June 12, 2016: The Pulse Nightclub Shooting

June 12, 2016: Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, is hosting a Latin Night when 102 people are shot by a single gunman. Of those, 49 died.

The shooter was Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Long Island native, a son of Afghan immigrants, who was working for the Florida Department of Corrections. His family was described as moderate Muslims, but going back to his childhood, he had a preoccupation with violence. He had sworn allegiance to the terrorist group ISIL, and said that the killing of ISIL official Abu Waheeb in Iraq the month before set him off. After a 3-hour standoff inside the club, Orlando police shot and killed him.

The massacre was officially classified a terrorist attack, and still ranks as the deadliest one in America since 9/11. It was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, but that record only lasted until October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas -- one that has not been officially classified as a terrorist attack.

The massacre deeply shook the people of Central Florida, and gay Americans everywhere. At the time, what was then named Orlando City Stadium was being constructed in Orlando, to be the home of Major League Soccer's Orlando City SC (Soccer Club), and the National Women's Soccer League's Orlando Pride, a name obliquely referencing women's soccer's ties to the gay community.

When the stadium opened on February 24, 2017, 49 seats in Section 12 were painted in a rainbow pattern, as a memorial to the Pulse victims. The venue was renamed Exploria Stadium in 2019. (UPDATe: It was renamed Inter&Co Stadium in 2024.)

Pulse had opened in 2004. It never reopened after the shooting, not even in a different location. The building is being converted into a memorial and museum, with its opening planned for later in 2022. (UPDATE: As of June 12, 2026, various reasons have delayed the start of construction.)

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June 12, 2016 was a Sunday. Though the shooting took place at 2:00 AM on Sunday, June 12 -- meaning that some people had gotten in on Saturday night, June 11 -- not one single sporting event scheduled for the 12th was postponed.

It was the off-season for the NFL. The NBA Finals were underway, and the Golden State Warriors had a 3-games-to-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Cavs won the next 3 straight to take the title.

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played that night. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-1 at the SAP Center in San Jose, to clinch the Cup.

And there was a full slate of Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium II. Michael Pineda gave up a home run to Ian Kinsler, and got outpitched by Michael Fullmer.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Miller Park (now named American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 13-2 at Turner Field in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros, 5-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 10-9 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-3 at PNC Par in Pittsburgh.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-4 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Max Kepler hit a 3-run walkoff home run in the 10th inning.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami 6-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. 

March 8, 2015: New York City FC Debut

March 8, 2015: New York City Football Club, an expansion team in Major League Soccer, play their 1st competitive match. They play Orlando City Soccer Club at the Citrus Bowl (now named Camping World Stadium) in Orlando, Florida. Mix Diskerud scores the franchise's 1st goal in the 76th minute, but Brazilian legend Kaká equalizes in stoppage time, and the game ends, 1-1.

On March 15, they played their 1st home game, at Yankee Stadium, and beat the New England Revolution, 2-0.

NYCFC was founded in a joint partnership between City Football Group (80 percent) and the New York Yankees (20 percent). City Football Group also owns Manchester City FC in England, Melbourne City (formerly Melbourne Heart) in Australia, Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Girona FC in Spain, ES Troyes in France, Lommel SK in Belgium, Sichuan Jiuniu in China, and Mumbai City FC in India (in the city formerly known as Bombay).

The owner of 70 percent of City Football Group, and thus of 56 percent of NYCFC, is Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan. Better known as Sheik Mansour, he is the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and the brother of Khalifa bin Zayed. the President of the UAE and the Emir of one of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi.

So, for all intents and purposes, these teams are owned by an entire country. Not just any country: One of the richest countries in the world, with an economy based on oil and, let us tell the truth, slave labor. 

To make matters worse, in that 1st season of 2015, some NYCFC fans were caught chanting neo-Nazi slogans. Worse still, on August 9, the 1st time NYCFC went to New Jersey to play the nearby New York Red Bulls, they started a fight outside Bello's Pub in Newark, the main Red Bull fan bar. They got the hell beaten out of them. And the Red Bulls won, 2-0.

Because of their blue shirts, Red Bull fans called NYCFC the Smurfs. City fans pointed out that at least they actually played in New York City, calling the Red Bulls "the Jersey team." Fans of the team once known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, and who still called themselves "Metro," taunted them with the song: "Fuck off, N-Y-C-F-C! You ain't got no history!" And "Shit club, no home!" The word "plastic" was bandied about as well.

