“The impact of SF City FC extends far beyond just those who are interested in football. All the jerseys we make, all the art that you see on them, they really do a great job of reflecting San Francisco Bay Area values,” Asa, a 17-year-old founding member of Kezar Union explained, alluding to the SF City crest that features two local landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge and Sutro Tower, a radio tower that looms noticeably in the hills.
18-year-old Nate, a fellow founding member of Kezar Union, added on with his personal reasons for showing up, saying, “I am not even a super big soccer fan. I can barely understand how the game works, but just coming out with these guys and playing the drum — it's just so fun to be a part of this community. I'm just grateful to be a part of it all.”
Amidst this cautious optimism, Marvin additionally picked up on a layer of confusion in these on-scene conversations.
A handful of people he spoke with had SF City and GCFC confused and some hadn’t even heard about the situation at all. In regards to GCFC, John, a five-year San Francisco resident from Southern California, shared a statement that will not surprise those in touch with America’s football culture:
“I live close, so I'd probably go to a game or two, okay, but I don't know that I'm going out of my way. But I also don't go watch [minor league] baseball either, you know. So it's like, if the San Jose Earthquakes moved up here, then yeah, I'd go see them.”
The San Jose Earthquakes, the Bay Area’s only MLS team, seems to be at the top of the radars for folks like John due to its Major League name, a connotation that deems teams not associated with the megacorporation a minor business. Quality of play in either league aside, the MLS versus USL conversation can’t be had without acknowledging the fact that a USL team cannot enter the MLS realm based on skill and merit alone due to a closed off structure instead.
New Zealand-born Calvin Lee, whom Marvin met inside Kezar, felt badly for SF City, a team he sees on the other side of the new MLS NEXT Pro rollout. “I think it's just a reflection of the fragility and volatility in US Soccer which seems like a real for-profit structure where clubs with often really rich history just get pushed to the sides,” he weighed in. “I see the structure the MLS is trying to roll out, similar to the Premier League in which the 2nd teams of MLS teams play against each other for more than just a summer season, but I think it is pretty sad for teams like SF City who are on the other side.”
Creative Director Ian, who in the recent days has had to correct many people that say MLS NEXT Pro is better quality than USL League Two, says this misconception stems from a problem with the U.S. Soccer Federation as a whole. “Everything is so fragmented, and the average American soccer fan isn’t going to know the nuance between this different stuff,” he said, pointing to all the different leagues in the triangle-like, top-down formation of the sport. “The word ‘MLS’ has so much cachet.”
Pete, standing on his two feet in Kezar’s stands, told Marvin, “We are here, and we’re not going anywhere… we will be a home for everyone who wants to help build something that is here to help the city and to serve this city through the beautiful game.”