The Colorado Rapids’ home faithful have treated us to some quality tifo lately, and on Sunday they started the new season with another solid offering.
As the Rapids prepared to face the New England Revolution in both teams’ 2017 opener, the Centennial 38 supporters group unveiled a large banner across their section, located behind the south goal at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, blaring “All Will Tremble.”
The tifo depicts the Maroon Bells, two iconic 14,000-foot-plus mountain peaks located in the White River National Forest some 175 miles west of Denver. Colorado went on to defeat the Revs 1-0.
Much like their team turned heads around MLS last year with their dramatic turnaround from basement dwellers to MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield contenders, Rapids fans rolled out several notable tifo displays in 2016.
Leg 2 of the Western Conference Championship at DSG Park featured a The Smiths-themed offering, while their Andy Capp-inspired “Keep Fighting” message in May turned into a de facto season motto for the underdog Rapids as they grinded down one opponent after another.
“It’s amazing how it really resonated with the club and the broader fan base,” Centennial 38 said in a statement. “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.
“We don’t make tifo for recognition or status,” the group’s statement added. “We make tifo to support the team. It’s bigger than any individual, and that’s why we prefer a degree of anonymity and prefer being referred to as a group.”
