Timbers Army

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The Timbers Army is the unofficial supporters group of the Portland Timbers Football Club.

Timbers Army in Section 107

1 History
- 1.1 Controversy
2 Chants
3 External links

[edit] History

When the PTFC was formed in 2001, a small group then known as the Cascade Rangers (link is to archived version of the CR site) began congregating in section 107 at the north end ('The Shed') of PGE Park ("The Piggy") to create a European-style rooting section for the club, complete with drumming, flags, scarves, smoke bombs and constant chanting and cheering.

In time, partly because the Timbers' uniforms resembled those of the Scottish club Celtic (whose arch rivals are Rangers), the name Cascade Rangers was dropped in favor of Timbers Army (though some early TA scarves bore a CR logo as a trace vestige of the original group).

In the coming years, the Timbers Army grew steadily into the dozens and then scores. By the end of the 2003 campaign, in which the club just missed the playoffs, there were approximately 200 regulars in the Timbers Army section.

In 2004, the group exploded with increased media coverage in the Oregonian (Portland's daily newspaper) and other local outlets. Early in the 2005 campaign, the number of people standing, chanting and wearing scarves in the area around section 107 (long since swamped) was 1000 or more, with people from all over the United States and, indeed, the globe, and every age, background and walk of life represented.

With those numbers, the Timbers Army is certainly the largest supporters group in the USL soccer and exceeded only by a handful of MLS clubs' supporters sections. A typical night with the TA was memorialized in a classic CulturePulp cartoon in the Oregonian by Portland artist and writer M. E. Russell. Later the same season, Willamette Week, Portland's alternative weekly, did a photo essay on the Timbers Army as a cover story.

The Timbers Army isn't only found at matches. Besides organized bus trips to away games in Seattle and Vancover, and an April 2006 trip during which many TA members visited Sunderland, the members congregate at a few pubs local to the ground -- notably the Bullpen Tavern, and Bitter End Pub. During the off-season, they hold regular monthly gatherings and play together on an indoor soccer team and Big Turkey Bowling. They produce a monthly 'zine -- Ax to the Head (not available on-line) -- and a number of other promotional items: stickers, posters, men's and women's t-shirts, beer glasses, and so forth. Many of these items are sold at not-for-profit prices, and in many cases all proceeds go to charity. The group engages in a number of charitable activities, including volunteering at Habitat for Humanity sites and raising money for a trust fund established for Keiana Serrill, the granddaughter of Timber Jim (timberjim.com), the team's amazing lumberjack mascot. Timber Jim's daughter, Hannah, was killed in an automobile accident in 2004, and in her memory, the TA has made a tradition of singing "You Are My Sunshine," often led by a tearful Timber Jim. The chant has been known to inspire goals, including the legendary back-heeled "Sunshine Goal" by Syrian forward Fadi Afash.

[edit] Controversy

In late August 2005 an article entitled "Language barrier" ran in the Portland Oregonian. The article focused on the TA's use of salty language -- most notably the chant "You suck Asshole!" which is heard, thunderously, during an opposing team's goal kick. The TA questioned the fact that the article was principally built of interviews with people who seemed to harbor a cultural agenda that had nothing to do with soccer or the Timbers. The discussion of language used by the TA was no new issue, and while the slant of the article was questionable, the major controversy stemmed from a comment by then-General Manager Jim Taylor: "People should not come to a sporting event or any event and have to listen to this kind of language. . . . There is no explaining away the actions of that group. It's unacceptable."

The article created a rift between the Timbers Management and many of the Timbers Army, who believed the club was trying to play both sides of the situation: using the Timbers Army in their advertising and promotions and singling them out when controversy surrounding their language arises.

The anti-establishment Army retaliated on September 8th, in a crucial late-season match against Atlanta. The Timbers Army almost completely boycotted section 107, with fewer than 10 fans standing in an otherwise vacant section as a message to the owners to respect the TA . The seats on either side of section 107 were packed, and some fans watched the first half from the fence along SW 18th Ave. Late in the second half, the call came for fans to flood Section 107 in the 75th minute. As it happened, the Timbers scored a goal just a minute or two before that, and the still-celebrating Army rushed into the section. The Timbers responded with three more goals in the remaining 15 minutes, knocking Atlanta out of the playoff chase and creating one of the truly epic nights of soccer in a soccer-mad city.

[edit] Chants

Led by drummers, trumpets and generally rowdy (and, often, drunken) fans, the Army has several chants that it returns to again and again through the course of a match, such as "Rose City 'Til I Die!" and this signature tune: WE ARE THE TIMBERS ARMY!!!
WE ARE MENTAL!!!
AND WE'RE BARMY!!!
TRUE SUPPORTERS FOR EVER MORE!!!

The Timbers Army is famed for their homemade scarves, stickers, banners and semi-organized antics. The TA, as it's known, has a family-style relationship with the Timbers players and staff that persists in the off-season and even after players leave the team or the sport. At the same time, the TA is famous for the particular distaste in which it holds the Timbers' USL rivals, the Seattle Sounders, as well as its less-than-warm feelings for ex-Seattle goalie Preston Burpo and the Seattle supporters.