The end of MLS's Cali Clasico: A tragedy of literary proportion

It was also, in all likelihood, the very last Cali Clasico of its kind. Nothing gold can stay, and that includes the Golden State rivalry that has long lit MLS up with its heat. As the league pushes toward a fall-to-spring Europe-mirroring schedule in 2027 — and changes its format to accommodate it — the Cali Clasico is in danger of getting ripped apart.

A new-look West

MLS's schedule change won't just flip the season opener to August and the season closer to May. It will fundamentally alter the way the league thinks about games, travel and timing.

While details are still being worked out in the league office, the known plan is this: MLS will do away with its traditional Eastern and Western conferences and instead split its 30 teams into five geographic "divisions."

The Athletic reported that these divisions — the Northeast (Montreal, Toronto, New England, New York Red Bulls, NYCFC, Philadelphia), the Southeast (DC, Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta), the Midwest (Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minnesota), the Northwest (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Colorado, Salt Lake, San Jose) and the Southwest (LAFC, LA Galaxy, San Diego, Houston, Dallas, Austin) — will play their shared members twice while only facing the rest of the league once.

The Western lands, then, as Steinbeck would put it, are nervous under the beginning change. With San Jose set to play in the Northwest and the Galaxy set to play in the Southwest, that spells the end of the Cali Clasico as we know it. Yes, the two teams will face off once per year — but rivalries need reciprocity. The Cali Clasico will not have that.

The historical cost

Judging by the fanfare and attendance at the most recent Cali Clasico, the rivalry's fate might appear to be a mercy killing. The Galaxy's Dignity Health Sports Park was far from full, and the energy between opposing fans was more congenial than cruel.

Dig deeper, though, and things begin to look a bit different. The game was shoehorned into an accelerated post-World Cup schedule — a World Cup, it's worth pointing out, that not a single member of the Cali Clasico took part in. It was played on a Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. local time when California children were already back in school. It happened just a few days after the return fixture, which happened just a few days after the World Cup final without fanfare or promotion. Every decision surrounding the 2026 Cali Clasico conspired to make it a commercial failure.

In this way, MLS can point to the rivalry as one that has already died on the vine; in this way, it can legislate fan feeling and direct attention to matchups it believes are more valuable. But how will the league know itself without its past? Steinbeck printed the question way back in 1939 and never found an answer. It's hard to see MLS doing any better.

Is there malice behind the end of the Cali Clasico? No, surely not — but malice isn't necessary for a decision to be a crying shame. MLS's schedule revamp will likely be a boon for the league...but in the loss of one of its only historic rivalries, there is a failure here that topples all of its success.