The Earthquakes are a hot team and an even hotter ticket.
The Quakes' showdown with the rival Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night at Stanford Stadium has attracted a sellout crowd of 50,000 -- the largest turnout in club history for a nondoubleheader home game.
The pivotal MLS Western Conference contest has become one of the biggest Bay Area sporting events of the summer. Club president David Kaval beamed after practice this week.
"I think it's kind of tipping here in the Bay Area, the interest in soccer," said Kaval, whose team leads MLS with 33 points. "You've seen that in other places, like Seattle and in Portland and Philadelphia, and I think we're right on that wave."
It seems more like a tidal wave for this match, which will pit the defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy (6-8-2), with international aces David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, against the Quakes (10-3-3), led by homegrown star Chris Wondolowski.
"It's the perfect storm," said Alexi Lalas, now an ESPN soccer analyst, of Saturday's matchup. The former national team player served as president and general manager for both clubs.
"Big rivalry, big stars, you have a home team that is doing very well and the recognition of that," Lalas added. "It's the summer. All those different things combined go into making an event like this a big success.
"It's an event. It's the place to be, if you will."
Kaval said he is still being inundated with
ticket requests, even though the match sold out a week ago."We could have sold 70,000 tickets if we had 70,000 seats," he said.
Wondolowski, who leads MLS with 13 goals, thinks the match could inspire people to come back for more.
"It's going to keep growing the sport," Wondolowski said. "Just to get that many people out there, I do believe (if) you get to one, you get hooked."
Soccer aficionados across the country are raving about the sellout crowd, which will be about five times the size of a typical turnout at the much smaller Buck Shaw Stadium, the Quakes' customary home.
"I think that for two MLS teams playing in Northern California to draw 50,000, and I know David Beckham is a part of it, it's fantastic," said Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, a Fremont native and a former Quakes player and assistant. "I also think the season that the Quakes are having adds more to the game, but 50,000 in any country is a great crowd."
Last July 41,028 people watched the Quakes tie the New York Red Bulls in a thriller at Stanford Stadium. It whet the fans' appetite for another big event, boosting season ticket sales, Kaval said.
"They know that this is a great event." Kaval said. "We have the fireworks, a huge halftime show, a pregame event, the Epicenter (Fan Zone), the gourmet food trucks, all the different things that just create a huge event.
"Stanford is a good place to host a huge event."
The Galaxy, winners of three straight matches after a poor start, has played in front of sellout crowds in all of its MLS road games this season, including 60,860 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
MLS president Mark Abbott believes the league's rivalries are fueling growth and prosperity for the league.
"We see it in the Pacific Northwest. We see it out here in the East, and clearly one of the longtime rivalries that we've had in the league is between San Jose and the Galaxy that dates back to the inception of the league," he said. "As that rivalry has continued to grow, I think that we've been able to do things like what's happening on Saturday. It's a big, big game for both teams."
Of course the Quakes know that the Galaxy would be thrilled to crash the party.
"I said to our guys that the Galaxy is hot," coach Frank Yallop said. "They're going to come here and expect to win, and so we better be ready. If not, we're going to get beat."
The Quakes, who have a penchant for dramatic comebacks, overcame a 2-0 deficit to stun the host Galaxy 3-2 on May 23. Yallop wants a faster start this time.
"Like I mentioned to the guys today, 'Let's get the crowd right behind us with whatever we do, with energy and fight and scrap and obviously playing well," Yallop said.
Lalas disagrees with the skeptics who claim that pro soccer, unlike the World Cup or the Olympics, will always be a tough sell in this country.
"The constant comparing and contrasting, I understand it, but the fact is this league and this sport is here to stay," Lalas said. "There are dinosaurs out there who are going to die off like dinosaurs do.
"Soccer will continue to grow and to be a part of the landscape, both in terms of a sport and a business, and these events will be much more common than people realize. If people want to poo-poo it, that's fine. It's nothing new. We're soccer folks. We have very, very thick skins. We've been through the wars and we continue to fight the good fight."
Quakes forward Steven Lenhart grinned as he discussed the team's mindset in advance of the big match.
"It's the same as any other game," he said. "Love the support. Definitely feel that, but we're going to treat the game the same. But yeah, it's amazing that we sell it out, and it's an honor to play."
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