Having a professional soccer team in San Diego was a dream for many. San Diego FC’s Supporter, Jorge Jauregui grew up in San Diego hoping the city would one day make his dream come true. That day came on Sunday, May 18, 2023, when the Club was announced.
“Since I was a little kid, we dreamt about having a professional soccer team, so I knew that whenever we had a team, I was going to be a fan,” said Jauregui. “When we heard that we were actually going to have a soccer team here, a professional soccer team, that’s when I was like yeah, I’m all in.”
At age six, Jauregui’s parents brought him to San Diego from Mexico. After moving to San Diego, he grew up, went to school here, and has fully adopted the San Diego lifestyle.
“Since I can remember my dad used to take me to soccer games in Mexico. He took me to the stadium and my love for soccer grew," said Jauregui.
With every Club comes a Supporter group. SDFC was no exception. The Frontera SD was born and now consists of seven groups; 18th Battalion, Barra 18, Chavos Frontera Ultras, Daygo Boys, Riptides, The Locals, and USG 18.
“I always wanted a team here in San Diego, so me and my friends, one of my friends' named Louis, he's the one that told me that we're starting to Supporter group and he kind of invited me into it and I couldn't say no,” added the member of Daygo Boys.
For 90 plus minutes, SDFC’s Supporters chant and make noise to cheer on the Club at home and on the road. SDFC had their first public preseason appearance at the Coachella Valley Invitational (CVI) in February against New York City FC. That was the first match, the Mexican native went to, and the rest is history.
“I remember going to the Coachella game, which we lost, the coach (Mikey Varas) talked to us after the game and he kind of like apologized to us and for me it meant a lot, like the coach coming up to us and apologizing and it grew like a connection with us, with the fans, and for me,” said Jauregui. “It was kind of special, and I was like this is it. I'm gonna be with the team, no matter what and that's one of the reasons why I started traveling and going to all the games.”
CVI was the beginning of something beautiful for Jauregui. He was the only Supporter to travel to all 17 matches. Creating relationships with other SDFC supporters, fans, but most importantly his 16-year-old son.
“Another thing that got me into traveling was my 16-year-old kid. Traveling and taking him to the games, especially the away games, kind of got me closer to my kid,” explained Jauregui. “Going to the away games it's like a big experience. We basically go and before every game, we kind of go see the players prior to the game, we go to their hotels and we chant to them, give them some good vibes, and then we give it our all at every game.”
Looking back at the 17 matches, Jauregui shared his most memorable experience on the road.
“I think the Utah game was really special because we drove over there, so it was 13 hours to Utah and 13 hours back. There were 12 of us,” shared Jauregui. “We left on a Friday after work, we drove all night, we got over there on Saturday, and we went to the game and then drove back at night. So, we hardly even got to sleep, but I think it was really special and we won (3-1).”
The Chrome and Azul exceeded the expectations of many. Wrapping up the regular MLS Season with 63 points and the most wins by an expansion team with 19. Not only did the Club break records, SDFC secured first place in the Western Conference by defeating the Portland Timbers at Providence Park.
“It was amazing. Obviously, we won 4-0, but at the end it got crazy. I can't even explain it, it was amazing, it was unbelievable. It was a great night,” shared Jauregui about his experience in the stands.
Now that the regular season has come to an end and the Club focuses on postseason, Jauregui shared how he feels like he is a part of the SDFC family.
“The coach (Mikey Varas) has given us that feeling that the team, the supporters, and the fans, we're one,” said Jauregui. “We're together on this; we're like a familia so, yeah, it's really special that the whole SDFC team has created this all and one. We're all together.”
Jauregui is now preparing to travel to Portland once again to witness Game 2 of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. For anyone who hasn’t attended a match, Jauregui shared why you should make it to a match and be a part of the Supporter's section.
“Here in San Diego, we needed another professional team. Soccer is solely different than any other sport, the passion that involves soccer, the stands, I recommend anyone that has not been to a soccer game to join us, especially in the Supporter's section,” explained Jauregui. "Everyone's welcome to join, if they don't know the chants, they can clap, jump, and everybody needs to experience once in their last time, a soccer match or a football game.”
Join Jauregui and Frontera SD on the road or at home. To learn more about the Supporter groups and how to become a Supporter, visit here.
“I would like to thank everybody that made this possible; from the owners, the staff, the physical coach, the coach, the teams, everybody, you know, everybody that works at SDFC, I just wanted to thank them for bringing a team to San Diego,” said Jauregui.
