Life at the Death (Soccer Supporter Scarf)

As part of the culture and history of the Timbers Army (supporter group of the Portland Timbers MLS soccer club), one thing that is celebrated highly is the creation of uniquely-designed scarves meant to support the team.

During the 2014 season, I decided to create a special scarf with a color scheme not normally seen as part of the club's original colors. This scarf would feature a rare black and red combination that is a throwback to our older red-colored kits (jerseys) from 2011 to 2014. Coupled with this color design, I included two separate messages that are meant to combine together into one greater message with the words, "In the Rose City, There is Life At the Death." The message signifies how some of our greatest soccer moments are often achieved "at the death," which refers to the final minutes of the match.

After the scarf proved successful when released, I designed a follow-up scarf that would carry a similar theme, but would utilize a color scheme more closer to our club's original team colors. With the accents of green and gold, I wanted to create another uniquely-significant message that reflected our season following our receiving the 2015 MLS Cup trophy. The new message, when combined together would read, "When Life is Found At the Death, The Stars Shine Brighter." Coupled with this message, would be small stars that make up the "A" in each word, signifying the new gold star above our club's crest.

Both scarves were a rousing success, and helped to raise money that would be donated to two charity organizations dear to my heart (National Institute on Aging and Autism Speaks). To this day, scarf culture continues to thrive with similar creativity and inspiration, and if given the opportunity to create a new scarf again, I would be honored to do so for my team and the fans that love it.