STORIES: Los Angeles Football Club
Dec 2, 2023 - Two tall buildings consider shutting down, one a historical landmark, the other a legendary footballer. But first LAFC must dispatch the Dynamo.
A Theatre of Dreams
3 pm. Time to saddle up.
Perched atop the rooftop area charmingly named Upstairs, I soak the DTLA skyline up one final time before descending to the busy street.
Driving around LA can be a grind, but beating the traffic isn’t too bad? I prefer arriving early and finding a comfy place to camp out.
A boutique hotel on Broadway and 6th famous for the iconic SAVE JESUS display in neon red, the Ace Hotel DTLA is my spot. Anchored by a restored theatre built in the 1920s by Charlie Chaplin and other luminaries breaking away from the studio industry, the building’s always had something of a rebel spirit surrounding the terra cotta and stone facade.
Housing the theatre, a rooftop pool and restaurant, it’s a temporary office to open the laptop and decompress on game days, a spot to lay by the pool and sip LAFC branded beer the day after. For a few bucks more, you can rent a room with a terrace overlooking the dreamy lights.
Summer in LA
Well, you could.
“With heavy hearts we’re here to share that Ace Hotel DTLA will cease operations soon,” the group recently announced on social media. “There’s no place like this place. We could fill a library with our love for Los Angeles and, in particular, 929 S. Broadway – our magical home, which was really yours. The Spanish Gothic-style rooftop crown, a beacon – summoning mavericks, mystics, sun-seekers and four-on-the-floor dancers.”
With shows attracting large numbers of traffic to the venue, the upcoming Jan. 31st closing is a major blow to a revitalized Fashion District still reeling from the COVID outbreak.
A personal favorite of American filmmaker David Lynch, the Ace DTLA is already missed. When a scheduling conflict prevented fans from parking at Banc of California for last year’s MLS Cup final, some fans made due by using the hotel as a tailgating spot.
Tailgating at sunrise (Mike Gray)
A soccer palace
There’s nothing quite like the electricity generated from a stadium surrounded by an urban landscape.
The two-mile drive from the Ace is relaxing, but the sidewalks strewn with tent clusters and debris from LA’s homeless population serve as a reminder of the immoral economic conditions which have displaced many of our most vulnerable citizens, despite the city spending billions to fight the epidemic. If you close your eyes and concentrate, you can hear Anthony Bourdain talking s**t about Reagan.
Heading south on Broadway folks in black and gold start appearing in greater numbers, and soon like a majestic marshmallow the state-of-the-art 350 million dollar BMO Stadium appears. It’s still hours before kickoff, but crowds of fans are eagerly crossing Figueroa towards the grassy tailgate area known as Christmas Tree Lane.
As hundreds wait in line to score the highly coveted spots in the north end alongside food and merch vendors, the cramped scene slightly resembles a music festival. Nearby a live band is playing rock en español, while over by the corner a number of uniformed officers surround the smoldering remains of an illegal fireworks display.
Over by the entrance Christian “Filly” Filimon and J.R. “Scarf” Lebert from the Defenders of the Banc pod stood outside their custom tent entertaining guests.
“Hey buddy!” the delightfully friendly Scarf turned to me. “Did you get some Jungle Juice, or are you working working?”
Better head upstairs, too much fun to be had around these parts.
Pre-game (Favian Renkel)
As someone who covers both LA teams, I get asked a lot about the atmosphere at games and the fanbase that regularly packs BMO.
It’s a young diverse crowd, reflective of the area as a hub for creative professionals. The popularity of the Black and Gold is felt across Los Angeles, over an hour’s distance away in the Inland Empire it doesn’t take very long to spot a black and gold crest.
Of course LA loves a winner, and LAFC’s been doing a whole lot of winning the past six years with The list of accolades is staggering: The 2022 MLS Cup, two Supporters’ Shields, two CONCACAF Champions League finals appearances. A league MVP in Carlos Vela. 3 (!) Golden Boot winners in Vela, Diego Rossi and Dénis Bouanga, who tied Vela’s goalscoring record in a calendar year with 38 strikes. A consistently entertaining brand of football.
Am I in an art museum? (LAFC)
To walk around the different levels of this opulent palace doubling as a soccer stadium is a charming reminder that attending a game here is an opportunity to intersect with Angelinos from all walks of life. Locals and transplants, coders and cooks, Lakers and Clippers fans.
It’s a rite of passage usually reserved for the city’s historically cosmopolitan venues like Dodger Stadium and the Staples Center. You can add BMO to the list.
Just ask MLS and Apple TV analyst Andrew Wiebe, who I met in person for the first time at the Banc as he was eagerly plunking down cash for a bacon-wrapped hot dog.
You can also catch celebrities from time to time, including musicians low-key enjoying themselves behind the scenes. At some point downstairs I ran into Shavo Odadjian from System of a Down! Being starstruck is trying to compliment a dude’s music while struggling to form complete sentences.
