OPL Supporters Who Root Against the Portland Timbers

[Unregistered]

Pretty sure this is Obamas fault.

[Unregistered]

Your open-mindedness is simply stunning! I guess all of us should simply like the same things you do, huh?

It's the TA lemming mentality.

[Unregistered]

I root against the Timbers because they suck and I'm from Seatle. Go Sounders!

I also think the TA is a joke and the Timbers sucking money out of youth soccer to subsidize their for profit DA program is unethical and corrupt.

Go Sounders!

Seattle? With one T. And you live here? Classic.

[Unregistered]

Expecting everyone in Portland to root for the Timbers is remarkbly ignorant and small minded.

"Remarkbly"? Can you spell anything correctly? Instead of spending time on this forum, try chasing down that special life-goal of yours and wrangle that ever elusive GED. OK? Great! Good luck with that.

[Unregistered]

And the grammar nazis are out! Phone typos clearly discredit anyone who isn't a mindless Timbers fool.

[Unregistered]

Any OPL supporters who are rooting against the Portland Timbers simply because the Timbers are tied to OYSA? Yeah, you guys should be ashamed.

Not sure what that bothers you so much.

If you don't like MP and GW because of what they have done to Oregon youth soccer than you have every right to root against them. MP and GW should be ashamed of what they did to Oregon youth soccer to get a few extra bucks.

There were several years when we had the "Jail Blazers" that I was not a Trail Blazer fan.

Go Sounders!

[Unregistered]

Not sure what that bothers you so much.

If you don't like MP and GW because of what they have done to Oregon youth soccer than you have every right to root against them. MP and GW should be ashamed of what they did to Oregon youth soccer to get a few extra bucks.

There were several years when we had the "Jail Blazers" that I was not a Trail Blazer fan.

Go Sounders!

Of course. You have every right to do that. This is a free country. It's just too bad for you that you are that mulish and pigheaded that you cannot see what is actually going on. You have aligned yourself with the OPL to a point where you feel like you must hate all that is not OPL. Sucks for you. The other 90% get to enjoy something special, our home team. And yes, it is a special team, venue, and fan base. So special that there are 10,000 fans on the ticket waiting list and it is growing. You must be on to something big with this MP and GW thing. Lol.

[Unregistered]

Of course. You have every right to do that. This is a free country. It's just too bad for you that you are that mulish and pigheaded that you cannot see what is actually going on. You have aligned yourself with the OPL to a point where you feel like you must hate all that is not OPL. Sucks for you. The other 90% get to enjoy something special, our home team. And yes, it is a special team, venue, and fan base. So special that there are 10,000 fans on the ticket waiting list and it is growing. You must be on to something big with this MP and GW thing. Lol.

The real problem is that many people DO know what is going on. They know how crooked GW is and how his actions are hurting youth soccer in Oregon. The Timbers are sucking money out of youth soccer when they should be investing into youth soccer.

The Timbers should support these new ECNL programs instead of discouraging kids from playing. It is ridiculous. If the Timbers were committed to youth soccer, they would attempt to work with the local ECNL clubs instead of against.

People are not required to root for the "special" home team. People come from all over and any true fan will continue to support their REAL home team. People like you who think your little town is the center of the universe because you have never gotten out are the sad ones. It is too bad for you that you feel everyone should think like you.

[Unregistered]

Of course. You have every right to do that. This is a free country. It's just too bad for you that you are that mulish and pigheaded that you cannot see what is actually going on. You have aligned yourself with the OPL to a point where you feel like you must hate all that is not OPL. Sucks for you. The other 90% get to enjoy something special, our home team. And yes, it is a special team, venue, and fan base. So special that there are 10,000 fans on the ticket waiting list and it is growing. You must be on to something big with this MP and GW thing. Lol.

Still not a MP and GW fan so not a Timbers supporter.

I am neutral on both OPL and OYSA.

I am just not a fan of what the Timbers are trying to do with youth sports.

[Unregistered]

Why are we yelling?!!

Sportball!!!

[Unregistered]

The real problem is that many people DO know what is going on. They know how crooked GW is and how his actions are hurting youth soccer in Oregon. The Timbers are sucking money out of youth soccer when they should be investing into youth soccer.

The Timbers should support these new ECNL programs instead of discouraging kids from playing. It is ridiculous. If the Timbers were committed to youth soccer, they would attempt to work with the local ECNL clubs instead of against.

People are not required to root for the "special" home team. People come from all over and any true fan will continue to support their REAL home team. People like you who think your little town is the center of the universe because you have never gotten out are the sad ones. It is too bad for you that you feel everyone should think like you.

