LA Galaxy and fans believe team is back where it should be after MLS Cup

CARSON, Calif. -- It was only about 18 months ago when Dignity Health Sports Park was emptier than usual. 

LA Galaxy fans were fed up after almost a decade of early-round exits and failures to qualify for the playoffs. 

The first team to five MLS Cup victories, one that once made headlines for the impact of stars like David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, was no longer in the spotlight after crosstown rival LAFC began play in 2018, winning the Western Conference twice and raising the MLS Cup trophy once in their first five years. 

“It was like watching little brother get everything that you always wanted for yourself,” said Edgar Zuniga, 48, of Pomona, California, and a charter member of the supporter group, Galaxians. “Galaxy struggled for everything that they got. LAFC got a nice stadium. They got a stadium in a location near downtown. They got a million owners.” 

But, after Galaxy fans boycotted games in 2023, leading to the firing of club president Chris Klein, their favorite team has returned to the limelight as 2024 MLS Cup Champions Saturday, a spot many feel is where they belong.

Manny Hernandez, 32, of Los Angeles and a Galaxy fan since the team’s inaugural year, 1996, said winning is in the team’s DNA, and the team’s run brought back memories from his childhood. 

“Getting back to the top feels great,” Hernandez said. “But it's also like, we're back. This is who we are always are. Always first place.”

Will Kuntz re-tooled the Galaxy’s roster after being named general manager (GM) in December of 2023 after serving as the team's senior vice president of player personnel and as an assistant GM for LAFC. 

Arguably, Kuntz’s most notable moves were the additions of forwards Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil, who combined for 32 goals in the regular season. 

In the MLS Cup, in front of 26,818 fans, Paintsil scored after timing a run well on a through ball from midfielder Gastón Brugman to put the Galaxy ahead in the ninth minute en route to a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls.  

“[The fans] give us the energy to push harder, and now we have been successful,” said Paintsil postgame.

Mark Delgado, in his third season with the Galaxy, said the team wanted to avoid repeating their 2023 failure, in which they finished second to last in the Western Conference. However, from the first match of the season against Inter Miami CF, in front of a sold-out crowd, he knew their team “was different.”

“This is where the Galaxy is supposed to be,” said Delgado after the match. “To be a part of history and to get that six star, forever written, is super special.”

Coach Greg Vanney said the Galaxy's supporters aided their high-powered attack. The team, undefeated at home in 2024, enjoys playing at their stadium while showing the fans their aggressive and entertaining soccer style.

“This is the expectation of the LA Galaxy,” said Vanney Wednesday. “This is what our fans expect. This is what the brand has expected because of the history and legacy created here.”

“One of the things we talked about at the beginning of the year, low-hanging fruit for us, was to make this building more of a fortress,” Vanney also said.

One of many people contributing to that “fortress” is Geovany Jimenez, 30, of Maywood, California, who said he said he feels the Galaxy’s current front office and players connected with the fans instead of being “shut down.” 

He, who watched the 2011 and 2012 MLS Cups from his dorm room at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, said he feels the atmosphere has been livelier in 2024 compared to previous years, noticing many new fans.

“History proves and shows what we've been all about,” Jiminez said. “No matter what happened, what occurred and who came into the league, you look up who's the best team in the United States, Galaxy is number one. I don't think much has changed. We are still here. Look at us now.”