Looking back at the LA Galaxy supporter boycott in 2023
The boycott played a big part in the story of the 2023 LA Galaxy and potentially the future of the club
You knew this LA Galaxy campaign was going to be different when all five LA Galaxy supporter groups announced they were set to boycott games this season. Chris Klein entered 2024 as club president of the Galaxy - his decade at the helm of the club saw LA’s descent from the gold standard in MLS to mediocrity in the last decade.
The boycott was announced in the middle of January and lasted until the end of May when Chris Klein was let go by the club. The boycott spanned seven games and the average attendance at Dignity Health Sports Park was 20,388. The Supporter Sections were empty and you could feel the absence of the people that cultivate the atmosphere around the grounds.
“When players play home games and they come to the stadium they play to perform in front of their fans to drive to draw that energy to use that energy,” said Greg Vanney during his end-of-the-season press confrence. Everyone felt the effects of the boycott and was felt by players during the season.
“Teams came in and saw an empty stadium and we're just like, alright, this is just no pressure at all right? Even though there was a battle happening on the field and we were fighting,” noted Mark Delgado on Monday.
“I don't want to take pride in making our stadium empty, that's not something that I'm proud of or anything like that. It's something that we had to do and something we felt necessary,” said LA Riot Squad President Andrew Alesana.
The LA Galaxy captured six points in the first 10 games of the season and only one win which came at home against Austin FC. The start of the campaign was one of the worst in club history and pressure began to build with the boycott as well.
The mix of poor on-the-field results and pressure from the boycotting fans then led to Chris Klein and LA Galaxy parting ways.
With Klein out, the LA Galaxy supporters returned to the stands for the club’s midweek match against Sporting Kansas City on June 21.
“That first home game back was like a Wednesday game but I mean, that game was probably more packed than the last like four or five games we've had. And that was like a cathartic experience,” said Alesana. The LARS section had been empty or occupied by casual fans during games but came to life in that game against Sporting Kansas City.
LA found their best form of the season after Klein’s departure with a seven-game unbeaten run. One of LA’s best matches this season was their 2-1 win against LAFC at Rose Bowl in front of 82,000 fans. This game was scheduled to be the season-opening game and would’ve been without LA Galaxy supporter groups if wasn’t rescheduled to the Fourth of July. This game could’ve been seen in a completely different light today if there was no passion in the stands to create such a magical night for Galaxy fans in attendance.
This boycott is a monumental moment in MLS history and LA Galaxy history. Supporters found an issue with something about their team and decided to create change through their absence.
“I do think that there's an element of people within and outside of the league that look at MLS supporters as sort of cookie-cutter… I do think we took a step towards legitimate legitimacy and relevance,” said Alesana.
“There's something to be said that we can make a change, that we can put our foot down and I do think that's important. It’s something that just doesn't happen in American sports really,” he added.
This has set a template of how supporters across the country can boycott when needed and that it does have a major impact on clubs. While the boycott wasn’t the sole reason for Klein’s departure, it played a major role in adding more pressure on the Galaxy to make a decision.
The Galaxy restructured the front office by appointing Tom Braun as President of Business Operations and the club's Chief Operating Officer (COO). Braun’s role is to oversee and lead all day-to-day facets of LA Galaxy business operations as well as other fiscal responsibilities around the club. Vanney would be solely responsible for the sporting aspects of the club.
“I had a one-on-one conversation with him for about 30-40 minutes, which was good and productive. I would say,” noted Alesana. Their discussion revolved primarily around trying to fill up Dignity Health Sports Park every matchday to make LA’s home fortress.
One of the major programs implemented since Braun became club president is the LA Galaxy Fan Council. According to a press release it states the council, “will be comprised of a diverse group of 15 members that represent the LA Galaxy fan base and will have a forum to provide feedback and make suggestions. Members of the Galaxy Fan Council will participate in quarterly meetings with LA Galaxy and AEG executives to discuss the gameday experience, concessions, season ticket benefits and more.”
Alesana told me he is not a fan of this new program. “I do have a problem with it because they refuse to let us organize it, not just supporters. I was trying to include everybody, all Galaxy fans,” he said. “I would prefer that we all organize together and put together a fan council for the front office”.
“I don't have honestly I don't have a huge hope for it to be effective or to make change of any sort. We'll see where it goes and see what they do with it,” said Alesana.
Even with Klein no longer with the club, there is still some disconnect between the Supporter Groups and higher-ups at the Galaxy. Mostly revolving around how the club views the supporter groups
“I think that's one of the big disconnects between us in the front office is that they look at us as like ticket salesman, as the as we're supposed to be the ones filling that section,” Alesana told me.
“That's not what we're doing. We're here to support the club and we want our numbers to be as big as possible but that doesn't mean we're gonna go out and sell your tickets.”
The boycott is a landmark moment in LA Galaxy that we will look back on years from now. It’s changed the trajectory of the club and structure of the club in less than a year. Time will tell if the Galaxy get back to the pedigree they once had.
“It's exciting to see what you know, what can come from all this, what new things we can achieve, and what new ideas we can try to implant in the front office,” said Alesana. 2024 will be a clean slate to start fresh and hopefully be a normal start to an MLS Season by LA Galaxy standards.
And the bickering among the supporter groups needs to stop.