July 4, 2023: Major League Soccer has the biggest crowd in its history -- but not in one of the cities where it could have been expected from the league's founding in 1996 through the 2016 season.
NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.
The league's first attendance record was, of course, set in its first game, but it lasted a long time. On April 13, 1996, the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the team now known as the New York Red Bulls, 2-1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, in front of 69,255.
That record lasted until September 16, 2017, when expansion team Atlanta United got 70,425 fans for a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, against Orlando City, which ended in a 3-3 draw. They managed to keep raising the record until the 2018 MLS Cup Final, when they topped out at 73,019 for their 3-0 win over the Portland Timbers.
On March 5, 2022, that expansion team got topped by another expansion team. Charlotte Football Club moved into Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Their 1st-ever home game attracted 74,479, a new record. With some appropriateness, the opponent was the 1st-ever MLS regular-season hosts, the Galaxy, who emerged victorious, 1-0, on a 77th minute goal by Efrain Álvarez.
But the record was reclaimed by the Rose Bowl on the 4th of July, 2023. The establishment of Los Angeles Football Club in 2018 led to an intra-metro-area rivalry named not El Clásico, like the one between Spain's Real Madrid and FC Barcelona; but El Tráfico, for the L.A. area's awful traffic.
The derby was first played at what's now named Dignity Health Sports Park in suburban Carson on March 31, 2018, and the Galaxy won a thriller, 4-3. LAFC play at BMO Stadium (formerly Banc of California Stadium), built on the site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, next-door to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. So, like the newer New York City FC says to the New Jersey-based New York Red Bulls, LAFC, despite being the newer team, can claim to be the real team of the city, because they actually play in the city.
The Galaxy lead the league with 5 MLS Cup wins, most recently in 2014. LAFC won the MLS Cup in 2022, so they came into this game as defending Champions.
The Galaxy wanted to reclaim the MLS attendance record, so they recommended that their 2023 season opener, set to be an El Tráfico, be moved to the Rose Bowl. MLS management agreed, but bad weather forced the game to be postponed. They decided to play it on the national holiday. Attendance was 82,110, breaking the old record by over 7,000 fans.
Tyler Boyd put the Galaxy on the scoreboard in the 26th. Ilie Sánchez equalized in the 57th. Ricard Puig scored for the Galaxy in the 73rd, and his goal held up as the winner: LAG 2-1 LAFC.
"It felt like it should," said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said after the game. "It felt like a playoff game and a real game that matters not just to the 22 players out on the field, but to 82,000 people here and around LA. It's fantastic and a great atmosphere for everybody who was here tonight."
LAFC have expressed interest in playing a game they would host at the Coliseum, or at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Renovations have meant that the Coliseum no longer holds over 100,000 people, but SoFi can, supposedly, be expanded to that many.
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July 4, 2023 was a Tuesday. These 4 other games were played in MLS that day:
* Orlando City beat Toronto FC, 4-0 at Exploria Stadium in Toronto.
* Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew played to a draw, 2-2 at DRV PNK Stadium in the Miami suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
* D.C. United beat FC Dallas, 1-0 at Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.
* And the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers played to a draw, 0-0 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-4 at Yankee Stadium II. Gleyber Torres and Jose Trevino hit home runs, in support of Clarke Schmidt.
* The New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals, 8-4 at Nationals Park in Washington.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 15-2 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. David Fry singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 1-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Ryan Noda singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. The A's used 4 pitchers to pitch a 6-hit, 10-inning shutout: JP Sears (7 1/3rd innings), Lucas Erceg (2/3rds), Shintario Fujinami (the 9th inning, and the winning pitcher) and Trevor May (10th inning, save).
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6 at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Nico Hoerner singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
* The Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-1 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-5 at Petco Park in San Diego.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-7 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-0 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Logan Gilbert pitched a 5-hit shutout.
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