The Earthquakes played the Rapids at Spanos Stadium Friday night

On Friday night, the San Jose Earthquakes “hosted” the defending Major League Soccer champion Colorado Rapids at Cal Poly’s Spanos Stadium, where this country’s variety of soccer fansmanship was on full display.

While soccer isn’t in my top three favorite sports, I consider myself a casual fan. With a professional game in town, I decided to attend the game with Nuge, who is more than a casual fan, and some of his friends.

A San Jose native, Nuge had a strong rooting interest in the game. Of the group, he was the only one, which is probably why his friends rooted so hard for Colorado. I was mostly ambivalent about the outcome of the preseason game. What was more important to me was the soccer “scene.”

Soccer fans generally come in a few types. You could think of them on a spectrum – maybe similar to a political spectrum one might see in a social studies class in high school.

The most extreme type is the radically intense fan. These are fans who have a single team and will chant, scream, yell, beat drums for 90 minutes, blow horns, wave flags, and even fight other fans to defend their team’s honor. This fan type comes a dime a dozen in Europe, but is pretty difficult to find in the United States. The closest thing we have in this country is Raiderfan or Nascar likes-to-fight guy. While there are pockets like these, the United States is largely hooligan-free in the world of sports-fansmanship.

The second-most extreme type is where Nuge falls. This soccer fan is the most admirable and dedicated of the bunch. This fan ranges from those who will travel to see their team play to those who see a large portion of home games consistently. These fans also may be vocal and excited during games because the game matters to them. They may also wave flags and play instruments without the flair for fighting. I fall into this category for the Dodgers, Lakers, Cal Poly basketball, and UCLA basketball.

Following the “actual” fans above, there are casual fans, like me with soccer. I enjoy soccer, but there are seasons that go by where I don’t have a clue. I asked an Arsenal fan last night if Cesc Fabregas was still on the team and whether Almunia was still their regular keeper (yes and no). Fans like me like to join in the scene, whatever the scene is. If it’s appropriate to be a crazy fan, screaming and making noise all game, then I’ll join in. I won’t, however, be the first to start a chant at a soccer game. Most of the parents of the kids playing at half-time of the game also fall into the casual fan category.

After the “casual” soccer fans, there are the folks who are there for the scene. My guess is that, in a city like San Luis Obispo, about a third to half of the fans at the game on Friday fall into this category. They are there because it’s an event in SLO on a Friday night. It’s at Cal Poly and it’s an opportunity to be at a once-a-year event that makes SLO feel a little bigger. This group is integral to selling enough tickets to draw major teams to SLO for a game.

Let me be clear, some of these reasons also influenced me going to the game on Friday. I enjoy a good event as much as anyone — probably more. But the difference is this: I know a little about soccer.

There was lots of soccer fansmanship at Spanos Stadium Friday night

An example of the conversation from the people behind me: “Didnt’ that guy foul that other guy? Why is the referee just shrugging his shoulders and letting the game go on? How was that not a foul?”

Another conversation: “Why are those guys on the sideline wearing those weird differently-colored jerseys?”

Of course, the first question was referring to the advantage rule. To the credit of the fans behind me, one fan was able to mostly describe the rule to another fan. To the credit of United States soccer, refs in this country have begun to use advantage more and more, allowing for more open and free-flowing play.

Aside from three or four free kicks and corner kicks, the Spanos Stadium crowd of almost 3,000 stayed at a strong murmur for most of the evening. People reacted to good plays, but in a distinctly mellow and mostly laid-back San Luis Obispo way.The Earthquakes are three hours away, but there wasn’t even really a pro-Earthquakes feel aside from Nuge’s anti-Colorado trash-talk.

The Earthquakes struck for the first and only goal on a penalty kick. The thing that I didn’t even realize until I looked it up, was that there were at least three or four players who have appeared for the US National Team in the past. In other words, the teams were playing their starters. I expected teams to play their second and third-string players throughout this exhibition in SLO. But both teams decided to bring out some of their “big guns” or at least big names.

Colorado’s roster included Conor Casey (taller than I thought), Marvell Wynne (whose foul led to the PK and goal), and Pablo Mastroeni (still seems like a hothead and doesn’t strike me as an overly heady player). San Jose, still rebuilding after restarting as a franchise, had Bobby Convey come off the bench. Did the fans realize that they were seeing a lot of each squad’s “A team?” I spent most of the night trying to figure that out.

It was clear that people around me were having a great time (whether they knew who they were watching or not) and the atmosphere was a happy one. Kids swarmed around the stadium, looking for a grassy area to play, watching the game, and generally having a great time. The kid in me got his hands on a pair of churros and a soda halfway through the second half. The relaxed crowd atmosphere allowed for kids to have a great time at this MLS game, which was probably the point, especially from the perspective of the MLS.

