26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY april 27-may 3, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com from Salinas on game days. (USL club Phoenix Rising operates a similar service for its fans, Lucero notes.) That would provide Salinas-based supporters with easier access to matches while not having to worry about designated drivers, not to mention the cost of gas and a $15 parking pass. But for now, it remains just an idea. • While Monterey Bay F.C. is still trying to flesh out its nascent fanbase, it’s clear that what it may lack in sheer numbers, it makes up for in passion among those who have already adopted the team as their own. One needs to look no further than Dan Devlin, aka “Superfan Dan.” A lifelong soccer fan, Devlin was dismayed by the lack of noise and atmosphere at the club’s very first home match last May. So he took it upon himself to act as MBFC’s very own “Krazy” George Henderson—the legendary cheerleader who, equipped with a hand drum, has spent the past 50 years whipping sports crowds across the country into a frenzy. Devlin is now a constant at Monterey Bay games, easily distinguishable by his bushy gray beard, colorful top hat and MBFC flag cape. Like Henderson, he wields a hand drum, traversing the circumference of the Cardinale Stadium field and leading the crowd through an array of chants. Devlin has long supported English club Newcastle United as well as San Jose Earthquakes, but after living in Monterey County for 27 years, he jumped at the opportunity to get behind a team representing his own community. “I never had a hometown team, which is why this one is so important to me—this is the one I got in on the ground floor,” Devlin says. “This is my chance to be part of a family from the grassroots level, so I’m really excited about these guys.” Given the extent to which Devlin has taken it upon himself to spread the gospel of Monterey Bay F.C., you could be forgiven for thinking he’s being compensated by the club. But he insists he’s not—he simply cares enough about the club’s potential, and the fledgling community of friends and fellow supporters coalescing around it, to spend all 17-plus home games enlivening the atmosphere around Cardinale Stadium. When the team is on the road, Devlin emcees MBFC’s Monterey watch parties at the Britannia Arms pub on Alvarado Street. Devlin—who uses the parties as “indoctrination periods” to teach new chants and recruit more folks to the MBFC cause—recalls that at the first watch party of last season, only four people showed up at the Brit. By the final game of the season, he says the bar was packed to capacity and had to turn people away at the door. On March 24, more than 30 fans gather at the pub to watch Monterey Bay’s first away game of the season against Texas’ Rio Grande Valley FC. Among those present is Phil Pardew, a nurse in Monterey who moved here from Virginia several years ago. Having initially gotten into the sport through his hometown MLS team, D.C. United, Pardew quickly adopted his new town’s new soccer team last year, picking up a pair of season tickets. “You’re so Home Games 7pm Saturday, April 29 vs. Rio Grande Valley FC 7pm Friday, May 5 vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 7pm Wednesday, May 31 vs. FC Tulsa 7pm Saturday, June 3 vs. Loudoun United FC 7pm Saturday, June 24 vs. Miami FC 7pm Saturday, July 8 vs. El Paso Locomotive FC 7pm Saturday, July 15 vs. Oakland Roots SC 7pm Saturday, July 29 vs. Phoenix Rising FC 7pm Saturday, Aug. 5 vs. Sacramento Republic FC 7pm Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 7pm Saturday, Sept. 16 vs. Las Vegas Lights FC 7pm Wednesday, Sept. 20 vs. San Diego Loyal SC 7pm Saturday, Oct. 14 vs. Orange County SC Away Games 6pm Saturday, May 13 at New Mexico United 2pm Saturday, May 20 at Charleston Battery 7:30pm Saturday, June 10 at Las Vegas Lights FC 8pm Saturday, June 17 at Sacramento Republic FC 7pm Saturday, July 1 at Orange County SC 6pm Tuesday, July 4 at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 4:30pm Saturday, July 22 at Detroit City FC 4:30pm Saturday, Aug. 12 at Tampa Bay Rowdies 6pm Saturday, Aug. 19 at San Antonio FC 6:30pm Saturday, Sept. 2 at El Paso Locomotive FC 5pm Saturday, Sept. 9 at Memphis 901 FC 7pm Saturday, Sept. 23 at Oakland Roots SC 7pm Saturday, Sept. 30 at San Diego Loyal SC 2pm Sunday, Oct. 8 at Birmingham Legion FC Monterey Bay F.C. tickets are $22-$122 per game; season tickets available. View the full schedule and purchase tickets at montereybayfc.com. Home games are at Cardinale Stadium, located on the CSUMB campus at 4111 2nd Ave., Seaside. For more information, call 324-2560 or email goal@montereybayfc.com. Game Time Monterey Bay F.C.’s season is just getting started. Here’s what’s next on the calendar. Walmer Martinez, a Santa Cruz native who played college soccer at CSU Monterey Bay, was MBFC’s first-ever signing. Martinez’s local roots have made him a fan favorite. Daniel Dreifuss close to the field, you feel like you’re involved,” Pardew says. It’s a relatively quiet first half as far as the match is concerned, but in the 62nd minute, Dixon works his magic once more. MBFC winger Chase Boone springs forward on a counterattack before launching an arcing throughball directly onto Dixon’s path; the speedy striker gets on the end of it, beats the onrushing RGV goalkeeper some 30 yards away from his own goalline, and taps the ball into the open net. It’s a moment of sheer release for the assembled crew at the Brit, who launch their scarves into the air and let out a collective roar. But their joy would be short-lived: Monterey Bay would soon have a player sent off for a red card, before conceding a late equalizer and having to settle for a 1-1 draw. A relatively disappointing result on the one hand, but a solid point on the road on the other. Winning is important for Monterey Bay F.C., or any pro sports team that takes itself seriously. Still, it’s not the only thing. Win, lose, or draw, teams can be more than just a common point of civic pride for a town, city or region. They can also be the lifeblood of a community—a connective tissue that transcends what happens on the field and brings people from all walks of life together. That’s the promise of Monterey County’s very own football club; only time will tell if it’s realized. “The longer this team sticks around, the better chance there is of this community coming together,” Lucero says. “We were all strangers last year. Now, Saturday comes and I’m like, ‘How quickly can I get to the stadium?’ It’s a growing family. It’s been pretty special.”
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