Week 63: Snapdragon Rugby

Week 63: March 10th-16th, 2024

This week I finally got to visit the sparkly new Snapdragon Stadium. I attended the season opener for the SD Legion, San Diego's MLR team. They played (and beat!) RFC Los Angeles. I had never been to a rugby game up until this point, and admittedly, I have no clue how the game works. My only point of reference was the Berkeley rugby guys that made the bus ride home a little louder and stinkier in high school. I say that with love, as many of them were my friends. One of my favorite coworkers from the City of Berkeley Recreation is super into rugby, so I decided I owed SD Legion some preliminary research. I wanted to be prepared for the game to at least halfway understand what was happening on the field. I watched four different YouTube videos that detailed the basics of rugby. I tried to absorb as much knowledge as I could, but who knows if I'll remember any of it. The one thing that I do remember because it surprised me was that each team has 15 players. 30 people on the field at once is a little crazy to me, considering I mainly watch basketball.

My friend Amanda and her boyfriend live right down the street from Snapdragon, so we avoided any traffic or parking nightmares by walking over. It only took us seven minutes!

The sky during our walk to the stadium

As we got closer, I started to realize how large and in charge the new establishment really was.

The original building that stood there was the famous Qualcomm Stadium, home to the Chargers and San Diego State football for many years. I attended a handful of incredible tailgates at Qualcomm during my time at SDSU, and I can see why San Diego natives were sad to see it torn down. The size of Qualcomm didn't feel as expansive (or expensive!) because it was more enclosed. Snapdragon, however, still felt shiny and new.

Snapdragon Stadium was built as part of the new San Diego State Mission Valley campus, a bold endeavor set to be complete in 2027. I could go on about real estate developers and the complicated relationship they have with cities, but because the whole project has barely gotten started, for now, I will stick to my review of Snapdragon.

When Snapdragon first opened back in like 2022, people were very excited until we all heard complaints in the summertime that there was not enough shade in the stadium. Snapdragon's opening day turned out to be less-than-ideal when stories of fans needing heat-related medial attention hit the news. Fans were forced to leave their seats to find shade because of scorching temperatures and lack of shaded seating. This video and this article show the potential downfall of the stadium if they didn't figure out their shade issues quickly.

Thankfully, we did not encounter this issue because the rugby game started at 7pm and it is still only March. As we made our way into the stadium and through security, surrounded by kids and families, I was thankful that I brought two jackets. It was cold.

Snapdragon had a new-car-smell feel to it, even though it has been open for over a year. It felt like a massive, newer version of Petco Park, and even offered some of the same food and drink options. It was nice and open, which was great at night but I could see how the lack of shade might pose a problem in the summer. We walked past at least three different brewing companies and a couple taco shops. There were even signs for the Sycuan lounge or something, which I assume is VIP club seating or something.

One of many big signs throughout the stadium

Giant pretzels also sounded good

We equipped ourselves with some drinks and some hot dogs and made our way to our seats. There were a ton of food and drink options, but out of the ones that were actually open, a classic hot dog was the way to go.

It isn't the prettiest, but we LOVE a stadium hot dog

The score wasn't too great at the start of the game

As we settled in, our incredible rugby knowledge (duh, this is a ~sport~) and our detective skills (looking at the scoreboard) helped us deduce that things were not looking good for SD Legion. RFC LA already had 8 points and we had just gotten to our seats!

The view from our seats

I was surprised at the diversity of the crowd and the overall friendliness of the people around us. The stadium buzzed with life (and alcohol) and we cheered when we knew to, and booed when it seemed like something bad happened. During halftime, a woman behind us pointed out that the fireworks show we kept staring at was actually a bunch of parachuters with flares. We were mind blown as they fell from the sky and landed on the field, one after another. It was definitely a highlight of the night. (I need to get an opportunity to do that. It doesn't even have to be during a game!)

We decided our new favorite rugby player, a Lincoln McClutchie, has one of the best last names for a professional athlete. In the NBA, that would rival the Ball family or Adebayo's first name being Bam.

Thanks to McClutchie, SD Legion pulled out a win. At least I assume it was McClutchie who came in clutch (wink), since his name kept getting blasted across the screens and everyone was cheering. But, I couldn't tell you what it was exactly that he did, since the rugby terms from those YouTube videos elude me. Maybe it was actually someone else who won the game, and the people at the stadium also just really like McClutchie. Who knows.

The final score! 19 - 18.

After a good win, the SD Legion fans started to file out of the stadium. We peeled ourselves off our seats, zipped our jackets up, and headed out. We walked back home, past the shiny new vendor shops and the massive parking lots. The parking lots were pretty full, and I could tell they're primed and ready for a proper tailgate season. I'll have to return for some of those when football starts. In the meantime, I will try to understand rugby a bit better and attend some more games. It was fun.

See you next week.