With the city of Milwaukie interested in building a Single-A ballpark, it seems time for Portland-area baseball fans to form some sort of support group to show that people are really interested in having professional baseball return to the metro area. We have groups such as the Old Timers and and Active Baseball Players Association and the Friends of Baseball. But their missions are really more about supporting youth, high school, and college baseball. Worthy missions, but not really central to bringing professional baseball back to Portland.
What we really need is something like the Timbers Army, who have had great success promoting professional soccer and who were instrumental in bringing Major League Soccer to Portland.
I recently spoke to Jeremy Wright, one of the original members of the Timbers Army to get his thoughts on what made the Army successful and what an organization of baseball fans should strive for. Jeremy was adamant that a fan group should be a grass roots, independent organization, one that couldn't possibly be seen as being in the pocket of the city or the team. He also thought it important to have events that people attend. Having people, citizens, voters attend city council meetings and task force meetings lets officials see that there are individuals out there who feel strongly enough about a stadium or a team that they band together and attend in force. These are not abstract fans who may or may not exist and can be ignored. They are actual flesh-and-blood people who may vote against the current council if they don't like what's happening. They are people with change in their pockets who might spend it in the community if there's a game to attend.
The Timbers Army makes news by congregating in force in their own sections at Timbers games, decked out in their green scarves, carrying and waving signs, and singing songs. They congregate in specific bars, social occasions for them. They rent buses and travel together to away games, with kegs of beer on board. Their events are unique enough that they become newsworthy. The Timbers Army was even featured in a recent episode of Portlandia. And for many people, I suspect, being part of the Timbers Army is a significant part of their social lives.
But do baseball fans have to mimic the actions of the Timbers Army to gain attention? If they do, I think we're doomed to failure. I don't have the demographic data on hand, but I believe that Timbers fans, and especially the Timbers Army, skews toward 20-something, single males. Obviously there are fans who are women and those older and younger than that. But if we had to specify a typical fan, that would probably be it. Baseball fans, I believe, tend to be in two other groups -- 55 and older, mostly male, and families with children, especially children involved with organized baseball. Unlike the typical Timbers Army member, I believe the social lives of most baseball fans are already set. They're not looking to hang out in brewpubs and make new friends, or if they do, they don't have time for that because of all their family responsibilities. They don't necessarily want to sit in a special section of the stands with other designated fans, unless those fans happen to be from the same high school or involved in the same little league team.
But baseball fans who want professional ball back in the Portland metro area must do something to let the powers that be know that there is a significant section of the population who want this to happen. Maybe it's as little as thinking up a group name, producing some caps and T-shirts, and wearing them out in public. Probably it means sacrificing time and coming out in force to some of the Milwaukie city council and task force meetings. But I don't think we can count on parents and seniors milling around in bars or chanting "we are the Rose City" with a group of strangers or coming together for a random photo op. We've got to figure out something that's appropriate for us, not just clone what the Timbers Army did.
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