The colorful 3252 (Mike Gray)
Across town, a Galaxy fan base with over two decades of history on their neighbors fancies themselves as the older siblings in the El Trafico rivalry between the clubs.
Regardless of what the original Angelinos think, the 3252 always puts on a show.
Moments before kickoff, someone strolls up to the supporters section trumpet in hand and blars the intro to Do It For LA, a club anthem collab featuring DJ Flict, Kid Ink and Cypress Hill’s B-Real.
A rendition of Dale Black and Gold erupts afterward, and for the next 90 minutes a dizzying array of bilingual chants complement the action on the field, each with their own catchy rhythms and beats and accompanied by a rich percussion ensemble. A simple learning curve allows others to join in more easily, elevating the collective voice of the stadium.
Angela Gonzalez, a Latina in her 20s working at the Rancho Cucamonga Apple Store, knows how easy it is to be drawn in by the spectacle.
“I can’t remember which team we even played!” confessed Gonzalez, a former player whose cousins invited her to a game with the promise of catching Carlos Vela in person. Now she routinely joins her friends in the North End.
“I just remember looking at the 3252 and saying I want to be there too! I always tell everyone once you’re there, you won’t ever wanna sit.”
I would know. I’ve done “Jump for LA Football Club” exactly once, at the 2011 MLS All-Star Game.
As a Galaxy reporter at the time I didn’t really feel like jumping in, but my company insisted so we start bouncing around and boom, we’re on the big screen in front of 22,000 people. It’s like the soccer gods were messing with us. That brief moment was a blast though!
To this day I still don’t know how long we were up there.
A Tactical Clash
BMO Stadium with the Ace Hotel DTLA somewhere in the distance (LAFC)
Ben Olson’s rejuvenated Houston Dynamo side rode a wave of confidence heading into the contest with their dynamic midfield trio of Héctor Herrera, Artur and Coco Carrasquilla using the ball to control games.
On the other hand, Steve Cherundolo’s group stood confident in their own pragmatic game model of punishing teams in transition. If breakout right back Griffin Dorsey pushed forward to join the attack, Dénis Bouanga was ready to pounce in the space left behind.
What unfolded was an intriguing battle of ideas as La Naranja completely dominated possession but failed to seriously threaten Maxime Crepeau’s net. Ryan Hollingshead poked a rebound off a corner past Steve Clark before halftime and Franco Escobar’s 80th minute own goal ensured the Black and Gold would head to Columbus vying for a second straight MLS Cup title.
Facing an uncertain future with the club, Carlos Vela exited the match in the 77th minute to a thunderous ovation.
Inside the studio for the postgame presser, Hollingshead was beaming. The game plan worked.
“We knew that’s what they wanted. They wanted the ball.”
“They like to play this little tiki-taka in the middle of the field, these little movements, little one-twos, three of their guys just kind of pass the ball, but they're going nowhere. And so we just said, do whatever you want, have the ball as long as you want.“
“How frustrating it is for a team like this to have the ball 70% of the game and create nothing, right? So it's a very strategic play from us.”
Ryan Hollingshead post-match (LAFC)
Hollingshead later praised Italian legend Giorgio Chiellini, the 39-year-old center back many suspected would hang up his boots after an illustrious career with 27 trophies to his name including the historic double with LAFC.
“I don’t think I’m stretching by saying he’s the favorite player I’ve ever played with,” Hollingshead began…
“That’s messed up,” ex-FC Dallas teammate Kellyn Acosta deadpanned nearby to laughter from the front row.
What is there to say about Chiellini that you don’t already know? One of the greatest defenders of his era and probably the kindest professional soccer player I’ve ever met. He’s a hugger.
“They're the bar, they're the standard. We were going to have to be close to perfect,” said a deflated Olson afterward.
“It hurts, but there's so many positives. Reigniting this club has been a lot of fun. This team has done so much, as far as three home playoff games, getting in the postseason and bringing a trophy back to Houston. These are not easy things and this team did all of that.”
“We'll look back on the season as hopefully a springboard to more seasons like this, but also one that was successful.”
Time to go (Mike Gray)
As I bid goodnight to Security Paul and strolled towards the parking lot, a sleek Audi pulled to the side of the road and fans began spilling onto the sidewalk. Behind the wheel was none other than Bouanga himself, who generously took the time to sign autographs and pose for selfies.
Maybe I’ll head back to the Ace? I got a few hours of parking left.
(LAFC would fall to Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew at MLS Cup by a 2-1 scoreline. Three days later, Giorgio Chiellini officially announced his retirement from professional football, only to return a month later as a member of the coaching staff. Kellyn Acosta was signed by the Chicago Fire as a free agent.)
(The Ace Hotel DTLA closed Jan. 31st)
