While April 2 is cause for celebration, it will be difficult for many inside Avaya Stadium not to look up at the skies and wonder what a departed friend would make of all this.
Peter Bridgwater passed away in 2005, but his legacy is all around us.
This was the man who brought soccer to the Bay Area and ensured it survived some incredibly testing times.
The man who, after the North American Soccer League folded, took the step keeping the Earthquakes alive, ensuring that it could be resurrected along with the team.
The man who brought the 1994 World Cup to Stanford Stadium, ensuring people almost 500,000 people could watch and develop a passion for the global game.