Yesterday The Howler published another article in their Bleachers Full of Women series. This article, Bleachers Full of Women: Debate Over Timbers Army Chant Show Why Words Matter, hit closer to home than the previous two (and that’s saying a lot), as I was interviewed for the piece and was able to reflect on my personal experiences as a female supporter of the Chicago Fire. Author Gaby Kirschner not only ties together issues that the Timbers Army and Section 8 Chicago (S8C) are faced with, but also connects their frustrations to Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro’s #MoreThanMean video.
Kirschner touches base on the impact that words have on the women in Major League Soccer’s supporters’ culture. As Kirschner said, “words have an impact, whether part of a tradition, meant seriously, or not.” I couldn’t agree more.
Since sharing Kirschner’s article via Twitter ( both via my personal account @nikhak and via @section8chicago) there have been mixed reactions. Some have been off-putting and difficult to read like the sarcastic tweet below.
Maud Squiers, who was also quoted in the article, reacts to article responses that she received on Twitter this morning.
Overall, however, Kirschner’s article was well-received. My first tweet about it received 25 retweets and 37 likes. Section 8 Chicago’s tweet was also received more positively than not.
CF97 Sirens 