It should come as no surprise that a city characterized by passionate support, the Portland Timbers have sold out every home match since joining MLS, and fabled urban planning dating back as far as 1903 should boast some of the finest tifo displays in the world.
Tifos are choreographed displays by fans which serve to showcase supporter culture and their love for the club. The Timbers have attracted global attention for their intricate and beautiful tifos as Providence Park has quickly become a mecca for American soccer culture.
The North End of Providence Park is home to the Timbers Army, the thousand-strong supporters group of the Timbers. Self described as “part carnival, part mosh pit, part revival meeting and part Christmas morning”, the Timbers Army is responsible for creating the tifos that have garnered universal acclaim.
The Timbers Army website says the European definition of a tifo is “an Italian word referring to visual displays of passionate support for a team.”
The North American definition of the word tifo is “the Timbers Army.”
They’ve been pouring an immense amount of effort into their tifo displays since 2001, and the match day atmosphere at Providence Park has no equal because of it.
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