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jerseyswithhis old teammateMike Fucito.
He walks off toward the locker roomwith
the Timbers jersey over his shoulder, but
for once the Portland fans—rejoicing in a
messof spent confe i—don’t seemtomind.
A FEW WEEKS LATER,
Levesque
announces he’s retiring topursue anM.B.A.
at theUniversityofWashington.Ontheday
ofhisfinal game—a “friendly” againstUEFA
ChampionsLeaguewinnerChelsea—more
than 53,000 Sea le fans come out to send
off their hero. On top of distributing thou-
sands of posters saying “Farewell Roger,”
the ECS unveils a tifo display proclaiming
“All Hail the King” above a huge portrait of
Levesque. Themanhimself comes into the
gameat the60-minutemark, and the crowd
goes crazy every time he touches the ball.
A erward, as the Sounders head over
to the stands to thank the fans, they hoist
Levesqueontotheir shoulders.Heclambers
onto theECSplatform, grabs amicrophone
and leads everyone in one last cheer.
I speak with Levesque a week a er his
final game. He seems relaxed and con-
tented. He tells me he’s going to a wedding
in Germany soon, and plans to wander
around Europe for a li le while. I ask him
howhe thinks Timbers fans feel about his
retiring. “I imagine they’reprobably thrilled
they don’t have to deal with me anymore,”
he says, then stops himself.
“You know, whenwe play themat home
in October, I just might be involved. There
may be one last encounter yet.”
KEVIN ALEXANDER,
senior editor at Thrillist,
played college soccer but was not drafted by
the San Jose Earthquakes. Or anyone else.
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KICKINGUP A STORM
»
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 86
ON A SUNNY
June day in Portland, the
Sounders and the Timbers meet for the
77th time, in their first game of the 2012
season. It’s been sold out for months, but
three hours before kickoff the stadium is
empty save for theTimbersArmymembers
taskedwithse ingup their section. Ateam
of 10 to 15 is draping hundreds of flags over
the seats; others are busy constructing the
drum and horn sections.
Onthemainstage infrontof theTimbers
Army area, the capos gather for ameeting.
In England, soccer clubs have supporters
groups full of fans who are devoted and
passionate, but also sometimes aggressive
and violent (as famously documented in
Bill Buford’s
Among theThugs
). InPortland,
however, theTimbersArmy recruits—with
theirmu onchops, bandanas, fatigues and
scarves—look less like hooligans than Stu-
dent Nonviolent Coordinating Commi ee
members who’ve go en
really
into sports.
On the opposite side of the stadium,
Seattle’s Emerald City Supporters are
streaming in through a back gate, holding
up banners that say things like “We Pro-
moteForest Fires.” TheSounders fans se le
into their two sections, singing and chant-
ing, while their own capos urge everyone
on withmegaphones.
Following a few hours of singing and
shouting by the two supporters groups,
the 20,000 “civilian” fans file in. Lineups
are announced. When former Sounder
Mike Fucito’s name is called for the Tim-
bers, ECS members turn their backs and
chant, “Sounders reject!” Directly after
the national anthem, Timbers supporters
showofftheir tifodisplay, agiganticbanner
that the home teamputs up during rivalry
games. Portland’s roughly 20,000-square-
foot display spans the entire north end of
the stadium, andbears themo o “Legends
are bornwhen the previous are surpassed.”
Despite being the heavy underdog
coming in, Portland is first on the board as
Timbers defender Steven Smith crosses a
ball in and striker Kris Boyd puts it away.
The Timbers Army freaks out, unleashing
green smoke bombs and twirling scarves.
As is his custom a er every Portland goal,
mascotTimber Joey startsuphis chainsaw
and slices a piece of wood off a huge log. It
is handed off to an official for safekeeping
until the end of the game, when it will be
presented to the player who scored.
Ten minutes later, Portland defender
David Horst scores, this time on a diving
header offa corner kick. TheTimbersArmy
goes haywire. And just like that, Portland
is up 2-0 at hal ime.
Shortly into the second half, however,
Sounders striker Eddie Johnson buries
a left-footer in the goal directly in front
of the Timbers Army; the Portland fans,
as if warding off a hex, brandish their
scarves and sing “Rose City Till I Die.”
Levesque, standing in a corner of the field
with the other subs, begins to warm up—
much to the delight of three Sea le fans
behind the goal.
With the score now 2-1, the game
becomes a chippy affair, withbothSea le’s
FredyMonteroandPortland’sLovel Palmer
being issued red cards after a shoving
match. As time runs down, an entire pha-
lanx of security guards blocks off the ECS
section fromthe rest of the stadium. Then,
suddenly, the whistle blows and it’s over.
Portland fans explode, heapingabuseupon
the Sea le faithful, who hold up scarves
reading “We Are the ECS” as they file out.
Down on the field, Levesque, who didn’t
end up ge ing in the game a er all, trades
138
SEPTEMBER 2012
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