Fans of the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy are well aware of the significance the California Clasico. Whether the teams are duking it out at Avaya Stadium, the StubHub Center or Stanford Stadium, the raucous crowds are evidence enough that soccer fans in California are proud to support their local clubs in the annual derby matches.
But now we have evidence that the rest of the country cares about this rivalry too.
Saturday night’s slugfest in front of nearly 51,000 fans was the first Major League Soccer match broadcast live on Univision since 1999. The calculated risk to throw two of the most storied and historic clubs in the league on the American Spanish language broadcast television network paid off in a major way.