NYCFC finished that 1st season with 10 wins, 17 losses and 7 draws, 8th in the Eastern Conference, not good enough for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

In 2016, they improved to 2nd in the East, but on May 21, the Red Bulls went into Yankee Stadium and slaughtered them, 7-0. City were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by Toronto FC. In 2017, they were knocked out of the Conference Semifinals by the Columbus Crew. And, because the Yankees needed Yankee Stadium for their Playoffs, NYCFC were forced to play their last 2 "home games" elsewhere. One was at the New York Mets' ballpark, Citi Field.

The other was at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. That's 118 miles from Midtown Manhattan. That broke the record forced on the 1973 and '74 New York Giants, who had to play at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, 76 miles away. Compare that to Yankee Stadium (6 miles away), Citi Field (10) and Red Bull Arena (12). Their fans' right to mock the Red Bulls and their fans for not playing their home games in New York City had completely dissolved.

At their next home game, the Red Bulls' ultras held up a banner combining the logos of NYCFC and the long-gone Hartford Whalers hockey team, reading "EAST HARTFORD FC," and even invited the man who played the Whalers' mascot, Pucky the Whale, who entertained the crowd.

In 2018, they got to a restructured MLS Cup Semifinal, before losing to Atlanta United. In 2019, they lost to Toronto FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Because the Yankees got to the American League Championship Series again, NYCFC had to play what turned out to be their only Playoff game and one U.S. Open Cup game at Citi Field.

The COVID epidemic, and the Orlando-area "bubble" it forced on MLS for the 1st 3 weeks of resumption resulted in "home games" away from Yankee Stadium that were none of NYCFC's fault. And then came, to NYCFC's most ardent fans, the ultimate indignity: They had to play home games at Red Bull Arena. They even had to play another game in East Hartford, although that also wasn't their fault: Canada's COVID restrictions kept Toronto FC from playing at home, so they played NYCFC at Rentschler Field. NYCFC got knocked out of the Playoffs in the 1st round, by Orlando City.

It had been 6 seasons, with all the resources that come from the Emirati royal family, and with all the resources that come from being in the world's biggest market. They'd had some legendary players: Frank Lampard from England, Patrick Vieira from France, Andrea Pirlo from Italy, David Villa from Spain. And yet, they hadn't even gotten to an MLS Cup Final. True, the Red Bulls had been around for 25 years, and had only been to 1 Final, and lost it. Which is disgraceful. But they didn't have the kind of expectations that City did.

In 2021, they pretty much split their schedule between Yankee Stadium and Red Bull Arena, and finally put it all together: They made the Playoffs as the 8th and last seed in the Eastern Conference, but eliminated Atlanta United, the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union, before going to Portland, Oregon for the MLS Cup Final. After extra time ended 1-1, they beat the Portland Timbers on penalties, 4-2.

It was the greatest day in NYCFC history, and the most embarrassing day in Red Bulls history -- and they weren't even playing.

Through the end of the 2021 season, they have played 102 "home games" at Yankee Stadium, 17 at Red Bull Arena, 3 at Citi Field, 3 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex outside Orlando, and 2 in East Hartford.

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March 8, 2015 was a Sunday. There were 2 other MLS games were played on that day. The New York Red Bulls gained a draw against Sporting Kansas City, 1-1 at Sporting Park (now Children's Mercy Park) in Kansas City, Kansas. And the Seattle Sounders beat the New England Revolution, 3-0 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Utah Jazz, 95-88 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 103-98 at the Amway Center in Orlando. (It's now named the Kia Center.)

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 116-105 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. (It's now the Frost Bank Center.)

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors, 108-104 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. (It's now the Paycom Center.)

* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Detroit Pistons, 108-101 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 100-93 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (It's now the Crypto.com Arena.)

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 106-98 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).

There were 6 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 1-0 at the United Center. Derick Brassard scored the game-winner, just 32 seconds into overtime.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Prudential Center. Adam Henrique scored 2 goals.

* In another "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the TD Garden.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers, 7-4 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Calgary Flames, 5-4 in a shootout at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild, 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.