Fresno Foxes in Second Place in USL West

By Peter Maiden

The Fresno Bee reported on July 18 that the Fresno Foxes are not bringing in as big a crowd as last season, around 710 less people on average per game. Aside from Vida en el Valle, local media has given these games little coverage. And the Foxes are giving out less free tickets this year.

Maikel Chang of the Real Monarchs hangs his head after the Foxes took a 1-0 lead over his team in a game on Aug. 16. He is walking in the haze created by smoke bombs let off by celebrating Foxes fans. Chang is from Havana, Cuba. In the second half, the Real Monarchs came back
with a goal and the game ended in a tie. Thus, the Foxes did not suffer a loss in eight games. Photo by Peter Maiden

Also, some fans resent that the venue, Chukchansi Park, showed an Independence Day video at a baseball game this year that portrayed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) as being anti-American.

Despite there being reasons for low attendance, as the Foxes close in on the championship, a new kind of enthusiasm could arise, leading to bigger crowds. The Foxes are now tied for second place in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League (USL). These are certainly exciting games that are taking place, and it is a distinction for Fresno to have a successful team in professional soccer.

Home games coming up in the regular season are against Rio Valley Grande on Sept. 18, Phoenix Rising on Sept. 21, Seattle Sounders 2 on Oct. 5 and LA Galaxy 2 on Oct. 12. Kickoff time for all games is 7:30 p.m.

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Peter Maiden is a staff photographer for the Community Alliance newspaper. He studied media at UC Berkeley. Contact him at maidenfoto1@gmail.com.

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Community Alliance

The Community Alliance is a monthly newspaper that has been published in Fresno, California, since 1996. The purpose of the newspaper is to help build a progressive movement for social and economic justice.

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