COMMERCE CITY — Colorado Rapids supporters unveiled a massive 75-foot tall by 65-foot wide tifo display that read “All Will Tremble” at the home opener at Dick’s Sporting Good’s Park on Saturday afternoon.
The massive red, yellow and green banner had an image of Maroon Bells on it and was pulled up over the supporters section in the south stands right after the national anthem.
“Tifo” is originally an Italian term and in soccer parlance is used to describe any choreographed display of support for the club, including banners, flags or display cards. These displays are becoming bigger and more elaborate each year in MLS as part of the growing soccer culture in America.
Centennial 38, the Rapids organized supporters group, last May The team adopted the motto as it piled up a series of gritty victories.
“Our ‘Keep Fighting’ tifo from last year proved to be something of a standard-bearer for 2016,” Centennial 38 said in a statement. “Itap amazing how it really resonated with the club and the broader fan base. That kind of ‘success’ though, is impossible to predict. We really don’t feel any pressure that we have to design something that can match that kind of impact.”
The fan group said it typically takes a team of 10 to 20 people a week to create a tifo. Saturday’s display was created over a weekend, the group said. The effort is a collaborative art project, spearheaded by a group of three or four people who refused to be identified.
“We don’t make tifo for recognition or status,” Centennial 38 said. “We make tifo to support the team. Itap bigger than any individual, and thatap why we prefer a degree of anonymity and prefer being referred to as a group.”
