It's a Southern California sports tradition that all major professional sports teams pay homage to their City of Angels neighbors with a "themed" night during the season.
On Saturday night, it was the new kid on the block's turn, as the Los Angeles Football Club hosted the first annual Dodgers night at the new Banc of California Stadium.
Fans who purchased tickets for the special "Dodgers Night," received a limited edition LAFC/Dodgers t-shirt and an exclusive opportunity to meet Dodgers legends, Manny Mota and Spanish Language broadcaster, Jaime Jarrín.
Mota spent the last 13 years of his career as a pinch hitter for the Dodgers from 1969-82. He was also a player-coach from 1980-82, winning the World Series in 1981. His coaching career with the Dodgers lasted from 1980-2013, which included the team’s last championship (1988). He’s now a part of the Dodgers Spanish language broadcast team, along side Jarrín, who has been around since 1959 and has a place in the Hall of Fame.
Normally, when a professional sports team hosts a themed night for another LA-based team, current players are honored before the game. However, with the Dodgers currently entrenched in a playoff chase in St. Louis, no players were on hand for the match against the New England Revolution.
Despite no current players in attendance, that didn't stop LAFC captain Carlos Vela from wearing a custom No. 10 Dodgers jersey with his name on the back.
Vela arrived to the stadium in the jersey, and wore it during his postgame press conference after the Black and Gold tied the Revs 1-1, to earn a crucial point in their own playoff race with just five matches remaining on the season.
At one point, Vela was asked in Spanish what position he would play if he were on the Dodgers, and he responded by saying, "I'm a striker, so I would be a great pitcher, no?"
Despite the draw, the match was a milestone for LAFC head coach Bob Bradley as he coached his 300th career MLS Game.
Although many coaches have taken their teams to the MLS Cup with multiple franchises, Bradley could become the first coach in league history to lead two different first-year teams to the championship game in their expansion season.
LAFC is currently in third place with four points behind Sporting KC for first place in the Western Conference.
