LAFC Falls Short On Championship 2-Peat. Fans Gathered In LA To Connect

Mike Acuna was a guaranteed show Saturday at Kings Row Gastropub, where occasionally breaks into unified chants along with dozens of compatriots at the Old Town Pasadena watering hole.

"Oh yeah, somebody will start chanting, we will start singing our chants. When it's a bigger party, we'll have other supporter groups, they'll bring the drums sometimes," he said.

Acuna is a founding member of the Offsiders, a fan group for their hometown football team, LAFC. Given the occasion is the MLS Cup Final and that the Black & Gold is gunning for its first back-to-back title — a scene repeated at different bars and breweries across the Southland this Saturday.

While some fans traveled to Ohio for the championship match against the Columbus Crew, many gathered at their faithful hangouts to cheer on the defending champs. The Brewsers met at Benny Boys Brewing in Lincoln Heights, Tigers Supporters Group were in Koreatown at Biergarten, Empire Boys repping the Inland Empire showed up at Rowdy's Brewing Company in Rancho Cucamonga.

LAFC held an official watch party at The Fields LA by BMO Stadium, its home turf, in Exposition Park.

Supporter groups are fundamental to the beautiful game — a tradition that naturally found itself way to the sport's fandom in Los Angeles.

Acuna is no stranger to football. The L.A. native grew up playing the game with his dad. At the time, the city had just one professional football team.

"I grew up with the Galaxy," said Acuna. "But my family didn't have that kind of money to go to the games all the time. I never really owned a jersey, or like really went to games like that."

The Offsiders at the BMO Stadium cheering for LAFC.

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Mike Acuna

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Then LAFC came on the scene around the mid-2010's as part of Major League Soccer's expansion across the country.

"They're basically based in L.A. in Downtown. I just bought a jersey, have my kids have jerseys," said Acuna. "It felt home, before the team became official, they were already digging into the neighborhoods, growing into the neighborhoods, reaching out to the neighborhoods."

Acuna's brother-in-law took him to LAFC's debut home game in April 2018, where Laurent Ciman's late goal gave the team its inaugural W.

"The home opener was a classic, last-minute score. And from there on, I just became a fan," said Acuna.

Eventually, Acuna moved his season seats from higher up in the stadium down to the supporter section — where the crowd chants, sings, and drums in support of the team.

That section, with 3,252 seats, is known as The 3252 — the umbrella fan body made up of smaller supporter groups.

The LAFC Offsiders will gather at their usual watering hole in Pasadena to watch the 2023 MLS Cup Final featuring LAFC versus Columbus Crew.

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Mike Acuna

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"Then like 50 of us broke off because we were just closer, and we made our own group called the Offsiders," said Acuna.

Since around 2019, the group has been hanging out at Kings Row to watch the team's away games — just like this Saturday.

"We're just looking forward to the win, because, you know, it's a big competition with the Galaxy, and they have their five championships, so they're like, 'who are you guys, you guys are new', this and that, so we want to keep winning so we can shut them up."

And if — or in Acuna's hopeful words, "when that happens" — you will find him reliably at the championship parade, celebrating with all the LAFC diehards.

"Our team just seems to be clicking on all cylinders right now," he said. "They're just pedal to the metal floor. They're just going."