I juts came across this article about the Oakland Raider's Black Hole section. Those guys really have it DOWN. They seem absolutely crazy. I had known about them in the past but this is a pretty in depth interview. I think we should all be so lucky to maybe one day have soccer supporters clubs as big as and as crazy as these guys. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/minkoff/030929.html It's crazy that they all have nicknames and what not too, like Lord Morbid. Here's a quote:
Best supporters in the A-league The Timbers Army is quite a good supporters group, by US standards. It can get pretty crazy sometimes. Lots of singing/chanting, plenty of crass language with the occasional smoke bomb thrown in. The refs are escorted off of the field by security gaurds in Portland. Great stuff, good fun. can't wait till next year.
i tell you what. from now on, when comparing oneself to an American football 'supporters club' be it college or NFL, or even comparing oneself to a European supporters section... i don't want to hear any kind of comparrison until their numbers get upwards of 1000 people... even 500. There are what? Maybe 1, 2, soccer teams in America that can claim those numbers. Whoopty doo if you and your dozen buddies can sing/chant/throw smoke bombs but how many people do you really think are in the Black Hole?
If any soccer fans in the US become like the Raiders fans it would be a sad day. All they do is dress up like halloween every game and think they have great fans.
Dude educate yourself first about the Timbers Army and then come smack talk. Here's a nice pic of us in action on the last match of the season this year (after we were eliminated from playoff contention). I will say that the atmosphere at a Timbers game kicks the a$$ out of any MLS side except for Chicago and MAYBE D.C. We get a couple hundred in section 107 and this is only our third year in existence. Remember we are an A-League side also.
this is a good one too. Listen. I think that all the people who are vocal and supportive soccer fans are great. You're trying to provide a little atmosphere and really get something going, and you get mad respect from me because of that. But don't pretend you're something you're not.
hey, I'll take small and trying over huge and sitting on their hands. Hopefully they'll bump you guys up to MLS one day and you can draft more people into your army. Good job boys. (though, I'm wondering about the Celtic angle on the jerseys...not sure if that's a good thing, but I root for the AC Milan metrostars, so who am I to judge).
And that would actually be an improvement over most US soccer fans. If some MLS team had an entire section of fans like that, I bet you that that supporters group would be breaking their arms patting themselves on the back and bragging how good they are. But because it's football, all of a sudden they're not really good fans?
You're right, we don't have the numbers like them. But if any supporters group in the MLS acted like them even if they had those numbers I would still want to kick their ass and tell them that Halloween is only one day a year.
Actually, this is THE MODEL for supporters groups. Give the following a click. I guarentee you will not regret it. (well 99% guarentee). https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74235
Just for the record that one picture of about 15 of us in a vast empty section is from a ROAD TRIP to Seattle in their stadium. Do we have a long way to go? Of course but I think we have come awfully far in 3 short seasons. And I absolutely agree that the Raiders fan "model" is a bad one for us. Not because I dislike American Football (the opposite actually) but I don't think you are a great fan just because you can dress up like a Star Trek convention. Now Redskins fans or Packers fans. Those would be decent models.
hehe old thread... TA grew over last 2 years so maybe they qualify now http://www.soccercityusa.com/timbers/FLAG.MOV