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Watch: Chris Wondolowski Spends Suspension as a San Jose Ultra

Chris Wondolowski takes in a San Jose Earthquakes match as a member of the club's supporters' group while serving a one-match red card ban.
Avi Creditor|
Screenshot/San Jose Earthquakes Twitter

No further evidence was required to demonstrate that Chris Wondolowski's heart is with the San Jose Earthquakes, but Wondo went ahead and provided it anyway.

Serving a red-card ban for the first time in his career, Wondolowski elected to spend Wednesday night's San Jose-Philadephia Union match in the supporters' section, standing front-and-center with the San Jose Ultras at Avaya Stadium. He was no inactive bystander doing his fans a courtesy, though. That's not the Wondo way.

Instead, he manned the capo stand, he led chants in the front row and, best of all, he ripped his shirt off and waved it around his head like a helicopter after Jackson Yueill's opening goal, adding to his legend at the club where he improbably became MLS's all-time leading scorer.

The karma gods didn't reward Wondo's passion and effort, with San Jose ultimately falling 2-1 to the Union and losing for a fourth straight game after conceding twice within a six-minute stretch in the second half. The result, coupled with Portland's draw vs. New England, put the Earthquakes on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture with two tough matches to go.

While San Jose fans must have loved the sight of Wondo in their section, they'll surely welcome his return–and that of suspended coach Matias Almeyda and suspended assist leader Cristian Espinoza–for the final matches of the season vs. Seattle and at Portland, with a playoff spot hanging in the balance.

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Avi Creditor
AVI CREDITOR

Avi Creditor is a senior editor and has covered soccer for more than a decade. He’s also a scrappy left back. 

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