San Diego FC’s inaugural home match Saturday night against St. Louis SC was supposed to begin at 7:30. First, they had to set the stage for a moment years and years in the making.
San Diego hosted the 1999 MLS All-Star Game, teasing local soccer fans about getting their own team more than a quarter century ago. The wait was finally over.
What was another 10 minutes?
At precisely 7:30, the lights went out at Snapdragon Stadium and a roar erupted from the record sellout crowd of 34,506, which eclipsed the Snapdragon mark for the 2023 match between Wrexham and Manchester United (34,248).
An enormous SDFC logo was been unfurled at midfield and as the lights came up, Padres third baseman Manny Machado, a minority owner in SDFC, emerged from the midfield tunnel with an LED soccer ball emblazoned with “SD.” On-field fireworks shot into the air as the crowd roared its approval, led by the drum-banging, flag-waving fans in the ers section.
Perhaps the most memorable moment came when the national anthem was played. It was not sung by a famous singer. It was crowdsourced. The words were put on the Snapdragon Stadium video boards and everyone in the audience was encouraged to sing. They did, making for one of the more stirring renditions of the anthem.
The crowd’s first big roar came two minutes into the match when SDFC forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano found himself with the ball just beyond the top of the box. A storybook start would have had Lozano putting the ball in the corner of the net.
That did not happen. And, in fact, Lozano left the game in the 28th minute with an apparent leg injury.
Close chances and corresponding roars continued, the crowd exulting in a moment long overdue.
Making a day of it
The Snapdragon parking lot opened five hours before kickoff. Thousands and thousands of fans took advantage of the opportunity to tailgate and enjoy all the activities in the FanFest area located just east of the stadium. The area included a band, six food trucks and a couple of dozen booths, many of them featuring a chance to kick a ball and win prizes like T-shirts, tickets to future matches or autographed items.
More than 100 people were in line at an SDFC merchandise trailer eager to get gear. The longest line, though, included more than 300 people who were enticed by the sign that read: “Free scarf.”
The giveaway was courtesy of Continental Tire, which was handing out scarves with the Continental brand on one side and San Diego FC inaugural season on the other. The line was moving at a pace that would require an hour to get said scarf. And fans had to provide names and email addresses in order to get one.
These people did know that the first 30,000 fans through the gates were getting a free scarf from SDFC, right?
Among those in line were San Diegans Kumbi Murinda and Sandy Soliman, a pair of SDSU graduates eager to take it all in.
“I’m super excited,” said Murinda, who purchased season tickets. “It’s sort of surreal that it’s finally happening. After watching the first game (Sunday’s win over the LA Galaxy), it got me more excited to be here for the first (home) game.
“After the Chargers left, the San Diego Loyal, we went to a few of their games, but they closed down when MLS was announced. It’s nice to have a sport where everyone comes together and can rally around and is excited about. San Diego is a good soccer town.”
Machado in the house
Machado made a special trip for the special occasion.
“It’s a big moment,” he said Saturday morning from spring training in Peoria, Ariz., before catching an afternoon flight to San Diego. “I mean, it’s a historical day for the city for a franchise to start and have their first opener there. It’s going to be a special night. It’s another sport in town.
“At the end of the day, we all each other. We’re all in this together as a city.”
Machado wasn’t scheduled to play Saturday against the Reds, even before experiencing the back tightness that kept him out of Friday’s game.
He related the inaugural home game to making one’s major league debut.
“It’s gonna be a fun night, man,” Machado said. “It’s a one in a lifetime. We got our first win last time (Sunday’s 2-0 road victory vs. the LA Galaxy).
“Your first hit is your first hit. The first one is always special, so to be there, to be part of that inaugural home opener will be historically special.”
Prime perspective
A unique feature at Snapdragon for SDFC are 20-seat Pitch Suites and eight-seat Midfield Pitch Boxes, both of which are literally on the field. They are located on both the east and west sides of the field, providing an up-close perspective that is not possible during football games because the view from the seats would be blocked by the players and coaches standing on the field. For soccer, the players are seated in boxes located at midfield near the west tunnel.
The ers
The seats located at Snapdragon’s north end are reserved for SDSU students at Aztecs football games.
For SDFC matches, the area is dedicated ers who are, in fact, required to the San Diego Independent ers Union (SDISU). It’s not as big as the Teamsters Union, but probably more restrictive.
SDISU are required to sign a code of conduct that includes 13 bullet points, the first of which prohibits “Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, threatening or violent in nature, including verbal or physical harassment of match officials, players, staff or fans.”
Makes sense, just like prohibiting “possession of an unauthorized pyrotechnic device, smoke or firework.”
We do take issue with one item on the list — “declining to promptly return a ball that enters the stands.”
Seems like you should be allowed to keep foul balls.
Standing room only
The er section began filling up 1 1/2 hours before kickoff. In fact, the first five guys there arrived with drums and began playing. The thumping continued nonstop for the next three hours.
They were soon ed by a few thousand of their closest er friend. It included more than four dozen people waving SDFC flags.
A feature of the area is safe standing rails that provide the fans with something to lean against throughout the match and, notably, prevent them from crowding those in front of them, as could be the case in a general ission area at a concert.
