Alexander: El Trafico is the launch point for the rest of the MLS season

CARSON — Playing El Trafico on a Friday night? Yeah, that’s appropriate, even if some folks were delayed in getting to their seats at Dignity Health Sports Park because of … well, you know.

Read more Del Mar consensus picks for Saturday, July 18, 2026

The rivalry that takes its nickname from Southern California’s most defining (and, yes, irritating) characteristic was Major League Soccer’s, and Fox’s, way of returning the league to this country’s consciousness after more than a month off while the World Cup dominated the conversation.

In fact, as MLS executive vice president and chief communications officer Dan Courtemanche noted in an email response on Friday, the Galaxy-LAFC match coming out of the World Cup break was originally supposed to be aired by FS1 and wasn’t considered for one of the two national slots for the main Fox network coming out of the break.

“Earlier this year, Fox came to MLS and told us they wanted to move it to the main Fox network, which provided a terrific opportunity to reach a broader audience,” Courtemanche wrote.

“… We see tonight’s El Trafico match as a great opportunity, but more importantly, as part of a much broader strategy around the World Cup and MLS’ return. El Trafico is one of the league’s premier rivalries. Coming immediately after the World Cup, it’s a natural showcase for fans who have spent the last month immersed in soccer and are looking for what’s next.”

Basically, Fox and FS1’s coverage of the World Cup over the last five weeks has opened the door for the domestic league. People have been captivated by the larger tournament, and if soccer is top of mind right now, this is the opportunity to gain greater exposure for the MLS product.

The difference, obviously, is that the national teams, and especially the very best ones, play a far higher level of the sport, and the soccer snobs among us may continue to turn up their nose at the domestic league. But if you can expose MLS to those not already acquainted with it, and maybe pique their interest, what do you have to lose?

The atmosphere at an LAFC-Galaxy match is quite the opportunity to captivate. Friday night, in the course of the visitors’ 3-0 victory, those who tuned in should have gotten the full flavor of what is the best derby in MLS – undoubtedly – and one of the best rivalries in SoCal, which is a slightly higher bar to clear.

This most closely resembles the USC-UCLA football rivalry, albeit with the visiting team’s fans having far fewer seats available to them. LAFC’s supporters’ section was perched in the northeast corner of the upper deck Friday night, and while those fans made as much noise as they could, the Galaxy supporters behind the north goal looked up on two different occasions and chanted, “We … can’t … hear … you.”

Then again, Galaxy fans got quieter as the game wore on, and as it approached the end a good number of them left early.

Mark Delgado – a former member of the Galaxy, no less, and one with something less than warm and fuzzy feelings toward his former team – scored LAFC’s first goal in the 26th minute by heading a deflection past Novak Micovic. Denis Bouanga made it 2-0 in the 45th minute on a penalty shot, after Son Heung-Min pondered taking the PK himself before handing the ball to Bouanga. And Son himself made it 3-0 in the 57th minute, firing one into the left corner of the net and prompting Mathieu Choiniere into an emphatic fist pump in celebration.

Read more 76-year-old ‘perfect’ victim loses hundreds of thousands of dollars, Riverside home to romance scam

How serious a rivalry is this? The best, LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos agreed.

“There’s a lot of them in the league, but nothing compares,” he said, and he’s been part of a few: Montreal-Toronto, Vancouver-Portland or Vancouver-Seattle.

None of those, however, share a city or a county line. We in Southern California have more of those than anybody, between pro and college – we are, after all, the Noah’s Ark of sports, with two of everything – and in these eyes El Trafico ranks right up there with UCLA-USC and the Kings-Ducks hockey rivalry as far as intensity/hostility between neighboring fan bases.

“This is the closest to the feeling (in) South America, Mexico, or even Europe,” Dos Santos said, adding: “That’s why we never played a friendly in our history. We’re two teams close to each other and if it’s not something like in Palm Springs (in preseason) that it’s organized, we don’t play friendlies because it’s never a friendly.”

Delgado can relate. The 31-year-old veteran from Glendora is in his second season with LAFC. He played three seasons before that with the Galaxy – which included being part of the Galaxy’s 2024 MLS championship team, followed by some bad feelings in 2025 over the way the Galaxy handled the presentation of his championship ring.

“There’s some history that tracks there, so that stays between me and what went on,” he said Friday night. “But yeah, it lights a little fire, and I get excited playing against them.”

And prior to his three seasons with the Galaxy, and five seasons with Toronto before that, he played 37 matches with Chivas USA, debuting with one match in 2012 as a 16-year-old. So yes, he understands this intercity rivalry business.

“When we step on that field, it’s the battle for L.A.,” he said. “… L.A. is a big market, a place where everybody wants to be, and all eyes are on L.A. So you know when the moment comes, it is time to shine.”

In a sense, that made this the perfect stage to remind the public that, yes, the Beautiful Game will still be here after Argentina and Spain pack up and go home following Sunday’s duel for the World Cup in New Jersey.

It will not be an isolated moment, either. Courtemanche said MLS is launching the “largest coordinated post-World Cup marketing campaign in league history,” both nationally and locally. And he noted that of the participants over the last month, 45 MLS players represented 17 countries, including 43 products of MLS academies.

“Ultimately, we view this as the next chapter of a long-term growth story,” he wrote. “… The World Cup accelerated interest, but our focus is on building lasting relationships with fans long after the tournament ends.”

Read more Judge says additional penalties against Huntington Beach counter state housing goals

Will they succeed with this opportunity? We’ll find out.

[email protected]