Rapids to host Pride Night & Special Olympics on June 23

On Saturday night, the Colorado Rapids will celebrate Pride Night as they take on Minnesota United FC. We’ve seen several teams and supporters’ groups across the league participating in MLS’ ‘Soccer for All initiative’, which is “dedicated to providing an environment in which staff, players, partners, and fans are treated with dignity and respect” and “signifies that everyone is welcome to MLS, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.”

Like last year, the Rapids will have a special Pride night scarf for sale for $19, or you can get 1 Ticket to the 6/23 game + 1 Limited Edition Pride Scarf for $35 here. A portion of each ticket will benefit Gay Bowl XVIII, an event held at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in September, hosted by the Denver Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League.

There are a few other things to look for throughout the night in an effort to celebrate diversity on Saturday:

• The national anthem will be sung by the Harmony Choir: “The Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, Straight Allied voices of Harmony” who “​embrace and inspire an inclusive community through song.”
• Tim Howard will be wearing a special Pride Captain’s armband during the match.
• Season Ticket Members and C38 members will be waving special flags throughout the stadium during the singing of “Mountain Roads.”
• C38 is creating a special tifo for the event.
• The Rapids will also have a special fan giveaway that night.

Following the main match, the Rapids’ Unified Team will take the field for their first game of the season vs. Minnesota’s Unified Team. This is the 7th year that Rapids have participated in the Special Olympics program and the roster includes players between the ages of 16-35, including both men and women with and without intellectual disabilities.

This match is always a fun time, and a few of the Rapids players usually stick around, so plan to stay after if you can!