Sacramento Republic prepares for biggest game in team history, with a call for fans’ help
Sacramento Republic will host the biggest home game in team history Wednesday night.
Perhaps you’ve heard about the game, as Sacramento hosts an MLS team, San Jose, at Heart Health Park.
Republic took out billboards to promote the game. Their social media ads are ubiquitous. The team filmed hype videos with 49ers star Arik Armstead and Kings great Doug Christie. Team owner Kevin Nagle penned a column exhorting fans to show up and support the Quails.
Just in case the intent is somehow unclear: The team is opening the gates an hour and a half before game time and pricing some beers at $2. The Republic hopes to have approximately 12,000 fans in attendance, preferably getting in the ears of San Jose players well before the game kicks off.
Midfielder Matt LaGrassa says he knows Sacramento fans are capable of rowdily supporting a team. He referenced the Kings’ playoff runs 20 years ago and the home-floor advantage those teams had.
This is Sacramento Republic’s version of a playoff run. The team is one of just two USL clubs still alive in the 103-team U.S. Open Cup, an annual tournament open to any pro team in the country. A win would vault Sacramento into the rare air of the quarterfinals.
“I know what Sacramento fans are all about and what they’re capable of,” LaGrassa said. “I think there’s a buzz around the city right now about this team and about this opportunity we have in the cup. And you know, everybody’s ready to take advantage of it. …
“I know what Arco Arena used to sound like and I believe that we can get that kind of atmosphere around for soccer. And I know there’s a ton of soccer fans here that are fired up about the game.”
While it’s a huge game for Republic, it’s unclear how big a deal it is for San Jose. MLS teams commonly play backups and youngsters in early rounds of the tournament, preferring to save their best players for league games. In San Jose’s previous U.S. Open Cup game against Seattle, the Sounders played just two players who have scored a goal in MLS play this year; none of San Jose’s top five goal-scorers started the game, though they all played as substitutes.
And the Earthquakes are in a very busy stretch of their season, with an MLS game this past Sunday and another match coming up Saturday. San Jose likely won’t play its best players for a full 90 minutes.
Still, Sacramento general manager Todd Dunivant said he expects to see some of San Jose’s top-line talent on the field Wednesday.
“They have over 30 players on their roster, and we’re preparing for all of them,” he said. “We don’t know who they’re going to put out there. But we know it’s going to be a good team, whoever they do put out, and we’ve got a lot to prove. So I think our guys are going to be hungry. I think our message to the fans has been you know, hey, this is an opportunity to step up. Come support your team. It’s gonna be a fun night.”
Republic midfielder Rodrigo Lopez has seen this all before. The 34-year-old was on the field when Sacramento played its first game in 2014 in front of a crowd of 25,000 at Hughes Stadium. He knows the crowd will be big Wednesday night – “Pretty sure I won’t be able to sleep Tuesday night,” he told reporters Monday – but Lopez said he’s not intimidated by an MLS roster.
“I don’t see a big difference in in MLS to USL. To be honest, I don’t see them being much better than us, other than a couple millions of dollars in their roster. But honestly, I feel like our team has a roster to compete with the best in MLS. Sometimes it’s just about getting chances.”
To be sure, Wednesday’s game could be a career-maker for players and coaches looking to advance to MLS themselves. But it’s also important for the franchise as a whole, which still harbors hopes of moving up to MLS. Team owner Nagle said in his open letter to fans it was important to show potential investors how raucous and invested Sacramento fans can be. The team hopes to land a billionaire who will take the club to MLS, after being jilted by billionaire Ron Burkle and the league in previous efforts to move up.
“This is our moment to once again show them why Sacramento is special and belongs,” Nagle told fans.
Rowdy fans are something Sacramento is already known for. Even a half-full stadium can turn into a cacophony of clanging noises, as fans stomp their feet on the metal stadium risers during corner kicks or other big moments. And Republic’s homefield advantage has produced tangible results this year: the Quails have not lost a home game in 2022.
Coach Mark Briggs has called for fans to make Sacramento a fortress and for fans to “make it hell” for opposing teams. Meeting with the media Monday, Briggs was happy to exhort the crowd to show up, enjoy some $2 beverages and make their presence felt early and often Wednesday.
“I hope to see loud, raucous fans that get on every touch San Jose have, get in their face, that boo them, that get after them, and they get behind us,” he said. “When our stadium’s loud, there’s no place like it in MLS, USL, whatever league you want to talk about. There’s no place like, but we need it loud. We need the fans to get behind us. We need this city to get behind us and put San Jose under pressure.
“Everyone loves an underdog story. Everyone loves it. It’s like a fairytale right? But let’s let’s give everything we have not just the players, the city, the fans, give everything we have to make this fairytale a good ending.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.