September 07, 2006
Flares, police officers, and arrests. Oh, my!
Last Timbers game of the season. Didn't feel like going. This season was awful and there was no chance of making the playoffs, but I'd been to every home game the last 2 years, so I went tonight, just to keep my attendance perfect.
Timbers lost, which was no surprise, they'd done that all year, but this was especially hard since it meant the Timbers ended the season in last place. If they'd won, it would've saved them from that last place slot, but the Timbers didn't even score, much less win. So they end the season as the worst team in the league, which has never happened before. They've never even come close to that, so being the ultimate losers is a new and harsh experience.
There did seem to be one bright spot at games end. And I mean literal bright spot. In the wanning seconds of the match, members of the Timbers Army lit flares that they'd snuck into the game, and it made for a spectacular sight. As the game ended, the Timbers Army section was glowing a firery red, with fans screaming, cheering and waving their scarves. If you didn't know better, you would have thought the Timbers had won a championship, what with the great show the fans put on, but this is how we treat our team. Even when they end in last place, we still love them, and we make sure they know that.
But, the night did not end on that bright note. A few people got burned by the flares, nothing too serious but they were understandably pissed about it. And the police got involved. Once the flares had burnt out, the police escourted those responsible out of the stadium, but the police made a mistake and accidently nabbed a woman who had nothing to do with the flares. She tried to tell them she had nothing to do with the flares, but an officer didn't take well to her arguing and arrested her and hauled her off to jail. Meanwhile, the guys who were actually responsible for it were not arrested and were free to go.
No one understands why someone who had nothing to do with the flares was arrested, especially when everyone else was let go, but the Timbers Army donated money to bail the woman out of jail and help with her legal costs, so hopefully it will work out ok.
But the biggest concern is the toll this will take on the Timbers Army. The Timbers had a new coach and management this year, and the new coach and staff never liked the Timbers Army, which is just bizarre. Having one of the most passionate and dedicated supporters groups in U.S. soccer is something Timbers management should be thrilled about, especially with the team doing so poorly, but Agnello and his cohorts made it clear they thought very little of the Timbers Army. And now... Oi. The coach and management have made it clear that they're pissed as hell over what happened tonight and now the question is how they'll make us pay for it. There were only ten people involved in the flare debacle, the vast majority of fans didn't even know it was going to happen, but management has responded to it like the entire Timbers Army were chasing children and old women around the stadium with lit flares.
Shit, thank god the season is over! A lot of people fear that coach Agnello and his henchmen will try to get rid of the Timbers Army, and I'm worried about that, too, but there's also the hope that after one of the worst seasons in Timbers history, Agnello will be fired. When you take over a team with a winning history and turn them into the worst team in the league, that's what should happen. The coach should be fired, not the fans.
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