Opening day for Padres, Wave

S1: Coming up on KPBS roundtable. It's springtime in San Diego , and that means the return of Padres baseball. We delve into what's expected from the team this season after last year's memorable playoff run , which ended sooner than Padres fans hoped.

S2: To come as far as they've come , and to be as relevant as they are is really an accomplishment.

S1: And while the Padres opening days coming up Thursday , they aren't the only team starting off a new season. The San Diego Wave FC kicks off their season in San Diego this weekend. That's ahead on KPBS roundtable. So springtime is finally here. Hopefully winter is behind us. The rain is gone. And here in San Diego , that means a whole new season of sports , from baseball to soccer. Players and fans are gearing up for Opening Day for the Padres Opening days this Thursday at Petco Park. Believe it or not , while the San Diego Wave prepare for their home opener at Snapdragon Stadium this Saturday , it's all happening as UC San Diego and Sdsu have been taking part in March Madness this year and San Diego FC continuing their first season ever. A lot going on for San Diego sports fans. I'm joined now by , I'd say , Round Table regular at this point. Ryan Finley , he's the sports editor with the San Diego Union Tribune. Hey , Ryan. Hey.

S2: Hey. What's going on ? Yeah , I'm proud to be called a regular. Uh. That's great.

S1: Well , it's great to have you. I mean , yeah , there's a lot happening , and you seem to kind of know what's going on with it all. So talking about the Padres last season ended with a heart wrenching loss , I'll say , in the deciding fifth game of the National League Division Series , and we all may remember who Padres lost to. It was the Dodgers , and they went on to win the World Series , as we know.

S2: And I kind of put my hand on their shoulder and went , you know , I think it was like the third most wins ever by a Padres team in the regular season , a team that had cut $90 million from its payroll , not only made the playoffs , but won a playoff series and pushed the Dodgers to the brink. You know the Dodgers are the best team money can buy. Um , I wouldn't call it a disappointing season. I would call it a disappointing final two games. Uh , this was a team that had hit all year and , uh , frankly , couldn't , uh , you know , shut out in their last two games. And , you know , that's really , I think , where a lot of fans frustrations come from , you know , is the memories of the last two playoff losses to the Dodgers , just the Padres being unable to hit ? Um , I would still say it was a successful season. You know , so many unknowns heading into last year. Could they pitch ? You know , what about Mike Schulte , a first year manager ? Uh , what were they going to do without Juan Soto ? And , you know , as it turns out , they found a way to win. And , you know , that's something Schultz says a lot , right ? Sort of winners find solutions. And I thought last year's team , you know , up until the very end when they really struggled , you know , they found solutions all year long.

S1: And I kind of find sometimes there's this debate of , you know , whether it's better to lose to the champion or someone else. And they did lose to the Dodgers , who really that was really their only test that postseason , right ? I mean , what does that say about the Padres and their performance last year ? Yeah.

S2: You know , and it was interesting to see Mookie Betts and Dave Roberts and a couple of other Dodgers people say during the off season that the Padres were the toughest team they played all year , and that they thought that once that you know , that if they could beat the Padres in the playoffs , nobody else was going to stand in their way. It's very nice for them , I guess , to be magnanimous after winning a World Series. But , you know , it's it's tough with the Padres. I think every once in a while you do have to sort of look back a little bit at how far they've come. You know , I bring this up , I'm a broken record. Um , on on your show about this. But , you know , I'm a San Diego native. I worked at Qualcomm Stadium selling peanuts when I was in high school. Uh , I've watched more Padre baseball than I would care to admit in a public forum to come as far as they've come , and to be as relevant as they are is really an accomplishment. And if you're going to gauge your success every year against what the Dodgers do when the Dodgers have unlimited resources and , you know , superstars left and right , um , you're always going to come away disappointed. I think that to look at this and say , hey , the Padres had one of the best seasons in their history. They pushed a dominant team to the brink in the playoffs. I think that that's a success. And I think that success in 2025 will probably be measured more by can they get to the playoffs somehow , then will they finish better than the Dodgers ? And we'll see if that happens.

S1: So , you know , moving on from last year now to the off season to add to that disappointment and that relationship with the Dodgers. Again , there was a pretty , you know , high stakes free agent that the Padres were looking at Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki , who went on to sign with the Dodgers.

