{"id":37575,"date":"2021-09-29T13:48:19","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T17:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=37575"},"modified":"2021-10-23T16:55:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T20:55:46","slug":"defending-the-badge-loyal-400-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2021\/09\/29\/defending-the-badge-loyal-400-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending the Badge: The loyal 400 ride to Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*Defending the badge will be a recurring series dedicated to the Los Angeles Galaxy player that defended the blue, white and gold shield\/crest\/badge in the most exemplary manner in the previous match.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a sight to behold.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last Sunday, over 400 beautiful blue, white, and gold souls marched together on North Austin roads.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All the Los Angeles Galaxy supporters groups were represented. California area codes spanning from Lancaster to San Diego were too. And it would be an injustice not to mention the G\u2019s that traveled from other states like Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last Word colleague and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2021\/09\/27\/gaines-return-austin-fc-victory\/\" target=\"_self\">Austin F.C. beat writer Mark Turner remarked<\/a> that the traveling support was probably the \u201clargest traveling fan contingent we\u2019ve (Austin has) seen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The largest traveling fan contingent we\u2019ve seen <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Q2Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Q2Stadium<\/a> this season? I think so, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAGalaxy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@LAGalaxy<\/a> \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb Take note <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FCDallas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FCDallas<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HoustonDynamo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@HoustonDynamo<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ATXvLAG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ATXvLAG<\/a> | 0-0 | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/austinfc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#austinfc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LAGalaxy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LAGalaxy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MLS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MLS<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jhiDVrqWtB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/jhiDVrqWtB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Turner Talks Footy (@TurnerTalkFooty) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TurnerTalkFooty\/status\/1442300840723853316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The plaudits came in from other Austin fans too, who were as impressed as Turner with how fervently Galaxy fans supported their team despite traveling almost 1,400 miles to watch Los Angeles <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2021\/09\/27\/gaines-return-austin-fc-victory\/\" target=\"_self\">lose 2-0<\/a> to a team bottom of the table.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, the debut of this new weekly column called\u00a0<em>Defending the Badge<\/em>, meant to honor the best Galaxy player from the previous match is dedicated to you, the loyal 400 travelers who made the trip to Austin; the best supporters in the league.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The best support in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MLS<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wsWf0f7xmg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wsWf0f7xmg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAGalaxy\/status\/1442314255580254210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was you that defended the badge, crest and city the best.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And even if a Galaxy player had played well enough to earn themselves a space in this column, it would be hard to take it away from the supporters, who defended the colors with their typical rabid zeal for their usual 90+ and earned the respect of the home fans.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;The fans&#8230; deserve more.&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s not an opinion either.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Los Angeles Galaxy captain Jonathan Dos Santos addressed the team letting the supporters down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think the fans, the club, of course, deserve more,\u201d Dos Santos admitted. \u201cBut I want to tell you that we are working hard. We don\u2019t like to be in this situation. It\u2019s hard. Of course, it&#8217;s hard because nobody likes to be in these kinds of situations.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spanish midfielder Victor V\u00e1zquez took to the gram to ride the apology train with the captain and claimed that although the team \u201cgave everything,\u201d they now needed \u201ceveryone\u201d to turn it around.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got another final on Wednesday and we need everyone to turn this around.\u201d &#8211; Victor V\u00e1zquez <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2YcETWFFAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/2YcETWFFAJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAGalaxy\/status\/1442360075117637632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both players described each of the eight games remaining as a final.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re not wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only seven points separate fourth through tenth place and the Galaxy isn\u2019t exactly inspiring confidence in the fans that they\u2019ll turn it around.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They have their first chance Wednesday away at Real Salt Lake to make amends, however.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With two games in five days, though, including El Trafico on Sunday, Los Angeles might find it difficult to get the fans what they deserve; some wins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If they don\u2019t, next week\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defending the Badge<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will almost certainly be dedicated to the Los Angeles Galaxy supporters again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo: <a id=\"XY96qAtdS6FDMuYUY3PNQA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1318244299\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'XY96qAtdS6FDMuYUY3PNQA',sig:'Vj13bTZBKbewFsziLEsoYOufpKmWFE3fzxYXj4v9uUQ=',w:'594px',h:'430px',items:'1318244299',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defending the Badge, a new weekly column honoring excellence in representing the blue, white and gold, is dedicated to Galaxy supporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3969,"featured_media":37595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3114,17],"tags":[4619,1842,1345,4571,1200],"class_list":["post-37575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-austin-fc","category-galaxy","tag-defending-the-badge","tag-el-trafico","tag-jonathan-dos-santos","tag-mark-turner","tag-victor-vazquez"],"modified_by":"Matt Pollard","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}