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Saturday night Orlando City SC hosted the San Jose Earthquakes in the first major sporting event in Orlando since the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub that resulted in the deaths of 49 people. Orlando City paid tribute to the victims in the massacre, with many being members of the LGBTQ and/or Latino communities, in multiple ways throughout the evening.
Among the tributes were color-coded seating sections to represent the colors of the rainbow flag used that symbolizes the LGBT community, a section of seats with one balloon per seat to represent each of the victims, and the involvement of first responders in the pregame activities. There was also a moment of silence at the 49th minute of the match to honor each of the victims in the tragedy.
A moment of silence in honor of the 49 victims of the Orlando tragedy #OrlandoUnited t.co/H3JaNjsfiI
Fans were able to purchase special “Orlando United” posters and T-shirts, and participate in an auction for game-worn jerseys, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the OneOrlando fund that was established in the aftermath of the shootings. Also, both teams wore commemorative “Orlando United” patches on their uniforms for the match.
In an emotional night at Camping World Stadium, the teams played to a 2-2 draw.