S2: It was the Dodgers , Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays. Um , the Padres really thought that they had a shot. You know , the industry expectation from the second Sasaki said that he was going to leave the Japanese League and come to the United States. Was that the Dodgers ? You know , all , but had him already , and I think the Padres might have made it a little bit of a tougher choice. Um , just with the presentation that they put through , you know , it's not unlike the presentation they made to , um , Shohei Ohtani when he ended up signing with the angels years ago. Uh , you know , they really , you know , emphasized a lot of the former Japanese baseball players who they have in their organization. Um , really emphasized , uh , you know , the strides that they've made overseas to get players. And , you know , it just wasn't enough. And , you know , because the Dodgers or the Dodgers and like I said , they have unlimited resources. Not only did they sign rookie Sasaki , but they went and they signed Blake Snell , a Padre Cy Young Award winner. They went and they signed Tanner Scott , the guy who's the Padres set up man last season and will now be the closer for the Dodgers. Um , it's insane how much talent is on that team heading into this season. You know , the oddsmakers have them winning something along the lines of 100 and 107 games or something like that. They are a powerhouse. And , you know , the Padres have gotten a little bit better and we can talk a little bit more about that. But the Padres have gotten a little bit better , but the Dodgers have just blown everybody else away this offseason. You know , as if winning the World Series wasn't enough , they then went out there and got , I would say , maybe three of the best ten players available. And that means they're going to likely be just as good , if not better , this season.

S1: So , you know , for the Padres , what's been your impression of the team ? The spring training.

S2: You know , it's hard to to put too much stock in what happens every spring. Uh , on paper , the Padres aren't winning a lot in Cactus League play. The good news is , is that Cactus League play doesn't matter. Uh , this is a roster that I think has improved if if maybe only slightly , uh , from last year. Um , yes. They've lost some guys. Truex and Profar left for a big deal with the Atlanta Braves. Tanner Scott went to the Dodgers. Um , there are some other players that have signed other places , but , you know , they've been able to augment that with some , I think , fairly solid pickups. You know , you look at a guy like Nick Pivetta , uh , he'll come in and he'll be their number three or their number four starter depending on what's going on with you Darvish. Uh they think that they have some good young players in Jackson Merrill obviously. Uh you know my colleague Kevin AC you know beats this drum throughout the season. And it's true. We can talk about all the other fringe pieces heading into a Padres season. The reality is if their superstars play like superstars , they're going to be just fine. And that means Manny Machado , Fernando Tatis Jr , Xander Bogaerts , somebody who , you know , has been a disappointment , frankly , since he signed with this club two years ago. Um , if they play the way they're capable of playing , the Padres will be completely fine. Um , if they struggle and if the Padres are unable to get sort of , you know , big seasons like they got from Profar a year ago or like they got from Jackson Merrill a year ago. If they struggle in , the Padres can't find somebody else to pick up the slack. That's when you really run into trouble. So , um , really interesting to see. You know , Tatis and Machado both appear to be healthy after battling some injuries the last couple of years. Sandra Bogaerts came back from a shoulder fracture last year and was better towards the end of last season. Um , he's still not the player who he was in Boston. Um , so , you know , there's a I think there's a lot to like heading into the season , but but there are question marks , too.

S1: I want to talk more about Jackson Merrill.

S2: You know , they had moved him from shortstop to center field in spring training , if only because they had nobody else to play center field. And , you know , not only did he become a Gold Glove caliber outfielder. Uh , he put together one of the better rookie seasons in Padres history. He finished second in National League Cy Young Award voting. Um , to Paul Skins , who is a pitcher from the Pittsburgh Pirates and a social media star because , frankly , he's dating Livy Dunn , the LSU gymnast who's a very big deal on online. I think that there was a little bit of the dreaded East Coast bias there. Uh , Jackson Merrill was , I think , the best rookie in the National League and possibly in baseball a year ago. And somebody who , you know , there is a childlike enthusiasm there. Um , he's 20 , I think , about ready to turn 21. He's still very young. He is every Padres favorite Padre , which is cool. You know , he I think works hard , is all about baseball and is somebody who , if he can do this every year , year in and year out , will be the next Padres star. But being really good in baseball , year in and year out is a hard thing to do. And so we'll see what happens. You know , sophomore slumps. That's a cliche for a reason. They happen. And so we'll see what happens for him heading into 2025.

