Earthquakes, rival Galaxy aim to grow MLS’s appeal

Marvell Wynne isn't sure how he'd feel if his beloved Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas.

He doesn't have ties to Oakland, aside from playing soccer in the Bay Area for the San Jose Earthquakes.

In fact, Wynne isn't sure why his father, Marvell Wynne Sr., who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball, became a fan of the silver and black.

The younger Wynne, 29, was born in Pittsburgh while his father was the center fielder for the Pirates. Wynne was raised in Southern California and has spent the past 11 seasons playing for four Major League Soccer teams.

Wynne has mixed emotions about his Raiders moving, but he'd be thrilled to see Sin City get an MLS franchise.

"If (Las Vegas) were to get a team, I'll be all for it," Wynne said. "I want there to be soccer everywhere in the United States. If we want soccer to keep growing, we have to personally go to cities to promote the game and have people experience it for themselves."

Wynne will get a chance to promote the game in Las Vegas when his Earthquakes face the Los Angeles Galaxy at 7 p.m. today at Cashman Field in an exhibition match being dubbed as the "California Clasico."

The rivalry between the Earthquakes and the Galaxy arguably is the fiercest in the MLS. The Galaxy lead the all-time series 29-20-12. Los Angeles has five MLS titles and San Jose two. The Earthquakes had Landon Donovan for the first four years of his MLS career. Donovan spent his final 10 with the Galaxy.

This will be the second time the two teams meet outside of California. The Earthquakes defeated the Galaxy 2-1 in Columbus, Ohio, for the 2001 MLS Cup.

"It's great to have this rivalry in Las Vegas," UNLV men's soccer midfielder Kevin Partida said. "The Galaxy have the stars, but the Earthquakes have a good team. It should be a competitive match."

Partida, who is from Reno and is an Earthquakes fan, said the UNLV program benefits from having MLS teams practice on campus and play at Cashman Field annually.

"We all want to play at the next level," said Partida, who watched the Earthquakes practice at Peter Johann Memorial Field on Friday. "Getting to see a glimpse of what it takes to get there really motivates us. It gives us hope."

For many years, the Colorado Rapids had training camps at UNLV and faced the Earthquakes at Cashman Field in 2015.

The Rebels got to scrimmage against the Rapids last year.

"That was a lot of fun," Partida said. "We got to learn a lot from them. It was a cool experience."

Wynne faced his former team, the Rapids, in Las Vegas and came out with the victory.

"The crowd (at Cashman) was really into it," said Wynne, who spent five season with the Rapids and won the 2010 MLS Cup with Colorado. "It was my first year in San Jose, so it was different facing my former team. The match was a success, we got the win, and hopefully we win again (today)."

Both squads are expected to trot out their 2016 lineups. The Galaxy are led by Irish captain Robbie Keane, British legend Steven Gerrard and Mexican standout Giovani dos Santos.

The Earthquakes are guided by high-scoring striker Chris Wondolowski.

"Getting MLS matches here is great," Partida said, "but it would be better if there's an MLS team here, especially for UNLV. It would develop a connection."

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24