If soccer is to grow in this country, places like San Luis Obispo will be the front lines of this growth. Our city and country won’t ever be rife with hooligan fans. For those who think that hooligan fansmanship is a necessary part of a healthy soccer culture, you’ll be sorely disappointed at a game in SLO. For people, like me, who see one fan explaining the advantage rule to another as a sign of the growth of the game in the United States, Friday night was a definite step in the right direction. Go Galaxy! (Sorry Nuge, couldn’t help it).

owen@fansmanship.com

One more picture from Friday night. Gotta want it.

Yes, my back is a little sore, but long road trips in the car aren’t all bad. This one allowed me time to have great conversations with the wife, listen to music I haven’t heard in a while, and of course think about what to write.

An exit sign was my inspiration this time. It was an exit to Arco Arena off of Interstate 5 in Sacramento. Arco, the home of the NBA’s Kings, is a building I’ve never attended a game in. Driving by it last night, a few ideas came to mind. One was the utter ineptitude of both the Kings and Warriors — Northern California’s two NBA teams.

Thinking about the NBA got me to thinking about pro sports in general in our state, especially the prospects of another NFL team (or two) in Los Angeles. In thinking about having another bad team around like the Bills (this is how my mind works), I started to think about other bad teams we already have. I’m usually an optimist, but I came to a realization in the form of a question:

Has there ever been a worse time for California professional sports?

The four major leagues plus Major League Soccer give us 18 (three Football, five baseball, four basketball, three hockey, and three soccer) teams concentrated either in San Diego, Los Angeles, or the San Francisco Bay area.

In any given year, at least one of those teams in each league are usually competing in the playoffs or for a championship. Throughout my lifetime, this has generally been the case. Nearly all the teams on the list have won championships (sorry to both Kings, the Padres, and the Clippers along with the relatively new Chivas USA franchise who have never won a championship). Despite its history, California teams aren’t as strong as they once were. The days of Lakers/49ers/Raiders/Dodgers dominance have long passed. After the Lakers (and yes, the Giants), there is a severe drop-off in current dominance and once you get past the first few teams on the list, the franchises really start to fall-off.

What better then, than a ranking of the top California professional teams with some rationale. As always is the case in sports, these rankings are subject to change with a new baseball season coming up. Here are the rankings – 1-18.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
With the exception of the mid 1990s and middle part of the 2000’s, the Lakers have been in contention for the championship every year. Their prolonged period of dominance, stable ownership, Hall of Fame players, and rich history make them the easy pick for the Top Pro Franchise in California. They have been to the NBA Finals in each of the previous three years, winning twice. They have the second-most championships in NBA history. Must I go on?

2. San Francisco Giants (MLB)
While their World Series win will only serve to enable the Dodgers to justify spending less on their players, the Giants are currently the only other defending champion in California besides the Lakers. Their team is built to be good for a long time, they have a stadium people like, and since there hasn’t been a consistent winner in the Bay Area since the 49ers, the impasse of their World Series win was bigger than it might have been otherwise.

3. San Diego Chargers (NFL)
The Chargers have never won a Super Bowl, but they’ve been very good ever since they dumped Ryan Leaf and got out from under a series of bad decisions around the end of the 90’s. With double-digit win totals in four of the past seven seasons and as the only recently successful NFL team in California, the Chargers come in at number 3. The Chargers might be the NFL poster child for the saying “Good is the enemy of great”.

4. San Jose Sharks (NHL)
If the Chargers are 1-A on the list of good teams who underachieve in the playoffs, the Sharks are 1-B. Over the past three years, no team has been more consistent in the regular season. While finishing first in the Pacific Division for each of the past 3 years and first or second in each of the past six years, the Sharks have never played in a Stanley Cup Finals series. Another example of a good team who hasn’t figured out how to be great yet.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB)
Continuing the list of teams who have been labeled as “competitive” and “good enough to win regular season games, but that’s all” is Los Angeles’ second most popular team, the Dodgers. Since they arrived, the McCourt regime has maintained with good, cheap, young players and the Manny Ramirez trade. While there is a sense that the Chargers or Sharks could get over the playoff hump sometime in the near future, the Dodgers’ chances do not look as bright. Prior to a disastrous 2010 season, the Dodgers had made the playoffs during four of the past six seasons. Much of the core of those playoff teams is still intact, which is why the Dodgers continue to be in the top five teams in the state.

6. Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
If the Galaxy was in one of the four major sports in the United States, they would probably have made it into the top-five. With major starts Landon Donovan and David Beckham, the Galaxy has crossover appeal. Young talented players like Sean Franklin and Omar Gonzalez make the Galaxy one of the top overall teams in MLS. Over the past two seasons, the Galaxy has sported the best record in the Western Conference of MLS and lost in the Final or Semi-Final round of the MLS playoffs.

7. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (MLB)
The California Angels were a great team name. Their name got worse when they changed to the Anaheim Angels. Just when things seemed to be looking up, they changed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Lame. Since their World Series victory in 2002, they have won their division five times. But if you ask most California sports fans about the Angels, the topic of their name or the cost of a beer at their games will come up before the topic of how good the team is, which is why they are only in 7th place on the list.

8. Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Their wildly erratic seasons place the Anaheim Ducks closely behind their Orange County counterparts on the list. Their franchise has reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice in the past seven season, winning the Cup once. They might be a more mild version of the Florida Marlins — a franchise that gets to and wins championships, but has relatively meaningless seasons in-between. Last year, they didn’t make the playoffs. If this year’s season ended today (Saturday), the Ducks would get into the playoffs as an 8-seed, but only because of a tie-breaker.

NOTE: After the top 8, there is a marked drop-off in consistency and quality of franchise…

9. San Diego Padres (MLB)
The Padres are the consummate underdog. The whole time I went to college in San Diego, all natives ever said about the rest of the state was, “Who would want to live THERE?” The Padres are personified by their fans who espouse a laid-back attitude. However, those fans’ sports-related inferiority complex  or underlying envy of Los Angeles sports teams comes heavily into play during games between the Padres and the Dodgers. The Padres have made the playoffs recently (2005 and 06) and were much improved last season. They play in a gorgeous downtown ballpark and San Diego is an awesome city. For all that, they make the top-ten.

10. Oakland A’s (MLB)
The Athletics haven’t made much noise during the past few years. They are a novelty. Moneyball was a good book, but the A’s are not as good as they were even 5-10 years ago. They are a step above a lot of teams because, well, it’s hard to root against them. They are Nor-Cal’s version of the Padres and so they make the top-ten.

11. San Francisco 49ers (NFL)
If the Niners had won anything during the past ten years, then they might be in the top-ten and the Giants might not be as high on the list as they are. The hole they have left in the hearts of Bay Area sports fans during the past ten years is staggering. Any good 49ers team would make the city’s rallying around the Giants in 2010 look like small potatoes. No matter what happens during the next few years, the fact remains that a whole generation of San Francisco sports fans have grown up knowing nothing but the 49ers as a bad team.

12. Chivas USA (MLS)
Nobody knows a lot about Chivas, but they go ahead of the teams and franchises below due to the fact that they haven’t had enough time to make themselves that inept. Chivas is close to moving down, but haven’t had enough really bad seasons yet.

13. Oakland Raiders (NFL)
Raider Nation is broken. A good season last year keeps them up there, but number 13 on the list is the appropriate place. Luck has nothing to do with it except for the date Al Davis is gone. Raiderfan doesn’t know it, but that will be the luckiest day of their lives. Also, the Raiders are low because of jerking around fans in two major sports markets in California.

14. Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Some will say the Los Angeles Kings should be higher-up on the list. They have existed longer than the Ducks and are probably the more popular team in Los Angeles. That being said, Los Angeles appreciates winners and the Kings haven’t won consistently. They’ve made it out of the first round of the playoffs only once since their lone finals appearance in 1992-93. In California, especially in Los Angeles, a record like that of the Kings will put you toward the bottom of the pack.

15. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
The San Jose Earthquakes used to be very good. Led by a young Landon Donovan, they won the MLS Cup in 2003 and 2005.  After the Earthquakes moved to Houston, Northern California was without a team for two years in 2006 and 2007. In the three seasons since their rebirth, the Earthquakes have not contended. They are owned by the owners of the Athletics and, unless they find the soccer version of Billy Beane, they may be rebuilding for quite some time.

16. Sacramento Kings (NBA)
The Kings have had the single biggest drop of any team in California over the past 8-10 years. In 2000, 2001, 2002, the Lakers ousted the Kings from the playoffs in what was becoming one of the hottest rivalries in all of sports. Since 2003, the Kings have not won a playoff series. They have not made the playoffs for the past four seasons and it doesn’t look like they will this year. The Northern vs. Southern California rivalry is gone, the team is threatening to move, and attendance is down. The Kings have a few nice players and their owners are charismatic, but as franchises go, they aren’t going anywhere.

17. Los Angeles Clippers (NBA)
The Clippers have moved up from the last spot this year for one reason — Blake Griffin. While they are still not far away for the 18th and final spot, they also have potential to move up on the list quickly. Players like Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan bring a solid nucleus to surround Griffin. The team has a lot of upside, but they are still the Clippers. Which makes them number 17. Enough said.

18. Golden State Warriors (NBA)
The Warriors are the caboose of teams in California. As a franchise, they’ve sunk below the Clippers. An upset win in the first round of the playoff in 2007 provided a glimmer of hope for Warriors fans. Winning 48 games in 2007-08 and failing to make the playoffs, the team was again sent into disarray. Without stable leadership for a long period of time, the team has stalled for the last few seasons. A new owner brings with him new hope for a losing franchise, but for now the Warriors don’t have a lot going for them and it will take a sustained winning effort to change their culture..

What did you think of the Rankings? Do you have different ones? Post a comment or email me: owen@fansmanship.com

-Owen Main