S1:

S2: And they're number two starters Michael King and Dylan Cease. Um , they're both in the final years of contracts with the club. Uh , they're both in line for big paydays. Uh , whether it's from the Padres or somebody else starting next season , Dylan Cease threw the second No-hitter in Padre history last July in Washington , DC. Um , Michael King was their game one starter in their postseason series against the Atlanta Braves. And both were just incredible down the stretch. Uh , you know , with A12 of cease and and king. Uh , King is going to be their opening day starter with A12 of season king. It's that's very solid. If Darvish is able to go and slot into their number three spot. Then you have Nick Pivetta at the four spot. He's an off season free agent acquisition that is a formidable pitching rotation to start the season. You know , you probably realistically need 8 or 9 guys to slot in during the course of a long year. Um , but this is as good a one , two , potentially three , uh , as they've had in a very long time.

S1:

S2: Uh , Joe Musgrove needed Tommy John surgery after exiting the playoff game last year with an elbow problem. Um , he has said that his plan is to be ready for the playoffs and that he'll be , you know , throwing and and should be back to help the Padres in the postseason. Um , you know , medical history says , uh , and sort of baseball says that most pitchers miss the full season. And so we'll see. Um , you know , if the Padres are not in a position to compete down the stretch , I don't think we'll see Joe Musgrove in 2025. Um , if this if this is a playoff run or a playoff team , you'll , you know , Joe Musgrove will push and push to try to get back out there in time to help out his hometown club.

S1: Earlier you mentioned , you know , the topic of paydays and contracts. And this Padre season , it starts in the midst of a lawsuit between members of the Seidler family over control of the team.

S2: Uh , this is all happening in a in a Texas court. Uh , Peter Seidler , uh , lived in Texas part time and lived in San Diego part time. Uh , the reality is , is in early March , um , or earlier this month , uh , Major League Baseball approved John Seidler , Peter Seidler , his brother , as , uh , the new chairman of the club. Uh , in the eyes of Major League Baseball , he is the one who is in charge. Uh , Seidler talked to Kevin AC , uh , from my paper , uh , a little bit , uh , what , couple of weeks ago about his role with the club. And , you know , he had spent a lot of time at the ballpark last year , uh , lives downtown. Um , is somebody who , you know , even though he's sort of at retirement age , seems ready to jump into this new role with both feet. Uh , Kevin reported that , you know , John Seidler shares a lot of his brother Peter's , uh , positive traits , uh , and is somebody who has promised a couple of things. Number one , that , you know , he won't , that he will continue Peter Sandler's legacy of trying to push to win every year. And number two , that the Padres aren't going anywhere. Um , one of the things that was included in one of the filings from Sheila Adler's attorneys was the idea that the , uh , that the rest of the Seidler family might explore moving the club if they were put in charge. And , uh , that was debunked or at least denied rather quickly , not only by the Padres but by John Seidler. So he is the boss heading into the 2025 season. And I think barring a court injunction , uh , is the boss for the foreseeable future.

S1: So we'll kind of continue to follow that little palace intrigue piece of it. But again , zooming out to on the field. Opening day Thursday. Petco is going to be packed , I'm sure.

S2: Uh , they were a playoff team last year , and that was without Spencer Strider , who was their ace , and without Ronald Acuna Jr , who is still hurt. Won't be back until May. This is a team much like the Padres that expects to make the playoffs every year. This is a team much like the Padres that has spent a lot of money , um , acquiring good , talented players. I think it's going to be a playoff like atmosphere at Petco Park. It's going to be Chris Sale against Michael King on Opening Day. Uh , Chris Sale , uh , Cy Young Award winner , uh , Michael King , somebody who the Padres think very highly of. Uh , I think we're going to see really good well played baseball early in the season. After that , the Padres play the Guardians , uh , from Cleveland , another playoff caliber team. Uh , so I think it's going to be fun to start. Uh , one of the things that's really interesting is it's going to be months before the Padres play the Dodgers for the first time. And so by the time they line up , I believe it's in June. Uh , you know , when they play each other for the first time , I think we'll have a much better idea of where the Padres sit in the baseball world. Uh , are they that playoff team heading for a wildcard spot or even , you know , maybe upsetting the Dodgers in the National League West ? Or is this a rebuilding year ? Um , I don't think it is. I think that they're a wildcard club , but , you know , they'll have a couple of months before they have to face LA. That's probably a good thing.

S1: When we come back , the Padres aren't the only team starting up a new season. San Diego Wave FC are back with a new coach and a new style.

S3: It's going to be fast paced , it's going to be very exciting , and it's going to lead to a lot of goals on the defensive end , but also it's going to lead for a lot of exciting attack for San Diego.

