SAN DIEGO (KGTV) \u2014 The San Diego Wave FC fell just short in their home opener, losing 1\u20130 to the Houston Dash, but the energy inside Snapdragon Stadium showed that fans were simply happy to have women\u2019s soccer back in San Diego.<\/p>\n
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, green may be the color of the season elsewhere, but inside the stadium it was waves of pink and blue filling the stands. Supporters showed up in full force as the Wave kicked off their fifth season, hoping to build on last year\u2019s playoff appearance in the National Women’s Soccer League.<\/p>\n
Many fans said they had been counting down the days until the team returned to the pitch.<\/p>\n
Some have supported the club since its inaugural season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been season ticket holders since the Wave started here,\u201d one fan said. \u201cFive years strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others were experiencing the atmosphere for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, my friend\u2019s a massive fan and in turn I am,\u201d another supporter said. \u201cSo I\u2019m here to support. I love the Wave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Families also packed the stands, saying the experience goes beyond just watching soccer. For many, it\u2019s about celebrating women\u2019s sports and showing young athletes what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love women\u2019s sports, love women\u2019s soccer, love the Wave,\u201d parent Talia Nicolai said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to us because we believe in women\u2019s sports and the girls want to see people they can model.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing of the home opener also carried extra meaning as the season begins during Women’s History Month. Fans said seeing professional women athletes compete at the highest level is inspiring for the next generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d one fan said. \u201cThe energy San Diego brings to sports is unmatched.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others say the turnout proves there\u2019s a strong appetite for women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no better time,\u201d another supporter said. \u201cPeople want women\u2019s sports. We want more excitement and more people to witness it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the narrow loss, the atmosphere at Snapdragon Stadium remained upbeat as fans celebrated the start of another season.<\/p>\n
The Wave will look to bounce back in their next match on the road against the Utah Royals FC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO (KGTV) \u2014 The San Diego Wave FC fell just short in their home opener, losing 1\u20130…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6666,46982,74,76,75,12901],"class_list":{"0":"post-221180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-opener","10":"tag-san-diego","11":"tag-san-diego-headlines","12":"tag-san-diego-news","13":"tag-san-diego-wave"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}