San Diego FC’s first-ever home game, and the energy around it, mimicked Hirving “Chucky” Lozano’s left hamstring: A solid start, with a less-than-ideal finish.
In the parking lots around Snapdragon Stadium, fans arrived as early as five hours before kickoff. Walking past rows of cars sounded like the tuning of an AM radio—every tailgate played music and every tailgate played something different. Carne asada and burgers sizzled on smoking grills. Shrieking and giggling kids instructed their friends on rules for games they just invented.
The union of supporter groups, La Frontera, claimed one lot by parking their vehicles trunk-to-trunk, with some space between. Their tent canopies, faded by years of use in the San Diego sun, straddled this impromptu “lane,” and their identifying flags, placed at the end of long plastic poles, flapped in the chilly wind. It was a soccer bazaar.
“Tailgating went amazing. My hopes are sky high. Best night of my life,” Luis Montero-Adams told me after Snapdragon Stadium opened its gates. Montero-Adams bought a ticket in the the rowdiest part of the stadium—the supporter section, on the north end of the stands—after SDFC’s surprising and dominant victory over LA Galaxy last Sunday. “I. Am. So. Happy.”
That passion didn’t go unnoticed. “I think the stadium was electric. The [players] were electric,” head coach Mikey Varas said after the game.
San Diego FC honored that passion by letting La Frontera lead the national anthem. What started as a few hundred diehards singing the opening bars to the Star-Spangled Banner turned into a record crowd of 34,506 together singing the anthem and launching an event many years in the making. Then, the first whistle. San Diego FC and St. Louis City SC started play and a new era of San Diego sports began.
SDFC picked up where they left off in Los Angeles. The defense owned the ball and SDFC would go on to earn 67 percent possession. The team dominated with and without the ball, and still hasn’t conceded a goal this season. Wingers Anders Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano led an urgent attack. The home supporters cheered whenever Lozano touched the ball and they pulsed at each chance at net. A goal, and a win, felt inevitable. That is, until Lozano grabbed at his leg and in the 31st minute limped into the tunnel and out of the game.
The game quickly devolved into a punchless slog, and the positive energy left with the star player. Chants became quieter. Pockets of empty seats appeared by the 80th minute. Fans clamored for their team’s first-ever home goal, but were left wanting. There would have been little to note about the 0-0 draw, if not for bigotry that emerged in the closing minutes.
Soccer has been plagued by a discriminatory and homophobic chant in Spanish that supporters use when an opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick. In 2024, the Concacaf Nations League final between the US and Mexico men’s national teams was stopped several times in response to fans’ use of the slur. Despite FIFA sanctions and educational campaigns, the use continues, predominately in Mexican soccer and at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday. What should have been a celebratory evening turned into an ugly and unsettling spectacle. The PA announcer repeatedly implored attendees to be respectful and team officials were forced to denounce the chant after the game.
“The chant that was heard tonight was unacceptable. It’s outside of our values, and it doesn’t represent the players itself and it certainly doesn’t represent San Diego,” Varas said. “We’re a community filled with love and support, and we believe in the power of diversity.”
“It’s totally unacceptable,” sporting director Tyler Heaps said. “We’ll make sure it doesn’t continue in the future, and it’s something we’re very strong about.”
“It’s something we don’t want to hear moving forward,” defender Paddy McNair said.
The chants marred a week of high-octane pregame buzz, festive tailgating, a record crowd, and the fact that SDFC remains undefeated.
“Homophobic chants have no place in sports,” Montero-Adams posted on Instagram after the game. “San Diego FC should surrender tonight’s points. Unacceptable, absolute disgrace.”
The sentiment harks back to the San Diego Loyal, a defunct but legendary team in the second division United Soccer League. Loyal midfielder Collin Martin, who came out as gay in 2018, was subjected to a homophobic slur in a 2020 game against the Phoenix Rising. Landon Donovan, then the head coach of the Loyal, protested to the referee, but was shown a red card.
Rather than continue play, the Loyal walked off the pitch in solidarity with Martin and their coach. The forfeiture cost the Loyal a chance at the playoffs. “The statement that was made by the club by walking off the field during that match is something that I will never regret,” Loyal owner Andrew Vassiliadis told Glory magazine. “It made a statement. It’s clear who we are and what we’re going to stand for.”
San Diego FC has gone to great lengths for the club to reflect San Diego. The 18 threads of their logo represent each town in the county. A committee of local artists and community leaders are helping design a new kit and put into practice the team’s “Woven Into One” slogan. Varas, most of all, is committed to this idea.
About his team’s performance against St. Louis SC, the head coach said, “I think we’re serious when we show that we’re a reflection of the community. San Diego is a diverse place, it’s a creative place, it’s a competitive place, and I think the boys showed that on the field.”
About the pressure of their first-ever home game, he said, “Pressure [in soccer] is a privilege. Real pressures are people who have trouble putting food on the table for their family, who have to work all day and don’t have enough.”
Saturday was supposed to be a triumphant night, full of promise. San Diego FC is supposed to be a team for everyone. After the team’s first game in San Diego, that commitment remains to be seen. Just like the team’s first home goal, and what Lozano’s injury will mean for SDFC’s season.