S1: That's ahead on KPBS roundtable. You're listening to KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken. Today we're talking about San Diego sports with the return of the Padres and San Diego Wave FC. I'm joined by the Union Tribune's Ryan Finley. So we've covered the Padres and their upcoming Opening Day. I want to move over now to the San Diego Wave FC and their season. I want to bring in Tony Sanchez to the conversation. He's the founder of San Diego Football , also co-host of the San Diego soccer podcast Two Balls and a mic. Tony , welcome back to roundtable. Ryan gave us the lowdown on the 2025 Padres. Let's talk about the wave now. One impression I get from this team is that it feels a little bit of a team in transition.

S3: And thank you for the invitation , uh , this team for the San Diego wave that has coming in this year is , uh , very new in terms of faces to the league , faces to the club , uh , from within the pitch and outside the pitch. The San Diego wave organization had a lot of turnaround in terms of front office personnel as well as the players themselves. They've been scouting across the world and have brought talent , uh , all the way from different nationalities , uh , over from Colombia. They've brought in some Nigerian players as well , tapped into , uh , some French national team players , which they saw success in last year by having players like Delfino Cascarino or Pearl Moroni on the French national team , now adding a Kenza Dali who also plays in the midfield. So this team is going to be very much new. You're not going to see the Alex Morgan's name , you're not going to see the up and coming , uh , Jaden Shaw or even a Naomi Girma. This team is very much moving into a new space and with a new head coach as well of Yona Silva with experience in the women's soccer League in England , coaching for the Arsenal women's team over there and finding success. So overall , it's going to be a very , very new San Diego Wave team taking the field here this weekend against Utah.

S1:

S3: This first , this last weekend. This style of play is going to be tiring if I want to go ahead and just give it a very , very , uh , simple word is tiring in the sense that there's a lot of energy that's getting output. Uh , if the team doesn't have the ball , that means all 11 players are actively in a position to get back that possession of the ball , because that's going to be the bread and butter when they have the ball. San Diego Wave is going to be a team that's going to move incredibly quickly from the back , all the way into the front , through the midfield and work their way through their wings. And so what that needs is a large amount of fitness , a just a level of conditioning that most players around the world wouldn't even be able to get to. And so the first building blocks for Yona side of the ball is really getting these players fit , and then also being able to work in certain details. Uh , so sometimes in training in soccer , you have plans for corners , you have plans for a direct free kick , but you want outside of all focuses on simple things such as throw ins and just how to take and be advantageous with throw in positioning and just little simple one on one sort of tactics that these professional players have not necessarily move past. But it's easier to go ahead and have a very bare bones style of attack and be efficient and economic with the energy output. So it's going to be fast paced , it's going to be very exciting , and it's going to lead to a lot of goals on the defensive end , but also it's going to lead for a lot of exciting attack for San Diego.

S1: The new season kicks off. You kind of mentioned this with one key piece not on this year's team. They lost arguably their best player , Naomi Girma. She moved over to Chelsea in what was a record transfer fee.

S3: And what was successful for getting somebody like Naomi to begin with ? Uh , there is no college draft for NWSL anymore. So there is a lot of players that become available. One of the players that's coming in and actually part of that lineage of Stanford University and , uh , and college players coming in , uh , was Kennedy , Wesley Kennedy Wesley is the new center back here that's going to be , uh , trusted and moving forward for San Diego Wave. And she's a very intelligent player and mirrors a lot of what Naomi Girma did. Well , you're never going to one by one for one replace a player like Naomi Girma. But you can also have , uh , players in place that are going to supplement a style of defense that doesn't over rely on one , one player. If there's one good thing about having Naomi Girma not be there anymore , it's that the overreliance on one player in defense. So now the defensive front is more important. Pearl Maroney is learning the style of NWSL a little bit better over on the left hand side. Hannah Lundqvist , the Swedish national team player on the right side , who also has that attacking minded style of play from the back. And then everything gets cemented with your captain , your leader , Caitlin Sheridan. And so this , uh , combination of amalgam of , uh , soccer philosophies is going to be interesting to really take in , and it's going to be a matter of Yona of all putting them into prime positions to be able to execute not just on defense , to be able to carry the ball from the back and really be the first attackers and set up that midfield to go and , uh , attack the opponents from every whichever way they can.

S1: On this youth wave you mentioned. Talk to me about Melanie Barzani's. She's a 17 year old midfielder with the team. I think she's she's a San Diego native as well. She seemed to gone viral on on social media with some dribbling. Tell us more about her.

