'Feelin' Thorny?' t-shirts a thorny issue with soccer fans
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland's new soccer team, The Thorns, came up with a t-shirt to support the team, but the slogan caused controversy.
While KATU was working on a story about it Friday afternoon, the organization decided to discontinue the design and the shirts are no longer available for sale.
The issue was over the phrase, "Feelin' Thorny?" printed on the shirts.
The t-shirts went on sale this week. But some people created a Facebook page, calling for the t-shirts to be pulled. About 136 people "liked" the page.
One fan of the Timbers and Thorns said she didn't like how the t-shirt portrayed women.
"It's just really unfortunate," said Kasey Tonsfeldt. "Instead of lauding our players' skill and athleticism and fierceness on the field, we immediately talk about their sex appeal, and I think it sends a really unfortunate message to the many young girl fans I know The Thorns already have."
But 10 random people interviewed outside Jeld-Wen field – half women, half men – said they liked it.
Tonsfeldt said she's glad the team pulled the shirts but was still upset that the organization didn't apologize or seem to recognize the reason she and others were upset.
"We feel we responded to our fans who had issues," said the team's chief operating officer Mike Golub, emphasizing it was only a small group who called with concern. He also didn't think the t-shirts were wrong.
But he said any fans' concerns are too many.
"Even a small group of people felt strongly about it, we felt as a responsible organization that we should listen to them. And we did," he said. "We thought it was a fun, whimsical way to have our fans show their support for The Thorns."
Golub said the t-shirts did sell well while they were available.
Like this page we are trying to get more likes than the people who got the shirts pulled. we are about half way there and hopefully we can get the shirts back and show that maybe just maybe when you take away our teams merchandise we just may get a bit "thorny"Â https://www.facebook.com/pageâs/Continue-Selling-Portland-Tâhorns-Feelin-Thorny-Merchandiâse/141695086006770?ref=hl
Guess I better not wear my Bunghole Liquors shirt in Portland any more...Â
http://www.bungholeliquors.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Back-the-Feelin-Thorny-T-shirts/576749672337304Â
I could of used one of those shirts since I am considered a prick
Egypt kills soccer fans
@tally     theres hope for egypt after all!
I can't stand the "thought police" garbage coming out of the far left these days.  They  are becoming worse at promoting censorship and stifling the free flow of ideas than the ultra right wingers.
@UtterReality  And you call yourself a Republican?!
Nope, independent here.  I actually think that they should abolish the party system, and elected representatives should only represent the interests of their district. Â
Who said it was the far left? It could have been housewives in Lake Oswego that complained about it.Â
Greatest Advertisement Ever...
Sex Sells, Baby!
@IH77  Well, at least "Sex Causes Babies"? hmmmmm
When is someone going to stand up for free speech? Â Political correctness is a cancer on our society. Â Oh, you're offended by that? Â Good, that's the price you pay for having the right to free speech....something someone said somewhere is bound to offend someone else. Â People need to learn to deal with this rather than dedicate themselves to abdicating someone else's rights......as if your being offended should have ANY bearing on anyone else but you.Â
I'd love to see just one company have the balls to say, "Thanks for your feedback. Â However, we believe in the right to free speech for EVERYONE and not just the vocal few. Â We support your right not to choose our product....that's OK, because many others do. Â That's the point of our Bill of Rights."
@Suffer247 ~  I 2nd your post, Suffer...  VERY well said..!   I really feel sorry for people that have so little going on in their lives that they feel the need to go around ACTIVELY looking for things to feel  "offended" about... that HAS to be a VERY sad, lonely way to live...
How come the people who complain the most about this kind of thing are people (man or woman) who wouldn't be able to get a date on a Saturday night if their lives depended on it? They really should get over themselves. Now if you'll excuse me...I need to make a run to my local KwikiMart :)
Can we make some for the Timbers that say "Feelin' Woody?".. or "Got Wood?"....because, they're the Timbers and timber is wood.
how about one that says timberssuck? because they do! we had 107 years of baseball in portland stolen for that?
@john I don't remember seeing baseball selling out every game. or even half full. Go to Hillsboro and watch baseball there
@bigbooty  why would i care about that? and why would i want to drive 40 miles to see class A ball assuming they will build it in hillsburito ? when we has class AAA ball right here in portland?
I didn't have a single sexual thought when I read the shirt. Figured it meant they were prickly competitors. Now that this girl and her 136 FB friends have mentioned it, I can't get it out of my mind. Hate to think of what she'd think if someone said, ''Feeling Corney?'' Would that be a slur against gay men? I'm so not confused.
@Lips  No, not against gay men. That would be offensive to anyone from Cornwall in Great Britain. The Cornish? Couldn't do that!
who cares! its just stupid foreign soccer!
What does Feeling Thorny have to do with sex? Â One stupid woman......
Ah, just more pussified "Americans". Get a grip people! I thought the slogan was a great idea.
Waah! People need to quit being so hyper-sensitive. Don't like the shirt, don't buy one. Otherwise, just shut up!Â
The ones upset are the same people wearing JUICY across their bottom. Small minded Hypocrites that use woman's issues to get themselves 15 minutes of importance.
@Good Grief I just saw a "JUICY" mama last weekend at Fred Meyers!  Now that's class...
all this nanny state, politically correct crap don't seem to be working. 11 year olds havin babies, kids shooting, carjacking and shooting babies in strollers.  good lord. im so happy to be hot fit and retired at 57 with a generous PERS defined benny.Â
Yes, it all comes down to perception and profits.Â
The sport itself?Â
What sport are we talking about again?
Although "Thorns" would have been a good name for a guy's team. :-P
@Mikey I'd have been terribly offended! The guys' team would have to be named "The North-Pointers".
@Gravity Works! @Mikey I think they should make a timbers shirt that says "Got Wood"
@Pvpbw @Gravity Works! @Mikey As long as you don't call them ''Splinters'' or ''Slivers''. They won't like that.
Sad to live in such a Puritan world.
@Freckled_Girl Agreed, People need to get over themselves..Â
will they be selling them outside the GLBT loos?  I hope the loos have glory holes!
can i get one in a size xxxxl?
This comment has been deleted
@who?[IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/2ef7190.jpg[/IMG]
@str1ngb3nd3r  So THAT'S what you look like.Â
@Lips @Mikey @str1ngb3nd3r I thought it was a picture from the Bed cam
@Mikey @str1ngb3nd3r Don't lie, Mikey. That's you coming back from the dispensary.
@str1ngb3nd3r Hey! That's Fuzzbutt McFartin!
He's my third cousin twice removed Cool!
[IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/2luuepu.jpg[/IMG]
OMG, are we going to criticize everything?  This shirt isn't offensive but it is clever and memorable and would have been a great seller for the The Thorns.  Don't cave to a few narrow minded, closed minded people.  Leave it be and I'll buy one! Â
@K. Michelle Pendley I'll buy it for you if I can spray you with a hose on a frigid day. (and take pics to share with leref and treewizard and a few select more. im sure some lezzies would like to have a peek a boo!  :-)~
Hey, gotta put those Womens Studies degrees to use somehow after all.
I'm trying to find the offensive part of those t-shirts, any one help?
@franksbeans I'm offended because they weren't manufactured locally and not made with organic cotton.  ;)
@UtterReality @franksbeans  Locally? Would have to be made of cannabis fibers! Think Hemp!
Oooh I see they forgot the g in feeling
The video about the t-shirts is longer than the timbers highlight year for 2012
@tally Are the timbers in a Union?
@sentry  yes the losing union!  (because thats all they do!)  thanks to idiots sam adams and greedy merrit paulson!