Saturday brings one of the San Jose Earthquakes’ cherished annual traditions.
The Quakes will make the short trip northwest to Palo Alto to host their cross-state rivals, the LA Galaxy, in a California Clásico clash at Stanford Stadium, the noisy college football venue that usually packs in upwards of 50,000 fans for this special occasion – more than double the capacity of their usual home, PayPal Park (10:30 pm ET | Apple TV).
The intensity of those crowds tends to add further spice to an already-heated matchup. And with the Bay Area still awash in the glow of a highly successful turn as a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue, plus the excitement around San Jose’s resurgent start to the season, Bruce Arena’s squad are eager to seize the moment this weekend.
“I was honestly impressed by the turnout and how excited people have been around this area for the World Cup,” winger Ousseni Bouda told reporters earlier this week. “Just in San Jose, in San Pedro Square, there were so many people at the watch parties, and then all over, even in San Francisco.
“I think [with] that energy, there's no better time for us to have a Cali Clásico than now.”
Dedicated fans
Even with several teams perceived to have less mainstream appeal, the region's NFL stadium in Santa Clara was at or near full capacity for the six World Cup matches it hosted this summer, the highlight being a packed house for the US men's national team's 2-0 Round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1.
The Earthquakes hosted outdoor viewing parties at the San Pedro Square market in downtown San Jose throughout the tournament, drawing nearly a million attendees across the event, with the USMNT and Mexico particular draws.
It all offered a tantalizing sense of possibility for a club working hard to transcend several years of pronounced struggle in MLS.
“Obviously we have to have success on the field as well to take advantage of all of this,” Arena told reporters the day after the US-Bosnia match. “But the sport has grown in the country and is certainly getting good support in our area, so hopefully that says good things for the Earthquakes in the future, and our league as well.
“The potential here is awesome,” he added. “It's a great area, the Bay Area, with some of the biggest corporations in the world; the demographics are very favorable for our sport.”
Stanford's shining moment
Stanford holds plenty of soccer heritage unto itself.
Its men's and women's programs have each won three NCAA College Cup national championships, producing a multitude of future professional and international players – including Bouda – and the stadium's original iteration hosted several huge 1994 World Cup matches before a 2005-06 rebuild into its current configuration.
Every visit to “The Farm” gives the Quakes another chance to introduce themselves to that corner of their sprawling metropolitan region. With German star Timo Werner orchestrating the attack and a 10W-3L-2D record before MLS’s World Cup pause that has them tied with Vancouver Whitecaps FC for first place in the Western Conference, even after a frustrating 4-0 loss to Antoine Griezmann's Orlando City on Wednesday, they believe they're building something worth paying attention to.
“Especially with World Cup being here in the city, everybody's showing their love for the game, said striker Preston Judd, whose 11g/2a makes him the top-scoring domestic player in MLS at present.
“We have a good team here in the city that they can support. So everybody needs to come out, and we have a good chance this year – we're first in the Western Conference, so we got to keep on going and keep the fans coming, bring the noise.”
Growing the game in San Jose
Remarkably, PayPal Park has yet to host an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs match in its decade of existence. Changing that this autumn is job one for the Quakes, and a win in Saturday's Clasico is the next step.
“You can tell like soccer means a little bit more than what people think,” said All-Star defender Daniel Munie. “It's going to be a huge boost for American soccer and MLS going forward. So I'm really excited to see what it's capable of doing.
“Hopefully we can put on a good show.”