S3: Yeah , absolutely. One of the most exciting young players and talents that the NWSL as a league has. Melanie Martinez , uh , who is here from Claremont , uh , in the San Diego area , is a player that every coach has seen her play , whether it's Casey Stoney , Landon , Donovan , uh , and everybody in between is impressed by the fact that she's only 17 and is making moves and making defenders look absolutely silly on the run of play. Uh , but it's a matter of really harnessing and honing those skills and focusing them in a way that's going to be beneficial , not just for her highlight reel , but very beneficial for the style of play that is required of of , uh , Melanie Barzani's. The flair aspect is something that in soccer is definitely something that will accent her style of play , but it's not something that she needs to go ahead and go to the well for every single time. She's going to need to mature a little bit in terms of whether or not to do those moments when not to have a five star skill moment as well. She'll need to do the boring , uh , pass back at times , but that's going to allow for possession to be maintained and live another day. And so those are the things to look for , for Melanie by us. And whenever she does go in , it's one of the loudest pops that you will hear at Snapdragon Stadium. Uh , on any sort of , um , sporting event that's happened there. Um , Melanie is a fan favorite and for good reason. It's a good local product. And and a kid who has a chance to really become one of the most important players , not just for San Diego , not just for the league , but for the US women's national team as a whole.

S1: And that connection with fans is also so important. Ryan , I think the last time we had you on , we were talking about San Diego FC. And one thing that that I remember you saying was like , hey , if I was going to buy jerseys for , for my kid , these are the players I'd want.

S2: I said , you know , who's kind of the player who you put on the on the billboards now , right. Who's whose jersey are you selling in the team shop ? And the response was , you know , whoever scores the most goals , essentially. You know , I think that the most recognizable player on this team right now is Sheridan , their goalie. It would be weird seeing goalie jerseys for sale and team shop with their name and number on the back. So I don't know. I mean , I think Melanie Barnes makes a lot of sense as sort of the face of this franchise going forward. Um , the reality is it's been such a you use the word reset. Yeah , I hope it's a reset. I mean , it kind of felt a little bit like a tear down , you know , not only do you trade Jaden Shaw to the North Carolina courage , but , you know , you then transfer , uh , Naomi Girma , you know , for $1 million. I would hope that this international class that they've brought in , uh , is going to help and be productive. They certainly look great. In last weekend's opener , uh , against Angel City in Los Angeles. The new style of play , I think , like you said , uh , Tony makes for very exciting soccer. I thought it was compelling. And , uh , you know , hopefully they keep that up. But , you know , I think we're just gonna have to wait and see. There are so many unknowns in so many young , unproven players on this roster , or at least unproven in the NWSL. There are so many young and unproven players on this roster that I think we're just going to have to wait and see who steps up.

S1: So you both have talked about goalkeeper Caitlin Sheridan in the role she has on this team. I mean she really stood out in the opener. Can we consider her sort of the waves number one star at the moment Tony.

S3: I would say so at least locally , as somebody who has really ingrained themselves with the community and been a focal point , even with names like Alex Morgan here and Abby Dahlkemper at once , Caitlin Sheridan , being the captain of the defence and now captain of the team , really puts her in prime position to be somebody who can be vocal and really ask for change. Because if there's something that I've learned through covering the NWSL and San Diego Wave is that players are very much vocal about their needs and just in things that they would want to see and change , both on and off the field. And Caitlin Sheridan is a strong figure that definitely has that sort of leadership quality , and moving forward , it's going to be reliant and important to keep that because there is so many young players in this San Diego Wave team.

S1: Tony , I'm glad you mentioned there about player empowerment aspect of the wave and the NWSL. One unique thing about the league is they have sort of a different model , even in terms of free agency and what teams players go to. Right. Can you talk a little bit about what makes that league a little different and how it handles its players ? Absolutely.

S3: Uh , NWSL has actually championed , uh , the autonomy portion of a player and their right to know or have a deciding factor or decision making , uh , of where they want to land. So , uh , looking back at Jaden Shaw and her decision to leave , uh , San Diego wave , that's exactly what it was. Any player can request a trade , can request to move on , but they don't necessarily have to do that. If on the other side , a player needs to be moved , they have to consider the player's choice as far as if that's a good landing spot for them. And so that's really taking into consideration , uh , a player's perspective , which , uh , historically , not even here in the US , but just globally , uh , that's something that's never really taken into consideration at all. So NWSL is really moving into this , uh , very holistic sense for transfers that takes the player and the human being into consideration as well , not just for the development of the player themselves , but for the betterment of , say , a locker room. Uh , this is definitely going to be something where , uh , I can potentially see , uh , an exodus for some teams if things aren't working in their favor , if there's issues on and off the field and the front office , uh , players will start requesting these trades and , uh , as well as requesting to not go to certain teams. It's a very interesting aspect looking at how many NWSL veterans are on San Diego Wave , especially with everything that went on with the organization last year.

