Laurence Scott is a longtime Bay Area resident who has witnessed the growth of soccer in the San Francisco Bay region, he often thinks back to watching the San Jose Clash at Spartan Stadium in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer and feeling a sense of pride that there was a professional soccer once again to support in the South Bay. The original Quakes in the NASL had a fervent following in the decades before, yet World Cup matches having just been played at Stanford Stadium was certainly a catalyst for wider interest in the sport and now this comes full circle again this year with the World Cup coming back to the South Bay. All told, the Bay Area’s soccer legacy is a rich history spanning over a century as immigrant clubs brought a spirit to the region that extends to this day with true support for the women’s game, youth soccer in underserved communities and technology integration into the world’s sport. Sharing this unique Bay Area sports history is a true honor as so much passion for the sport has been building over the decades.
Three words that describe the San Francisco Bay Area
Innovative, Driven, Driving
If you could only name three people to San Francisco Bay Area’s sport hall of fame, who’d they be?
Stephen Curry, Jerry Rice, Rickey Henderson
Three brands associated with the San Francisco Bay Area
Apple, Google, Levi's
The one place in town that captures why the San Francisco Bay Area is a World Cup city
Intersections at Columbus, Broadway and Grant in SF (connecting Chinatown and North Beach) and a reminder of the incredible diversity and collection of cultures that make the Bay Area amazing
San Francisco's biggest rival
The Dodgers
One thing World Cup fans from overseas will be surprised to learn about the San Francisco Bay Area
The summer months in SF can get pretty chilly
Historical figure who’d be most proud or excited the San Francisco Bay Area is hosting a World Cup
I'm going with a journalism great known as 'Mr. San Francisco'... Herb Caen, Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco Chronicle columnist
Which team other than U.S. would feel at home if assigned to the San Francisco Bay Area as its World Cup base?
Pretty much all, but I'm going with a trio in thinking related culture/scenics... Italy, France, Portugal