Can Portland Timbers, Portland Thorns repair bonds with fans after allegations, controversy and distrust?

The community around the two top-flight soccer teams of Portland, Oregon — the Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) — can feel more like a big family. Supporters of these clubs have gotten married in the stands before matches or on the pitch, they sport permanent tattoos for the teams and some even plan their vacation time around attending away games together.

Before the pandemic, the two predominant supporters groups — the Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters — had around 6,000 dues-paying members, helping create a matchday atmosphere widely considered one of the best in North America. These hardcore fans are, as CEO Merritt Paulson has admitted, the club’s best asset. Over the years, the front office has gone out of its way to treat these supporters like they matter by meeting with them once a month, coordinating matchday operations, giving them schedules before they’re publicly released, and partnering on community outreach projects.

Yet there’s always been a tension to the relationship and these fans wield an unusual amount of power. That was no clearer than in 2019 when fans, upset over a new rule prohibiting an anti-fascist symbol inside the stadium, banded together in a protest against the club. It started as a concessions boycott and escalated to fans refusing to cheer during games, including at a nationally televised Timbers-Sounders rivalry match.

It became an embarrassment for MLS, which counted on the Timbers Army to help sell the atmosphere of the league, and Paulson was irate, yelling at fans that they caused the Timbers to lose to the Sounders due to their silence. It lasted several months and some fans were banned from games until the Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters won: MLS and the Timbers relented, allowing the symbol back into the stadium.