Nicky Wiesenfeld spends every Portland Timbers match standing in the north end of Providence Park, excitedly chanting along with the rest of the Timbers Army.

But there is one chant that Wiesenfeld never sings.

When the capos raise their arms and lead the crowd in a rendition of "Portland Boys, We are Here," Wiesenfeld and many other fans stay quiet, unwilling to say the verse, "Shag your women, drink your beer!"

"It's a chant about pillaging the other team's town and it uses women to talk about that," Wiesenfeld said. "Obviously, it's an exaggeration, but I think when you have 5,000 people singing 'shag your women' and you're equating women to objects, it is really dangerous and it's offensive."

The Timbers Army adopted the chant long before the Timbers made the move to MLS in 2011. "Portland Boys" is based on similar chants that have been used by English Premier League teams, including Tottenham and Chelsea. Versions of the chant have been embraced by other MLS teams, including the Seattle Sounders, who use a version of the chant that does not include the line "shag your women."

The "shag your women" verse has caused controversy within the Timbers Army for years.

107ist board member Lexi Stern said that debates over the chant have come up at least once a year for the last seven to eight years. Still, the Timbers Army has yet to take any official action or make any changes to the chant.

The TA lists the lyrics to the chant on their website, though in the online version the word "steal" is used in place of "shag." Wiesenfeld said "shag" is what people say when singing the chant at Providence Park, though she doesn't think "steal" would be any better.

Wiesenfeld recently wrote an op-ed on the Timbers Army website, calling for the TA to change the chant.

In her piece, Wiesenfeld questioned how an organization that prides itself on being inclusive and creating a positive environment for people of all backgrounds can continue to sing a chant that is offensive to a large portion of its members:

The TA prides itself on championing women in the sport and showing respect for all supporters. Yet we still sing a verse that encourages our fans to "shag your women," every match. We continue to gleefully chant a line that is mildly threatening, heteronormative, and divisive at best. How can we expect other clubs to respect female fans if the TA - the most influential supporters group in North America - continues condoning and reciting a chant that reduces women to objects to be shagged, possessions to be conquered, "babes" to be ogled?

Wiesenfeld has seen a wide range of responses since she posted her piece on April 15.

Some members of the Timbers Army have argued that it is clear that the chant is not meant to be taken seriously. The chant also has a line that says, "burn, destroy, wreck and kill," which clearly aren't sentiments that the Timbers Army literally condones.

Others have argued that fans shouldn't be trying to censor chants that the group has rallied around. The TA has a long tradition of singing "Portland Boys" at every Timbers match.

Still, there are also plenty of other fans that want to see the verse changed.

Timbers Army member Holly Duthie said that the verse comes off as threatening and objectifying. Duthie said that enough people have stood up and said the chant makes them feel uncomfortable throughout the years and it should be clear that it is time to make a change.

"To me, the lyric says women are equal to beer, both spoils of war to be enjoyed by the invading hordes," Duthie said.

Timbers Army member Faolana McMullin said that she would be fine if the TA decided to keep the chant, as long as they simply changed the lyric and removed the word "your."

"Outside of that particular phrase, it's one of my favorite chants," McMullin said. "I appreciate traditions and I respect them and I want there to always be an appreciation for the Timbers and Timbers Army, but I don't think having the word 'your' in that chant is imperative to do that."

Despite a large response to her piece, Wiesenfeld said that she has yet to hear anything from the 107ist Board of Directors or the capos that lead chants at Providence Park about making changes to "Portland Boys."

She said she was "surprised" and "disappointed" to not get a response from the 107ist Board, but plans to continue pushing for a change to the chant.

"I want to keep the dialog going," Wiesenfeld said. "There are a significant number of people that don't feel comfortable singing that chant, don't want their kids to be involved with it and don't want to be a part of it at all."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg