Will the 3252 take over Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday?

The defending Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup Champions have begun their 2023 league campaign going undefeated in their first six matches, and they've secured a spot in the Champions League semifinal this week against their cross-conference rivals from Philadelphia. It's a really good time to be a LAFC fan. 

And it's a whole different story for LA Galaxy fans. 

The Galaxy are penultimate in the Western Conference standings, winless in their first six matches of 2023, and their supporters' groups are staying away from home matches at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, protesting club president Chris Klein. 

Earlier this week, Klein wrote an open letter to season ticket holders pledging to step down should the team fall short of its 2023 goals to make the playoffs and improve upon its 2022 performance. Some Galaxy fans are going as far as saying they would be happy with a LAFC win in Sunday's upcoming El Tráfico match in Carson if it accelerates Klein's resignation. 

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As The Striker's Alex Ruiz reported earlier this week, at least one Galaxy supporters' representative said the boycott would continue this week, characterizing it as being "willing to cede ground, our seat, our home, to people that are our rivals ... to save our club." 

Safe to say, this is not a normal derby week.

Typically, there would be banter on social media. Fans would wear gear around town and debate who the “real LA team” is with coworkers and friends from the other side. There would also be a vocal war between supporters in the Victoria Block, with the LA Riot Squad's corner, against the visiting 3252 fans during the match. Instead, Galaxy supporters groups are using social media to tout their watch parties.

Due to the boycott, the most likely outcome inside the stadium is a “blackout” of Dignity Health Sports Park, with LAFC supporters decked out in black and gold being the most visible and audible fans in the stadium. 

LAFC’s official 3252 Supporters’ Group has been allocated a record 540 tickets for the match on Sunday with many more expected to purchase available tickets through the secondary market.

And while most of their presence will be through the color coordinating they tend toward for these away matches, a Galaxy spokesperson noted that the LAFC fans will be allowed two drums and 10 flags in their away supporters section — which would be dwarfed by a home supporters' section if it were there, but it sounds like that won't be an issue. 

‘Will Carson really keep protesting?’

“Honestly, I’m so curious," said Pooky Gomez, founder of independent 3252 supporters’ group Tunnel Snakes. "Will Carson really keep protesting?” 

The stance from Galaxy supporters’ groups — or "Carson," as Gomez and other LAFC fans pejoratively refer to them — has remained clear. 

"As always, we’ll be using our voice in support of our club but this is from outside the stadium,” a LA Riot Squad protest announcement read on March 16, ahead of the Galaxy's March 18 home opener against the Whitecaps. 

To their credit, they haven’t stopped supporting or switched allegiances as many predicted they would during such tumultuous times.

Continuing to stick to their guns by boycotting El Tráfico could be embarrassing for the club, but as Pooky pointed out, “If they want change, Sunday is the only shot they have. If a national TV ‘sea of black' is not a wake up call to [Galaxy owners] then nothing is.” 

This is the message Galaxy fans have been waiting to send, but I’m not sure they expected the 3252 to be paying the postage.

“Carson will be overtaken by LAFC fans on Sunday and it will be a complete embarrassment for them,” proclaimed 3252 Expo Originals member Alexis Palencia. "We just need our team to show up and destroy them in their own home.”

Having won each of their previous three matches by a 3-0 scoreline, destroying teams is becoming second nature for LAFC. A Black and Gold victory on the field Sunday would likely include big saves, strong tackles and incredible goals. It is also the most likely result according to Vegas, with LAFC sitting as +135 favorites — versus the Galaxy being at +188 odds — despite having never won in Carson. 

Off the field, it’s a little different. 

How will they prove it?

The LAFC fans' day will start at BMO Stadium, where they'll gather before taking a half-hour bus ride to Dignity Health Sports Park. Traveling as a group reminds everyone that this is, in fact, an away match despite the proximity. Once arrived, they’ll file into sections 226 through 228 as soon as the gates open and begin singing. None of this, however, is out of the ordinary for an El Tráfico in Carson — besides the record ticket allocation. What would prove LAFC supporters took over Dignity Health Sports Park?

Simply put: To make it sound like BMO Stadium. At BMO Stadium, away fans are only heard in the pauses in between North End songs. That scenario is exactly what the LAFC 3252, followed by potentially thousands of fellow LAFC fans, will be looking to accomplish on the road in Carson.

“My biggest hope is when we do the ‘This is Los Angeles' chant, the whole crowd does it.” Palencia explained. 

The "This is Los Angeles" chant was created for the 2023 season, and it's already emerging as a fan favorite. During home matches, fans all around the stadium join the North End supporters in claiming the city theirs. 

If Palencia's dream becomes reality and they can replicate the stadium-wide chant in Carson, it will be a historic fan moment not only for LAFC and LA Galaxy, but all of Major League Soccer.

Update, April 14, 8:35 p.m. CT: The story has been updated to reflect the Galaxy's policy on LAFC supporters being allowed to bring drums and flags into Dignity Health Sports Park.