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Five Years On, Republic FC Celebrates Sac Soccer Day

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 07/18/18, 1:56PM EDT

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On the club’s anniversary, do you remember the moment that caused momentary panic?


Photo courtesy Sacramento Republic FC

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Five years ago, on July 18, 2013, a new club was officially born.

“We dreamt up the idea and realized it starts with a brand that speaks directly to Sacramento. That’s No. 1,” said Republic FC Co-Founder & Executive VP Joe Wagoner. “No. 2, we need to unveil that brand at a huge press conference. How big? 10,000 big. [Then] realizing the only way we’re going to get 10,000 people to any place that were all soccer fans was to host a match, and so Sac Soccer Day was born.”

A new short film that also includes input from former key club figures Warren Smith and Erika Bjork now documents and provides perspective on the first day of the official history of Sacramento Republic FC, and what went into the launch of one of the most successful clubs in the USL’s history when more than 14,000 fans packed into Raley Field for the official unveiling of the club’s name and colors, and an exhibition between English club Norwich City FC and Mexican club Dorados De Sinaloa.

As with any event, everything didn’t necessarily go quite to plan. When the sheet covering the official logo on the Raley Field scoreboard began to slide out of place, revealing the club’s identity to the world ahead of schedule, improvisation was the name of the game.

“The actual logo unveiled on the scoreboard on accident, so the professionally printed crest is showing, and then it’s our job to run onto the field and show our painting,” recalled R.J. of the Tower Bridge Battalion. “We’re all like on a dead sprint trying to hold this banner up that’s already been unveiled, and Preki’s trying to get to the front.”

That mishap aside, the night was one that has lived on in the memory of all who were on hand. It also set the stage for what was to come over the past five years, and all that’s to come as the Republic marches on. 

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