It's hard to be "Rose City till I die"

Tonight the Portland Timbers faced off against Hollywood United, an upper level amateur team, in the first round of the Lamar Hunt Cup,  the oldest open cup competition in the world as I understand it, starting in 1914.   The great thing about open cups in soccer  is that they provide the opportunity for the little guy to try their mettle against the Goliaths of the sport and make their way up the table on spunk and performance or crash and burn like Icarus.   There is glory in having challenged the gods.   So back to tonight's match.   The Timbers rolled out a side consisting mostly of their reserve players.  And it showed in some uncertainty and lack of cohesive play.   That said,  the  team showed some nice stuff with Chris Brown snookering a free kick into goal off the wall and  Arsene Oka scoring a lovely goal early in the second half.  The team also showed some anxiety looking disjointed after the Hollywood side were awarded a PK toward the end of the first half.   At the end of the evening,   Hollywood blasted home a great shot,  the last of several very dangerous attacks,  and closed the book on the Timbers' Cup 3-2.   It could have gone the other way.  Two of their goals were on penalties, but Taki, subbed in for Brown in the second half, missed a penalty given to Portland, so we had our chances too.   

Most difficult for me though was the Timbers Army.  They wear thin.  When the Timbers were resurrected and the Timbers Army coalesced around clever chants,  clever banners, high theater,  and a passionate support for their PTFC,  I thought they were great.   When they were criticized for their "You Suck, Asshole!" exclamatory response to opposing goalkeepers, I was not offended.   Many were, though, and the Timbers Army began its dicey relationship with the club.  I have friends and teammates in that hot green moshpit,  so it's not a small issue to me.

Tonight though,  I came to the conclusion that the things I liked about the Army such as great chants were outweighed by the gobsmacked stupidity of many in the Woodshed.   The booing of the opponents when they won,  the elevated middle fingers directed at the officials,  and worst the 'thumbs down' booing of the Timbers players themselves was miserable.   The game wasn't lost because of the officiating- few games are.  The game wasn't lost because of the other team, except that they made the most of their chances.  They played hard and deserved recognition of their effort.  The Timbers players on the field played hard and did some things well: they were dealt a bad hand.  Booing them was mean-spirited and reflected more on the members of the Army than on the team.  

If you've been on the field as a player,  you know that there are moments when you are bested, no matter who you are.   There are moments when you are the best.   The difference is not necessarily a matter of how well you play.  I have a hard time believing that anyone who has actually played the game would have been booing their own team.  Sad.

I have no excuses for those who think that's what being a true Timbers' supporter is about.  Nor sympathy.  And I don't want to be mistaken, at this point,  for one of those people who'll eat their own if they don't produce the desired result.