S2: If I could jump in here. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. Go ahead Ryan.

S2: It's a it is it's a it's a unique setup. Um , you know , I think in athletics , we're in an age of of athlete empowerment. And I think that that's a wonderful thing. But , you know , you look at the number of players who have requested trades out of San Diego , right ? Uh , Naomi Girma wanted to go play overseas. And to her credit , I would to , you know , she she got a lot of money to go play in England. And the way we're able to get a record setting million dollars in exchange for her. You know , Jaden Shaw requested a trade out of San Diego and got it. And the one that , you know , really struck me , I guess most strongly last year was when San Diego traded Abby Dahlkemper to BFC because Abby Dahlkemper is from the Bay area and wanted to go play for them while they and BFC were fighting for the same playoff spot. It's wild. And you know , I think that athlete empowerment again is a wonderful thing. But if you wonder sort of how San Diego or the San Diego wave got to this point , I think that it's , you know , not just necessarily trades , but it's respecting their players enough to send them where they want to go. And I think it's really hard to sustain success in that situation. And I wonder , you know , as we look at this 2025 season , you know , certainly there's GM and our first full year , a new owner and a new coach. You know , maybe the culture will improve to the point where their star players aren't asking to be moved.

S1: Up next , we continue our soccer conversation and hear about how one local team has responded to a controversial chant.

S3: There's an understanding , at least at a very base level , that if this is done , there's a chance that you are now inserting yourself into the field of play as a fan , which should never happen and influencing an outcome.

S1: Stay tuned. Roundtable's back after the break. This is KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken. Today on the show , a San Diego spring preview of the Padres and the San Diego Wave FC. I'm speaking with Tony Sanchez from San Diego Football , along with Ryan Finley of the Union Tribune. And Tony , you know , in this conversation around the wave and all that's new.

S3: Uh , they were very successful in that and also building a very strong competitive team. Uh , this team did win a supporter Shield , which is silverware in terms of , uh , the general soccer consensus of things. That's if you finished in first place on the general table. At the end of the season , you are considered the Supporter Shield winner. However , you don't win the championship. That then follows in a tournament style based on seeding the first one through eight. Um , but at the end of the day , Jill Ellis had an incredible impact on the soccer community here. But what I will say is that there last year almost negated a lot of those efforts because it was the opportunity that they had to grow the community , to grow the brand , to have a even better team coming into it , because they were the only show in town in terms of soccer. San Diego FC was coming and looming ahead , so this was really a chance to have San Diego Wave , build that community and build everything that they would want to be prepared , not necessarily to compete with San Diego FC , but potentially have an ecosystem that is both mutually exclusive and beneficial as their fan base is. There's not a lot of overlap with the fan base of San Diego FC and San Diego Wave , But if anything , I think San Diego Wave last year , with everything that did happen with Jill Ellis , uh , very much hurt the prospect of having as successful of a season as you can potentially have now that you have these two teams , entities sharing and non-specific soccer stadium.

S1: So , you know , on the topic of San Diego FC , I mean , one unfortunate story that came out of their first home game was a chant , this homophobic chant that some of the crowd was doing in the second half of that match. And I know , Tony , this is something you've been talking about on your podcast. After that match , the team announced changes for the second game to prevent it from happening again.

S3: Uh , San Diego FC pretty much took the model of what CEO Tom Penn did when his tenure in Lafc , when they founded the club and had the same issue , which essentially is first step one , you put the head coach out there in the press conference immediately following the first game when it happened , and say that they vehemently , um , are against any sort of discrimination. And the use of that chant , followed by a collaborative effort with the independent supporter union and messaging saying this is not allowed. This did not come from the Independence Supporters Union at all during game. Um , but then also having those next steps in terms of being , um , proactive , having messages on the video board before the game , having messages and players on the microphone , asking the fans to not do this in order to affect what happens on the field. And so , uh , they did a very good job on the second game of really quelling any sort of , uh , happenings. Once again. Uh , in the second game , there was , uh , one instance where it did , uh , sound throughout Snapdragon Stadium. That was towards the very end of the match where , um , once frustrations are build , once some fans are there all day , uh , enjoying some libations , they get to a certain point where they just let their inhibitions take over and go ahead and do that chant. And so there were messaging , uh , from Snapdragon and San Diego FC to stop that as they have , uh , three step process where , um , one is to have the video boards and the PA announced that that's not accepted. If that is done for a third time , there is a chance that a game could be abandoned and forfeited from there on. So the second game , it was taken care of much , much better than it was in the first game.

