soon as possible. The Army gets it. They are in tune with the city, the club and its roots.
As a classic sit-on-my-hands-and-concetrate type, I am highly ambivalent when it comes to the Timbers Army. As much as I get the argument about the Timbers Army not being totally tuned into the game - see: passing a flag across the stands during the game; sitting behind other flags and still smiling while that silliness is going on - I take one piece of evidence as incontrovertible that Timbers Army people, by and large, do watch the game closely: I have seen them miss the cue for "You Are My Sunshine" and "I Can't Help Falling in Love" when the action on the field compels it.
Ok, fair enough. It's been a while since I've been to a game. One more question for y'all...and one I'm sure will draw a big buncha heat:
Why does the Army always get its scarves in a bunch anytime someone writes anything about them that's less than glowing? From an outside perspective, Crowl's article gives the organization a fair shake. He notes both the good (the Army is filled with some of, if not the, most passionate fans in the MLS, the org donates money to worthy causes, it's grassroots, it weilds significant power over the club) and the bad (the fans can be too crazy at times, prudish Portland parents stay away from games as a result, Paulson seems to be afraid of them, etc).
Well to answer you succinctly is difficult, Brandon. I wouldn't say this article is less than glowing. I don't disagree with the truthfulness of virtually any of it. What I will say is it reads like an article that was shredded by an editor to make it fit. Large chunks of the actual story are missing. Crowl goes over an event regarding a goal keeper that could have happened to any 22 or 23 year old just out of college (as Josh Saunders was) and makes it seem relevant even though it occurred 7 or 8 years ago now. At the time the Timbers Army was maybe 150 people. It now numbers at bare minimum 3600 if you only count those in the Timbers Army section.
The article relies on huge amounts of conjecture. I can assure you Merritt Paulson doesn't "fear" the Timbers Army any more than the Timbers Army fears Merritt Paulson. There is a difference between fear and mutual respect.
The bit about profanity is almost laughable as well. As I sit towards the South end of the stadium I've actually noticed that over the last several years with an exception for a game or two (usually involving Seattle) there wasn't a curse word to be understood coming from the Timbers Army. Crowl makes it seem as if the Timbers Army is a drunken slobbering mob who curse on cue rather than one of the most well organized non-profit groups in the state of Oregon. I'd bet thousands of dollars the Blazers only wish they could get that kind of support inside the Rose Garden and they're likely going into this lockout with a bit of trepidation knowing many of their sponsors might just bolt for the new upstart in town with a group they can readily use shots of in marketing campaigns.
Crowl either wittingly or through an editor painted a picture that wasn't necessarily unflattering but mostly relies on conjecture to make the Timbers Army seem as something they aren't. I've spoken with many in the Timbers Army, some of whom spoke with Mr. Crowl, and they simply laugh because once again Willamette Week tried to write an in depth piece about a group, didn't find anything scandalous, so went about trying to spin the group as something they aren't and point out that the article frequently uses miniscule portions of long interviews that were frequently taken out of context. Whether Crowl intended that or an editor spliced the article in this way will probably never be known.
I'm very disappointed in you, Mr. Crowl. You spend time going over hearsay and anecdotal negatives of the TA, yet fail to mention all of the positives that the group brings. Over $20,000 donated to Harper's Playground, kick-starting the AC Portland initiative, countless small spare ticket auctions benefiting everything from large charities, to helping a fellow member with some medical bills are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the love and support the group has for the city.
...and "Timbers Army regulars say the step up to MLS has created some distance between them and the players—a reality when paychecks, and egos, get bigger as the stakes increase."...? I've heard NO ONE mention pay and egos when it comes to this team. I bring your attention to a recent article in Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/mls-spending-is-up-but-is-it-enough-2011-8), where the FULL payroll of all the MLS teams is listed and ranked. Portland's is tied at the bottom with only $2.7 million...total. Individual NBA PLAYERS recieve more than this team.
Sir, I could spend my entire morning ripping apart your ill-mannered hack piece, but I have better things to do. I will say that this fumbling and obvious attempt at grabbing some attention for your tabloid is quite sad and it makes me weep for your failing profession.
Slow news week? This is so typical of Portland. Things start to get good and god forbid popular and then we turn and eat our own. Way to go WW. Way to be typical.
Maybe you missed this bit, senor:
"The 107ist has donated $11,000 for soccer equipment at Jefferson, Madison and Franklin high schools. The 107ist also started Operation Pitch Invasion, which is restoring and building soccer fields throughout the Portland area. "
I agree, Brandon. I applaud thier passion- needs to be more of it in MLS, but I question thier soccer knowledge. The same can be said of supporters in Seattle and Phili. They have some good support, but so many of them are bandwagon fans with no prior experience in the game... I guess that's better than having no fans, i.e. Dallas
So what do you want Brandon? Fans that just sit there and wave and enjoy maybe the prawn sandwiches?