Orlando City SC, Other Teams Honor Victims Of Nightclub Shooting

Orlando City SC drew a crowd of 37,193 to last night's game against the Earthquakes, and in the match's 49th minute, fans "fell silent as play stopped to honor the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting." The game and the team "fulfilled its role of helping the community shift from grief to healing." MLS Commissioner Don Garber: "I always believe sports has the ability to do more than just be the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." Orlando City "dedicated the entire game to the victims and all those affected." The traditional MLS anthem was "not played before the national anthem." Instead the Beatles' song, "'All You Need is Love' blared through the speakers" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/19). 

The Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi: "This wasn't just a sporting event; it was a soccer sanctuary; a place for all of us to come together and show that we are -- as the T-shirts say -- #OrlandoUnited" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/19). Meanwhile, there were "several different tributes" for the victims at yesterday's NWSL Orlando Pride-Washington Spirit game in DC (WASHINGTON POST, 6/19). For Friday's Giants-Rays game at Tropicana Field, the home team "removed tarps from seating areas in the upper deck," as a crowd of 40,135 turned out. It was the "largest regular-season attendance" for a Rays home game since '06. The game raised more than $300,000 for the victims, and the teams "observed a moment of silence before the first pitch" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/18).