S1:

S3: Uh , not really taking the consideration that CFC and the facilities would have their own rules that prohibit this. Uh , there's also the side that is saying , hey , well , we speak Spanish. That's not necessarily what that word means at all times. And now we're getting into a discussion of the root of meaning of a word. Uh , and then that also has the branch of , well , why are you now educating me on terms of what this word means if you don't even speak Spanish ? And at the same time you have the these the side of , well , this is where it is unacceptable. It creates this sort of situation. It is a homophobic slur that is used , and it's very near and dear to a lot of the communities heart , especially here in San Diego , such an LGBTQ plus community that we have. And so when I say everything under the sun , it's literally everything. But I think there's an understanding , at least at a very base level , that if this is done , there's a chance that you are now inserting yourself into the field of play as a fan , which should never happen , and influencing an outcome. If you are paying for a ticket that you choose to do this in , that is what you do with your and your prerogative to spend your money however you want. However , there are consequences for your actions. I think that message was clear cut and is now understood by the majority of the fan base here in San Diego City.

S1: You know , talking about San Diego FC , obviously the waves , this is their first season where there is a major League Soccer team. How do you see that this different soccer environment impacting the wave now ? I mean do they see San Diego FC as competition ? Are they partners. Is it sort of a rising tide lifts all boats situation.

S3: Yeah I mean it's a box that's being checked. If it's a box that is available both teams will check it. Yes. We're going to go ahead and do this. We're going to go ahead and do this for San Diego Wave. Uh , there's a lot of aspects that they could have gotten a head start on , and they still can't get a head start on looking at San Diego FC. They have this right to Dream Academy that will have a charter school basis sort of outlook for students and children here in San Diego That will go over and train at their academy from the moment that they're 12 , all the way through college. This is not exclusive to boys. It's also for girls to go ahead and develop into the team. That's an opportunity there. That San Diego Wave can definitely work and nurture and potentially get some local stars and local talent. However , that's not exactly where they're they're at. There is competition aspect. Looking at the official number of Snapdragon Stadium for San Diego FC and then breaking the record , it seemed like it was almost a , um , an extra amount of people just smushed in a couple of suites to say , yes , we got the record to face that broke , uh , everything that San Diego FC , uh , San Diego Wave was able to do in terms of wave. However , I do think that it's going to be beneficial for them. But they have their own fan base. They appeal to , uh , a certain family aspect that San Diego FC is mutually exclusive to those two fanbases don't overlap. And even thinking about big events , there was a series with the San Diego Padres and the Dodgers locally that competed directly with San Diego Wave and a match they had , and both events were sold out on that same day and the same hour. So I do believe there's space and enough a piece of the pie for everybody involved , especially in soccer as well , who I mean , historically , San Diego is known as a soccer town.

S1:

S2: Right. I think they attract different things. Um there's that. The problem is this I think San Diego is a savvy sports town and specifically a savvy soccer town. To me , the challenge for the wave is going to be forget filling the stadium. Let's talk about getting the stadium half full without Alex Morgan. And you know , Tony , you made a great point about a lot of the good that Jill Ellis did when she was here. And a lot of that had to do with things like attendance and relevance. I'm not sure that that wasn't Alex Morgan as much as it was Jill Ellis. And I think that San Diego soccer fans in San Diego , sports fans , you know , they need it. They need stars. I think San Diego FC did the right thing by going out and getting Chucky Lozano , somebody who's very popular among San Diego FC's growing fan base. I don't see that with the wave yet. And I wonder if the wave we're going to struggle at the turnstiles this year simply because they they lack a star player. Or if somebody is going to emerge , you know , if Melanie Barnes , who again , wildly popular on social media , a San Diego native , still a teenager , somebody who you could definitely build around , you know , if Melanie Barnes takes over , maybe everybody's wearing the Melanie Barnes jerseys , but I think it's going to be a real challenge this year for the wave to draw. Um , without Alex Morgan , who was , you know , universally beloved in not only the soccer community but the non soccer community. People would go see Alex Morgan play even if they didn't know much about soccer , because they knew she was important. And so we'll see what happens to. Sure.

