From Pulse victims to Dolly Parton, MLS fans turn October into mini Pride Month with spectacular tributes
Around two-thirds of MLS teams are holding Pride Nights this season, with several in October, and the tifos are again outstanding.
Mark
What do you do when your league takes a long break during Pride Month? Simple — you just reschedule your Pride Night plans.
Across U.S. soccer, local LGBTQ communities have been consistently showing up to back their teams for many years. The traditional time to celebrate that support is usually in and around June, albeit with a few exceptions.
However, in 2026, the juggernaut that was the FIFA World Cup meant that both MLS and the NWSL went on hiatus, right in the middle of rainbow season.
One of the outcomes is that October has become almost a mini-Pride Month in MLS, with at least seven Pride Nights scheduled.
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And in the last week, we’ve seen two epic examples of tifo artwork to remind us of the highly commendable commitment of supporters groups.
On Saturday night, a poignant tribute was paid in Orlando to those who lost their lives at gay nightclub Pulse, in the tragedy’s 10th anniversary year.
Orlando City fans unfurled a giant tifo with a design inspired by the artist and activist Keith Haring before the MLS game against D.C. United at Inter.Co Stadium.
A 4-1 home win followed, with star player Antoine Griezmann scoring twice, ensuring the hosts stay in the automatic playoff qualification spots.
The tifo was created by Iron Lion Firm, which is marking 15 years as a supporters group. It’s officially recognized by Orlando City and Orlando Pride, alongside fellow fan groups Black Swans Drinking Club and The Ruckus.
As a coalition, they form “The Wall” on match days, with the ambition — as described on the Orlando City website — of creating “the loudest, most creative, most passionate and visually stunning sporting experience in North American soccer.”
In a joint social post reflecting on Saturday’s tifo, the Firm and the Swans said: “When there was the opportunity to design a tifo for the Pride in our City match, we knew a 10-year remembrance tifo was necessary.
“The 49 lives we lost that night will be carried on in our hearts, minds, and in our stadium forever.
“And the fight for visibility continues. The painted crosswalk points to the silenced voices who have used crosswalks and other street art to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community of Orlando.
“This community remains a strong pillar in Orlando, and we felt a great way to represent our message of remembrance and freedom was through an homage to Keith Haring.
“Whether you know of his work directly or recognize his distinctive art style, his artwork speaks to a simple truth. And that’s what we wanted with this tifo.
“Empathy. Compassion. Resiliency. These are simple values we hold close to our hearts in Orlando when we talk about Pulse.
“Thank you to the members of ILF and the Black Swans for getting this tifo done. Until the next one!”
Pride prevails in NWSL but Miami among MLS teams to swerve
On the same day, Minnesota United were taking on St Louis City at Allianz Field in St Paul. Their fan groups form a coalition called the “Wonderwall”, and taking center stage at their Pride Night was another tribute tifo, this time to the dearly departed Dolly Parton.
The banner was in pink trim and emblazoned with a famous Dolly quote, in Progress Pride lettering: “I hope that everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are.”
The accompanying post on the Wonderwall Instagram account showed its appreciation for the creativity and hard work of the Dark Clouds, True Elite North and Red Loons groups.
The caption read: “The world lost a legend in Dolly Parton. What better day than our Pride celebration to honor her!”
All 16 NWSL teams held Pride Nights between May and August on matchdays either side of the league’s break. Boston Legacy even had two Pride-themed games.
Tifos on display included one from Gotham FC fans that read “We’re Still Here”; an Audrey Lorde quote at the Portland Thorns game; and KC Current supporters’ huge banner saying “you make the world a much better place” in trans Pride flag colors.
In MLS, three teams — FC Cincinnati, D.C. United and Los Angeles FC — held their Pride Nights before the World Cup break from mid-May to mid-July.
Since then, 15 more teams have so far celebrated the LGBTQ community this season, and Atlanta United and New York City FC will do the same before October is out.
The Pride vibes this month are particularly strong thanks to the efforts of around 30 fan groups who have active “Prideraiser” campaigns, with pledges from goals scored going towards worthy causes.
For the tifo aficionados, the “Always Here, Always Proud” banner at Seattle Sounders and “STL Pride” banner at St Louis City were among the MLS season’s most eye-catching efforts.
Of the 10 teams in the league that it appears will not be holding a Pride Night or “Soccer for All” style designated game in 2026 (although there’s still time!), there are a couple surprises.
Along with Minnesota United, where Collin Martin played, L.A. Galaxy previously fielded an out gay player in Robbie Rogers. However, there has as yet been no sign of Pride on their 2026 theme night schedule.
Similarly, David Testo ended his pro career in Canada with Montreal Impact in 2011 before publicly coming out as gay the following month. The franchise continues to this day as CF Montreal; like the Galaxy, they have hosted Pride Nights in the past. But not this year, it seems.
Another of the teams sitting out anything LGBTQ this season is Inter Miami. The reigning champions are in their seventh season in MLS and are not known to have ever held a dedicated Pride Night.
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