Explain what this honor means to you and your history with the club.

It’s actually really humbling. I’ve been a fan of the Earthquakes since I was in my teens and knowing that [the Devotion Scarf] is such a rare thing means even more to me.

What are some of your memories with the club in your teens?

I grew up in Fremont and Fremont was a hotbed of soccer at the time. People were excited about soccer and very excited about the Earthquakes. I remember going to the games.

What does that mean to you, as an elected official in this city, in this county, to see what the Earthquakes do?

Sports in a community this diverse have so much importance. People who maybe go to different churches, were born in different countries, who live in different parts of town, are all sitting together, cheering for the Earthquakes. It’s a unifying force and the Earthquakes have taken that to a whole new level.

During covid, we were trying to get people to get shots and understand how to keep themselves and their families safe. One of the first groups of people I thought to call were the Earthquakes because they were so deep in the community that everybody knew and loved them.

There’s a pillar we talk about how we are working with the community. There’s a one-to-one connection that goes back to the 70s, and it’s our accessibility of our players to the fans or to the community itself. Did you ever experience any of that when you were going to games?

When I think about the Quakes, I think about how personal it is. I remember being at a school on the east side. I see one of your executives out there with your staff in the community, talking to people, giving them giveaways, kicking a ball around with them. All of us who have any experience with the Earthquakes feel like a part of the family in a very visceral way.

What message do you have for fans of the team or community members?

We have this amazing gift in our community, and they are a team that is devoted to their fans. We need to make sure we have their backs because they’ve had the community’s backs for 50 years.