S1: Well , Ryan , I think you've made the point before on our show. I don't know how kind of fickle San Diego sports fans can be. I mean , there's so much to do here. It can be hard to kind of capture their attention.

S3: Uh , that's not what is prognosticate for the rest of the season. However , I do think that there is enough of a fan base to taper off and have a good outing , like , uh , that lower bowl of Snapdragon Stadium , if that gets filled to an average of 20,000. That's still a very high average in terms of the NWSL. Last week , the NWSL had Angel City and San Diego Wave be the second highest attended game in all the league. And so that's the standard that they have across the league. So if you can be at the top of that , I think the San Diego Wave will be content. It's going to be interesting. Also , looking at San Diego FC and what their attendance tapers off to as well. We're right now have the new shiny object and there is going to be people in those seats. But even looking at this last the second game for San Diego FC , they registered 30,000. But having been at Snapdragon it looked a little bit more like 27,000 were actually in attendance. So if those are the numbers that are going to be competed for , and both teams end up tapering off at a lower bowl 20,000 , that's going to be something that's very interesting in terms of negotiating power , potentially , because if both teams have a good outing , even 20,000 in MLS is a good number. Uh , that's going to , uh , lead to interesting times , uh , to speak about , hey , Snapdragon maybe needs to charge another team a little bit more , just , uh , up another couple of dollars in rent. But , uh , it's going to be interesting to look at for the future as well.

S2: San Diego State football would kill for 20,000 a game. You know , it's , uh. Yeah , it's strange. And I wonder if they're going to run into the same issues that I think that the Aztecs have run into a little bit , which is ticket prices are very high. You know , they're high for San Diego FC , too. You know , when the wave , the wave have been really smart over the years , making it affordable for families. Um , you know , there's always a ticket deal for a couple of games a year that that makes it , uh , you know , really a good night out. I took advantage of that last year. Took my kids. It was a blast. Um , you know , we'll San Diego FC start doing more like that , more things like that. Um , and , you know , San Diego State , I think is starting to learn a little bit that , you know , not every ticket has to be , you know , a Padre level ticket price to get in. Just because people will pay to go see the Padres doesn't necessarily mean that they'll go see pay that to see everybody else. So yeah , it's it's the big challenge. You know , how do three teams. So San Diego State football San Diego Wave in San Diego FC. How do they all sort of not only share the stadium but navigate the challenge of filling the stadium for every game ? It's it's a puzzle.

S1: And yet a lot of options for San Diego sports fans , which is kind of cool. Tony The Wave they're kicking off against the Utah Royals on Saturday at Snapdragon.

S3: And so I really expect this to be a San Diego Wave dominated team , uh , dominated game where you're really going to see and showcase Yolngu side of all style , of play , of possession and playing really quickly and fast. What happened last game against Angel city is that they came out very well in the first half with energy , high press and looked very dynamic , but they ran out of steam. Uh , it is going to be a matter of seeing how sustainable this style of play is going to be in the long run , but at least for this Saturday against , uh , the Utah Royals , uh , as they welcome two former wave players in Caleb Riel and Madison Bogart , uh , this is going to be a matchup that San Diego Wave should be winning. And it'll be interesting to keep seeing how this team grows and develops with the new pieces that they have.

S1: Well , it'll be great to see all the excitement around town over the next week as these new seasons kick off. I want to thank both of you for joining us today , Ryan Finley. He's sports editor with the San Diego Union Tribune. Ryan , thanks for joining us again.

S2: Of course , I'm a regular now , man. Any time you need me , I'm I'm happy to. Come on.

S1: And also , Tony Sanchez has been here. He's founder of San Diego Football , also co-host of the San Diego soccer podcast Two Balls and a mic. Tony , thanks so much for breaking it down. All the soccer happening in San Diego , it's a lot going on.

S3: Yeah it is , but you know what ? We're here for it. Thank you. You can check it all out San Diego football.

S1: That'll do it for our show this week. Thanks so much for listening to KPBS roundtable. You can listen to the show anytime as a podcast. Roundtable airs on KPBS FM at noon on Fridays again Sundays at 6 a.m.. If you have any thoughts on today's show , you can email us at roundtable at KPBS. Org or leave us a message at (619) 452-0228. Roundtables. Technical producer this week was Brandon Truffaut. The show was produced by Ashley Rush. Brooke Ruth is Roundtable's senior producer. Supervising producers. Quinn Owen. I'm Andrew Bracken. Thanks again for listening and have a great weekend.