So if people are not required to root for the special home team, why are we required to root for your ECNL team. You say they are good for all youth, but at any age group the most girls impacted will be around 40. So how should I feel, my players are boys, if all of a sudden the Timbers started pushing money to some other club that is presenting an elite program focused on girls.

I won't detract from ECNL, I am sure it is good for those who participate, but I am insulted by this implication that I somehow don't care about kids because I am not out cheering on the sidewalk for ECNL.

It is interesting the ECNL clubs were so anti TA, Anti timbers while they were struggling to get ECNL, now that they have it they have realized they have alienated half the player base in Portland, and they are coming back crying that "If the Timbers cared they would support us…"

[Unregistered]

So if people are not required to root for the special home team, why are we required to root for your ECNL team. You say they are good for all youth, but at any age group the most girls impacted will be around 40. So how should I feel, my players are boys, if all of a sudden the Timbers started pushing money to some other club that is presenting an elite program focused on girls.

I won't detract from ECNL, I am sure it is good for those who participate, but I am insulted by this implication that I somehow don't care about kids because I am not out cheering on the sidewalk for ECNL.

It is interesting the ECNL clubs were so anti TA, Anti timbers while they were struggling to get ECNL, now that they have it they have realized they have alienated half the player base in Portland, and they are coming back crying that "If the Timbers cared they would support us…"

You should feel the same way girls OPL parents felt when the Timbers tried to squeeze money out of OPL to subsidize the DA. That was even worse because the MLS mandated the academy. The Timbers didn't do the DA out of the goodness of their hearts and they didn't do it early. For example, the Whitecaps had an academy program up and running a year before the Timbers did.

It doesn't seem like anybody is crying about it but it does put the arguments that the Timbers taking over OYSA is for the benefit of the whole state and all the players in it to the test doesn't it?

All of the pay to play soccer programs are businesses and it helps to think of them that way. It doesn't matter whether they are for profit or non-profit they will act in their own selfish business interest. That's what businesses do.

[Unregistered]

The OPL v. OYSA fight is terrible on both sides. However, I especially hate that the Timbers got involved in youth sports, made some teams their "favorite" namesakes and abandoned the rest. Why are some youth players more important to the Timbers than others? I get the Elite players funneling there, but random clubs across Oregon and Washington?

Our club used to support the Timbers. We organized bringing our teams to the matches, volunteering, etc. That hasn't happened since the Timberization of Youth Soccer. Personally, we cancelled our season tickets and stopped buying all of their merchandise.

[Unregistered]

So if people are not required to root for the special home team, why are we required to root for your ECNL team. You say they are good for all youth, but at any age group the most girls impacted will be around 40. So how should I feel, my players are boys, if all of a sudden the Timbers started pushing money to some other club that is presenting an elite program focused on girls.

I won't detract from ECNL, I am sure it is good for those who participate, but I am insulted by this implication that I somehow don't care about kids because I am not out cheering on the sidewalk for ECNL.

It is interesting the ECNL clubs were so anti TA, Anti timbers while they were struggling to get ECNL, now that they have it they have realized they have alienated half the player base in Portland, and they are coming back crying that "If the Timbers cared they would support us…"

You are mixing things up. Timbers are a professional team with supporters. Sounders are another professional team with supporters.

ECNL and DA programs are youth development programs for kids. Not professionals. These are elite competitions for girls and boys. OPL clubs send their best boys to the DA program because that is the right thing to do for youth soccer. Unfortunately, the Timbers and TA clubs do not share that same commitment to youth soccer and for girls.

[Unregistered]

You are mixing things up. Timbers are a professional team with supporters. Sounders are another professional team with supporters.

ECNL and DA programs are youth development programs for kids. Not professionals. These are elite competitions for girls and boys. OPL clubs send their best boys to the DA program because that is the right thing to do for youth soccer. Unfortunately, the Timbers and TA clubs do not share that same commitment to youth soccer and for girls.

Two comments I would offer,
1) you shouldn't wear your allegiance quite so loudly, I don't believe either league is actively sending or discouraging their players from participating in either ECNL or the DA. This is a decision that may be influenced at the club level, but it is kind of silly to think the whole OYSA league is lining up against ECNL.

2) ECNL is too new out of the box. It makes a lot of sense, and if I had a girl I would encourage her to wait until the ECNL model at these clubs has had a chance to shake out its bumps.

Unfortunately it seems several people are drunk on their kool aid and expected the whole world to just roll over and shower them with praise. Now is actually the hard time, because having gotten the membership, now they have to execute, and the success of the club won't the determined by parents screaming on here, it will be determined by objective fact.