Trans fans feel the tifo love as pro soccer teams nail colors to mast in Pride Month
Tifos at MLS team Portland Timbers and NWSL trio Angel City FC, Gotham FC and Portland Thorns FC have caught the queer mood. The post Trans fans feel the tifo love as pro soccer teams nail colors to mast in Pride Month appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
A heroic character from a beloved video game, a Chappell Roan breakthrough hit single, and a scene of kids playing soccer.
These have all been the basis for epic tifo art seen already in Pride Month at pro soccer matches across the U.S.
Each of the designs has also sent a powerful message to trans people and their allies, at a time of deepening concern for the community.
Related
MLS clubs are powering up for Pride. Yet 1 team is being cagey about its LGBTQ support.
Outsports takes a look at how MLS, its clubs and supporters are marking a loud and proud Pride Month. Then there’s this 1 club….
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
This weekend, fans in the stands at Portland Thorns FC became the latest to make a specific artistic statement in support of trans inclusion, following on from fellow NWSL teams Angel City FC and Gotham FC earlier in June.
The Thorns banners were unfurled at Providence Park as a tifo triptych by supporters group Rose City Riveters, depicting a youth soccer game and a packed stadium, below slogans written on trans Pride flag color backgrounds.
At the base of the stand, fans hung a Progress Pride flag emblazoned with the message, ‘This is everyone’s game.’
A week before, also in Portland, the Timbers Army had unveiled what will surely go down as one of the most memorable Pride tifos of all time.
Before the MLS win over St Louis City, a huge banner showed the character Madeline from the award-winning 2018 platform video game “Celeste” accompanied by the slogan, “We’ve Overcome Impossible Before.”
One of the game’s developers, Maddy Thorson, is a trans woman. She explained in a blog post in 2020 that its player protagonist is also a trans woman, making Madeline one of relatively few examples of confirmed gender-diverse representation in gaming titles.
“Celeste” takes its name from a haunted mountain that Madeline sets out to climb.
Meanwhile, Cloud 9 — the independent Gotham FC supporters group — created another impressive tifo for their NWSL team’s Pride Night at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
Raised skywards on wires, the banner read ‘Your True Colors Are Beautiful’ in trans Pride flag and rainbow hues.
For their match, Angel City FC produced a ‘Everyone Belongs At Our Pink Pony Club’ tifo using trans Pride flag colors.
Famously, the club that Chappell Roan is referencing in the song is legendary gay bar The Abbey in West Hollywood, which she visited for the first time in 2018 after moving to L.A. from Springfield, Missouri.
We’re only halfway through Pride Month, but there have been plenty of other LGBTQ-themed tifos from supporters groups of MLS and NWSL teams, while in some instances, it’s the fans themselves who have been making an impact.
KC Current superfan “Teal Man” (aka “King Richard”) came suitably dressed and painted for the occasion on Pride Night, with his beard game on point.
FC Cincinnati and New York Red Bulls both staged their dedicated matches at the end of May, catching the eye with a giant Progress Pride banner and a Statue of Liberty / Stonewall design respectively.
Last weekend in MLS, it was the turn of Minnesota United and St Louis City, and again, it was the artwork that turned heads.
At Allianz Field in St Paul, the Wonderwall collective of Loons supporter groups came up with a striking design of interlocking chevrons above the slogan “Queer Joy Is Resistance.”
Another fan banner below read, “We will not be silenced, We do not submit to fear” — a powerful statement, particularly in the context of earlier events in Minnesota on Saturday.
The Thieves STL and designer Candyce Fritsch were responsible for the intergalactic visitor seen in the artwork at St Louis City.
The supporters group wrote on Instagram: “Our Alien friend represents and reminds us that all are welcome. No matter the race, gender, orientation, species, ethnicity or background.”
Related
MLS Pride Night in Nashville chance to celebrate for mom of trans son
Showing solidarity with her fellow soccer supporters in Tennessee is essential for Penni Godwin. She explains why to Outsports.
At the Current’s home match, official supporters group KC Blue Crew produced a Pride firebird tifo before the NWSL leaders beat Racing Louisville to seal a fifth straight win.
Finally, one of the most heartwarming stories told so far in sports content this Pride Month was by New York City FC, who introduced us to gay couple Kenny and Kyle from The Third Rail supporters group.
Ahead of our Pride Night match, hear the story of how Kenny and Kyle were brought together by their love of soccer and what being New York City FC fans means to them
pic.twitter.com/Tag6LYnhzp— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) June 11, 2025
There will be around 10 more Pride Nights held by MLS and NWSL teams during the rest of June (some of the MLS theme nights may yet be postponed, due to teams’ FIFA Club World Cup commitments), so there are likely to be more tifos and activations to watch out for in the coming weeks.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
The post Trans fans feel the tifo love as pro soccer teams nail colors to mast in Pride Month appeared first on Outsports.
