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MLS Supporters Unite Behind Vancouver Whitecaps in League-Wide Push

The Vancouver Whitecaps picked up a draw against the LA Galaxy as support from across MLS chimed in.
Ben Steiner|
Fans across the league stood alongside the Vancouver Soutsiders in the Save the Caps campaign against relocation rumors.
Fans across the league stood alongside the Vancouver Soutsiders in the Save the Caps campaign against relocation rumors. | Edgar Zuniga/Submitted, Shaun Clark/Getty Images, @TheOfficialRCB/X

The Vancouver Whitecaps won’t play another home match until Aug. 1 due to FIFA World Cup stadium operations taking over BC Place and the MLS break for the tournament. Yet, the chants in the stands supporting the club are only growing. 

A week after the Vancouver Southsiders supporters group officially launched the Save The Caps campaign, an effort to combat relocation links to Las Vegas, where there is now an official offer to buy and relocate club, several MLS supporters groups stood alongside the Canadian club’s supporters. 

Columbus Crew fans, the Nordecke, led the way in the efforts, supporting a team that is going through a similar campaign to their 2018 Save The Crew efforts, which played a vital role in avoiding relocation to Austin. However, that plight leaned on local legislation, known as the Art Modell Law, which does not exist in Vancouver. 

The Crew fans staunchly stood in support of the Whitecaps, with the Nordecke chanting “Save The Caps” in the 10th minute, then observing a two-minute silence before returning with the same chants. The chants were clear on the TV broadcast, while several supporters displayed signs and banners in support of the Whitecaps’ efforts. 

The campaign was evident across MLS as well, with “Save The Caps” signs displayed by supporters of Real Salt Lake, San Diego FC, FC Dallas and several others. At the same time, chants reverberated around Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., from Red Bull New York supporters. 

While fans of those clubs showed their support in the stadium, other supporters groups reached out online, with Charlotte FC’s Southbound & Crown and the New England Revolution’s Midnight Riders issuing statements of solidarity. 

Earlier in the week, rival Seattle Sounders supporters displayed Save The Caps banners, while rival manager Brian Schmetzer added that “it would be sad” to lose a Cascadia Cup foe. 

LA Galaxy Support Whitecaps in Draw

Save The Caps
Save The Caps posters were visible in the LA Galaxy supporters section. | Edgar Zuniga/Submitted

Columbus may have offered the loudest support, but the LA Galaxy ensured their message was clear as they played to a 1–1 draw against the Whitecaps at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, the first of eight road games for Vancouver. 

The Galaxy supporters section displayed a significantly sized Save The Caps banner, while chants rang out in the stadium. Several fans also produced individual signs in support of the opposition team. 

Meanwhile, in Vancouver, the Southsiders and local supporters convened at a local pub near BC Place Stadium. They were joined by Vancouver mayor Ken Sim, who said earlier in the week at the 76th FIFA Congress in the city that “a lot of groups have reached out” in the 48 hours following Monday’s initial links to Las Vegas. 

Vegas Offer, Kentucky Derby and Vancouver Groups

There is no certainty to the lofty offer made by Grant Gustavson, who hopes to buy the club and move the team to Las Vegas. The 30-year-old son of Kentucky billionaire Tamara Gustavson, who is the daughter of B. Wayne Hughes, the founder of Public Storage, has the funds to make a deal happen, but any purchase and move would have to be approved by the MLS Board of Governors. 

While the Gustavson family may have had their eye on the Whitecaps’ draw with the Galaxy, the family’s thoroughbred farm, Spendthrift Farm, also had several horses racing in the famed Kentucky Derby, which ran alongside the Saturday MLS slate. Spendthrift stallion, Further Ado, finished 11th, behind Golden Tempo, who came away with the 152nd Kentucky Derby crown.

Still, the Whitecaps, MLS and local governments have insisted they hope to keep the club in Vancouver and are continuing to look for potential local solutions, which would likely include a reworked arrangement with provincially owned and operated BC Place, as well as the club’s ownership setup. 

With the draw, the Whitecaps remain second in the MLS Western Conference with eight wins, a draw and a loss through 10 games, heading into next week’s away clash against the San Jose Earthquakes—the team atop the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings.

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Ben Steiner
BEN STEINER

Ben Steiner is an American-Canadian journalist who brings in-depth experience, having covered the North American national teams, MLS, CPL, NWSL, NSL and Liga MX for prominent outlets, including MLSsoccer.com, CBC Sports, and OneSoccer.

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