LAFC symbolizes Los Angeles: A city of immigrants
Comedian Andrew Schultz and friends were shooting the breeze, talking soccer during the latest episode of his Flagrant podcast when guest Shane Gillis chimed in.
“MLS fans. They suck. They try to be British.”
Well that’s ironic. When I think of your average British footballing personality on social media, it’s usually some beans-on-toast eating motherf*cker ignorantly slandering the league with outdated stereotypes, which is exactly what Gillis was doing.
To his credit, Schultz pushed back.
”What about the LA teams?” he mused with a puzzled expression.
As in LAFC and the LA Galaxy, two clubs whose supporters I can definitely assure you do not try to be British.
“You got the Mexicans in there, now you got something…” Gillis mumbled before trailing off.
Lazily labeling the diverse coalition of LA supporters as “Mexican” aside? Gillis got it right, even if he hasn’t got a clue how he stumbled onto the correct conclusion.
Stick to Bud Light joke amigo.
In many ways America is the teenager of the world, and just like teenagers, we spend an awful lot of time worrying about what others think of us and our soccer culture.
Sometimes it just feels silly. Who cares what Old Europe thinks? (Maybe I care about South America, but not by much)
American soccer culture is real, it exists, it’s beautiful, and I can’t think of a stronger example than what unfolded over the weekend.
For the past week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement aka ICE has been conducting large-scale raids across Southern California, wreaking havoc and chaos along the way.
I wish I could be more eloquent describing the many atrocious we’ve all witnessed, but the situation has consumed my inner being with a white-hot rage. Abducting children from schools, crashing high school graduations, disappearing people at grocery stores, ripping families apart without the slightest regard for due process. This isn’t the America I know.
Some will claim the immigration laws must be enforced. Without being overly political, let’s be clear: The Obama administration deported over three million people from these shores and managed to do it without terrorizing communities and instigating riots. The cruelty intentionally aimed at one of our most vulnerable populations has been disgustingly abhorrent and totally unnecessary.
Naturally the tension was palatable with Sunday’s home match vs. Sporting Kansas City on the horizon. A gathering at Mariachi Plaza to celebrate LAFC’s FIFA Club World Cup birth was cancelled at the last minute, presumably due to the fear of ICE potentially clashing with supporters.
From all accounts, the match had the feel of a funeral. It was simultaneously a somber occasion and a spiritually important moment: This was the opportunity for local residents to make their voices heard.
The 3252 supporters union were perhaps the loudest in silent protest, making their presence felt by vowing to not chant for 90 minutes. The crowd did their best to stand in, particularly when “F*ck ICE” chants rang around the venue.
And there were the banners and signs, in all shapes and sizes, scattered throughout the stadium, numbering in the hundreds. At one point the club did a montage on the Jumbotron, panning from sign to sign to cheers and applause, each one adding to the emotional weight inside the building.
In the past the 3252 has been criticized for their direct alignment with the club, with conventional wisdom dictating a football club and its supporters should be separate entities.
What occurred that night was the partnership of a team and supporters at its best. The very essence of what makes a football club a club.
Neither a corporation nor an organization at the behest of a single individual, LAFC’s diverse ownership group managed to achieve what other LA sports teams were either unable or unwilling to do. From putting out a statement strongly supporting its fans to actively promoting the will of the supporters, the message from the top down was clear.
We’re with you.
“We're a community, we stand by each other, we've been alongside each other, and it's important that in these difficult moments, we reaffirm that and don't just back into our corners and be scared because solidarity is the only way through this," forward Jeremy Ebobisse declared during the postgame presser.
Those cheeky buggers. The 3252 may have vowed not to chant for 90 minutes, but no one said anything about stoppage time. With the Black and Gold up 2-1, a thunderous chant of “We Are Los Angeles” erupted from the North End shortly before Olivier Giroud’s penalty kick sealed the win, a cathartic end to a taxing affair.
Listening to the Happy Foot Sad Foot postgame pod, I couldn’t help but become emotional.
“There’s going to be some people listening that will say just stick to sports…sports and politics don’t mix. And the people who believe that don’t understand sports or politics, and they certainly don’t understand LAFC and this community,” host Travis Helwig argued during a passionate statement in support of immigrants which served as a poignant remember that you don’t need to be family to be familia in the Latino community.
This is a city of hard-working talented people beautiful on the inside and out. It’s a city of athletes, movie stars and celebrities. It’s a city of transplants. (Who btw sometimes don’t deserve their bad rap, if you weren’t from here you’d want to live in LA too)
And of course, it’s a city of immigrants. The heartbeat of the city.
I love it here man. What a city. What a place. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Times may be tough, but we’re going to get through this together.
There’s just one thing left to say.
Always and forever,
Abolish ICE.