ORLANDO, Fla. – There is no business as usual in Orlando. For a city and community still mourning the tragic deaths of 49 people, there is no easy way back to normal life. For the survivors and the victims' loved ones, life will never be the same.
The collective and profound sadness that cloaks Central Florida continues to be a palpable feeling of almost unbearable heartbreak, but turning the focus to soccer on Saturday as Orlando City SC return to MLS action at home to the San Jose Earthquakes (7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE) promises to be a rallying point in the recovery process.
There is hardly a person who hasn’t been touched either directly or indirectly by the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub, and that is equally true for the MLS team itself, with its broad following, including in the Latino and LGBT communities targeted in the deadly incident.
Orlando City has been at the forefront of the move to heal and restore, standing alongside the civic leaders, first responders and charitable groups that have come forward to aid in the process.
That initiative is especially significant to Orlando City's senior coordinator of partnership marketing, Callum Shepherd, who has his own reasons for feeling the weight of last weekend’s events. Two of Shepherd's close friends, 25-year-old Amanda Alvear and 26-year-old Mercedez Flores, were killed in the shooting.
“It definitely makes this week’s game more personal for me,” he explained. “Amanda and Mercedez were the best of friends, and we all graduated from Ridge Community High School together in 2008. In fact, Amanda was Prom Queen that year.
“You always have a perception about how sports helps us, and being part of this team, you really see their actions in the community for a united Orlando. It has been very healing. I couldn’t ask to work for a better person than [owner] Phil Rawlins, who is so passionate about taking action like this.”
For Shepherd, the events of last Sunday will linger long in his memory. He woke to news of “an incident” at Pulse that quickly became “20 dead, and then it jumped to 50.” He had a call from his mom, who was in tears, relieved he was okay and in sadness for the victims.
“I had gone out the night before, but to a different club,” Shepherd said. “There are only three main gay nightclubs in town, with Pulse being one of them. Being part of the LGBT community, you are immediately aware that the chance of knowing someone who was there is very high.
“Once we heard the full news, that was one of the most horrible moments. It was then a question of wondering who would have been there, and of hearing about friends being missing. Then you were just waiting to hear if they were in hospital or if they were gone.”
The full naming and recognition process for the victims that followed on Monday was another moment of dread for Shepherd, as well as the families and other friends involved.
“These are people you have met in all walks of life,” he added. “They are people you have met socially and gone out to events with. There are multiple faces you recognize. Even if you don’t know them like friends, the community is so tight-knit, you still know each other.
“Losing Amanda and Mercedez hit home the most, though. They were inseparable and you just want to do whatever you can to help their families. Hopefully Saturday’s game can help in that process.”
The huge outpouring of support through the #OrlandoUnited and #OneOrlando campaigns both nationally and worldwide has given the community some much-needed empathy. Within the city, it has been even more reassuring.
“I just think that the reaction of everybody to this reinforces that Orlando is a completely different kind of city,” Shepherd said. “It is a very accepting city and a very unifying one, and that has never been more true than this week.
“This has always been home for me and I am now 100 percent certain that will always be the case because of what it is. And we’ve seen that very positively this week.”
