Tifo is derived from the Italian word tifosi, which describes a group of fans, or when used in the form “tifo” more commonly describes fan support through the use of flags, two-pole banners, smoke/pyro/flares, other visuals such as card displays, and large choreographed displays.
Getting involved with ECS tifo
Tifo Production: This team does the sewing, drawing and painting of our large choreographed displays. You can signup to get emails about upcoming production sessions on the volunteer form!
Tifo Deployment: This group pulls the ropes and lifts the poles on the big displays that you see. Check the tifo forum to sign-up to help with tifo deployment!
Matchday Tifo Crew: Matchday tifo crews do all the setup and teardown of the gear in the Brougham End. If you're interested in joining a matchday crew, visit the tifo forum and sign-up!
Making your own tifo
A popular form of tifo you can make yourself is a two-pole. See our two-pole tutorial for a step by step guide. Personal tifo in the form of flags, two poles, or rail banners brings another dimension to our support and is encouraged. There is a great sense of pride when you put the time and energy into creating something on your own! We host two pole parties throughout the year, come out and join us!
Subcategories
ECS Tifo 2009
While 2009 was the first season of the MLS Sounders, it was not the first for the ECS. We came out with a bang for the home opener, with the “Tonight Our History Becomes Legend” display. A one section overhead in section 122 with sections 121 and 123 also included in the deployment, we immediately jumped onto the scene of MLS supporter group tifo and left our mark. The 2009 season also included a 35th anniversary tifo for the club, a display for the final regular season match and a flag display for the playoffs.
ECS Tifo 2010
In 2010, we expanded our standard choreo to the full 3 sections of GA and we experimented with alternate methods of deployment with displays including “Fight for This City” and “The Boys From Seattle Are Back”. This was the season we pioneered the techniques that we still use to this day. This was the season we truly set ourselves apart from the rest of MLS.
ECS Tifo 2011
2011 was the season the rest of the world took notice. Our choreos took a monumental leap forward; not only in quantity but also in quality. Not only did we make almost as many choreos that season as we did in the two previous seasons combined, but the level of detail and execution we reached surpassed even our wildest dreams. In a word: dominance.
The displays were highlighted by the inaugural Cascadia derbies, “Decades of Dominance” for Portland home and “What is best in life?” for the home game against Vancouver. We did large away displays for both Cascadia away matches as well, “Takes a Sounder to raise a trophy” at Portland and “We predict a riot” in Vancouver. This season also included our first large scale card display, something that requires great discipline from the whole group.
ECS Tifo 2012
In 2012, we expanded our tifo and increased the use of card displays. We started the season with “E Pluribus Sounders”, a mixture of cards and an overhead to represent the diverse nature of our team and show our unity. We played with elephant condoms in CCL and had tifo for home and away USOC matches. And of course we went BIG with the “All In” display against Portland.
ECS Tifo 2013
In 2013, we went bigger than we’d ever gone before with “Rise Above” for the home opener and “Build a Bonfire” vs Portland. We also set a record for turnaround time for a tifo display, with the “Dempsey Watch” overhead deployed at his official announcement and created the night before based on the rumors of his arrival.